12. The Bride Wears White
It’s rare today that a bride won’t wear a white dress–it has become synonymous with the wedding itself. However, this was not always the case. Before 1840, women were married in their best dress, whatever the color or style. In fact, colorful dresses were often considered more elegant. However, when Queen Victoria married Prince Albert in 1840, she donned a dress of white silk satin. It was such a fashion statement that other women took a leaf from her book and wore white dresses at their own weddings. The elegance and purity of the white dress embodied Victorian ideals, but the trend didn’t die out when the Victorian period ended. Fashion magazines praised Victoria’s white dress for decades after her wedding and even made the bold claim that white had “always” been considered an appropriate color for a wedding dress, despite Victoria being one of the few to wear a white dress. Gradually, women began buying a whole new dress for their wedding instead of selecting the best dress they already owned. Some modern women are starting to lean away from white dresses, but it will be a while before those go completely out of vogue.
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