Wedding Dresses, Indian Wedding Dresses, Traditional Wedding Dresses

As with all types of clothing, the wedding dress has changedin style and fashion throughout the ages. During the medieval period, when awedding was a matter of politics above all else, brides had to dress in a waythat would best reflect their families. The higher the social standing of thebride, the richer the colours and the more expensive the fabrics used. Fur,velvet and silk were often incorporated into the design. The styles and coloursof the wealthier brides were copied by the brides of lower social standing asbest as they could.

Even though centuries passed and styles came and went,brides continued to dress in the most fashionable clothes, made from therichest and boldest materials that money could buy. Another factor indicativeof the wealth and social standing of the bride was the amount of material used.Those who couldn’t afford anything new wore their best church dress on theirwedding day.

In the 1920s fashion dictated that wedding dresses beshorter in the front than at the back and that they have a long train. Theywere worn with cloche-style wedding veils. In the 1940s the obsession withfollowing fashion trends stopped as the Victorian full-skirted designs cameback into fashion. Today, while many new styles and designs have been created,the Victorian full-skirt is still popular with many brides.

Mary Queen of Scots was one of the first women to wear whitewhen she married Francois II of France. White was still not the traditionalwedding colour and was considered rather inauspicious, as it was the officialcolour of mourning in France at that time. It was not a subtle message. It wasonly in 1840 that white became popular, after Queen Victoria married Albert ofSaxe-Coberg. In order to make use of some white lace that she owned, Victoria insisted on a white dress. After the wedding portrait was published, many bridescopied the dress in honour of the Queen.

The tradition of the white wedding continues to this day.Along the line it picked up the association with purity and symbolisingvirginity. Originally blue was associated with purity and the white dresswasn’t meant to symbolise the innocence of the bride at all. Today the whitedress is usually a nod at tradition and has very little to do with virginityand purity.

Indian wedding dresses are as diverse as the cultures,religions and regions that make up the vast country. In Northern India weddingdresses tend to be red, which symbolises auspiciousness, or green, which represents fertility. Wedding dresses in south India are usually white or cream coloured.

The styles of wedding dresses in India havent changed muchover the years. Some of the more common styles include: the sari, ghaghra choliand salwar kameez. Most people are familiar with the sari. It is a cloth wrappedaround the body and secured by tucking it into the waistband or with pins. Theghaghra consists of a long skirt and a short blouse. A scarf, called a dupatta,is draped across the brides chest. The salwar kameez consists of a long tunicover a pair of pants. The dupatta also accompanies this outfit, but the bridecan specify if she wants it draped across her chest, around her neck or overher head.

Indian wedding dresses are delicate and intricate pieces ofwork, composed of complex patterns, threading, sequences and beadwork. Bridesfrom wealthy Indian families have their dresses embossed with pure gold orsilver. Dresses are usually made from fabric that reflects light well such assatin, silk or chiffon. Brides wear an abundance of necklaces, rings, earrings,bracelets and hair decorations on their wedding day. Tradition dictates thatthey look as ornamented as possible.

The Chinese have a saying about marriage: is natural to getmarried when you grow up. They place special emphasis on marriage and have manytraditions associated with it. Red is considered to be a lucky colour in China, so it seems obvious that it would play a significant role in such an importantceremony. The wedding invitations are red, gift envelopes are red and so is oneof the brides wedding dresses.

Three dresses are worn at a traditional Chinese wedding.During the wedding ceremony, the bride wears a white dress with a veil. Thesecond dress is the traditional red Chinese wedding dress, which is wornthroughout the banquet. The third is put on just prior to the bride and groomleaving the banquet.

The traditional red dress is usually embroidered with manydesigns in gold and silver thread. The designs are of the dragon and thephoenix, which represent the unification of the male and female sides.

On her wedding day a bride can have as much attention paid to her hair as to her wedding dress. Complex and heavy headdresses often result in the bride being able to do nothing but bow her head and keep it steady. In some cases a veil is added, or there are strings of beads or even a solid piece of fabric to cover her face. In ancient times the first time that a groom would see his brides face would often be in their betrothal bed.

Weddings are times of great celebration. Generally they have evolved from being political maneuvers to being celebrations of love. The wedding day is referred to as the Brides day and she is allowed to have everything go her way, from the flowers to the colours in the decor that differ in shade from eggshell white to wheat white to ivory white. These days, many brides design their own dresses, or at least have some idea of what they want and work in conjunction with a dressmaker to bring that vision to life. Many prospective husbands have very little to do with the process, and aside from nodding, licking the envelopes for the invitations and muttering the occasional Yes Dear, all they have to do is show up on the day. Today, to get married in bold, rich colours as they did in medieval times would invoke quite a scandal. It could be the most fun you have on your wedding day, bar the betrothal bed.

About the author:

Sandy Cosser

This looks at traditional wedding dresses, specifically how the western idea of the white wedding dress came about. It includes traditional Indian wedding dresses and traditional Chinese wedding dresses.

Recommended sites:

http://weddings.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Chinese_Wedding_Traditions

http://www.weddingabc.net/blog/category/chinese-wedding/

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art32857.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_dress

http://www.indians.org/articles/indian-wedding-dresses.html

To read more articles on Textile, Industry, Technical Textile, Dyes & Chemicals, Machinery, Fashion, Apparel, Technology, Retail, Leather, Footwear & Jewellery, Software and General please visit https://articles.fibre2fashion.com