Every day I have the honour of talking to many brides-to-be. I learn a lot about them, their dreams and their wish to find The Dress. The fact is, however, that most of them believe the white colour of the wedding dress symbolises and is associated with the bride’s purity. The truth is actually different. The story of why the wedding dress is white is old and has its roots in the 18th century. At that time a white wedding dress was the privilege of wealthy families, so white was a sign of wealth and luxury. Girls from poor families could not afford a white wedding dress, and at the same time were not even allowed to own one because of their social standing.
The white wedding dress
The tradition of the wedding dress being white is relatively recent. It began after Queen Victoria of England married Albert of Saxe-Coburg in 1840 and wore a magnificent white wedding dress with hand-sewn lace on top. This wedding is also considered the beginning of the tradition of the white wedding dress. Until then wedding dresses came in different colours. In Bulgaria the wedding dress was the folk costume, depending on the region the bride came from.
At first, dresses in Bulgaria were multicoloured, with considerable differences depending on the region the couple came from.
At the beginning of the 20th century white began to be added to this polychromy. Gradually Western culture began to dominate the traditions of the Balkans, and the white wedding dress gradually replaced local costumes and became the norm.
Why something blue?
And so we come to the 20th century, when the white wedding dress already dominates. The white wedding dress is the rule in the film industry, at celebrity weddings and in photos of fashionable people. In the past, if brides wanted to declare themselves pure and untouched, they wore a wedding dress in shades of blue, as at that time blue symbolised purity. That is why nowadays it is said that the bride must wear:
- Something blue
- Something old
- Something new
- something borrowed
The wedding dress also has its tradition, which develops and modernises. Every year we see new trends in cuts and lengths, depending on what the rules of fashion dictate. Dresses now come in ivory, sand, caramel, almond and even nude. Designs are asymmetric, clean or full of lace, with long trains or sleeves, short or long. The choice is huge, and your imagination and dreams are limitless.
Don’t forget to follow fashion, filter it and take from it the elements that suit your personal style. Justin Alexander wedding dresses will truly satisfy even the most demanding of you!
Browse the new collection of wedding dresses and Couture wedding dresses.
