Fashion Trends

From the one hand the history of wedding dresses came long ago, but from the other hand the dresses which we are used to wear for weddings came not long ago. The conception of wedding dresses did not exist since recently. Girls got married in their best dresses which could show and emphasize the antiquity and nobility of their families. In ancient Greece brides were very beautifully and elegantly dressed, their bodies were covered with peplos, which means a long piece of fabric. A dress was decorated with two clasps, to make the bride differ from others. And the richer was the bride’s family, so refined and precious were the buckles. The brides’ head was covered with yellow material, which was symbolizing the joy of the sun, happiness and purity.

Ancient Romans wore simple attires, which draped the body and descended with straight folds, as the bends of Juno’s clothes, the goddess of marriage and motherhood. They covered their heads with scarlet materials, to look as pale as marble statues.

Russians also liked the scarlet color, which was symbolizing joy and beauty of the sun (hence the expression «Krásna devitsta», which means “beauty girl”), so the wedding dress did only not consist of sarafan, but also from ribbons. After the wedding ceremony the braids were unplaited and arranged around the head which meant that the girl was already married.

The wedding dress which had to be worn only for that event has been mentioned for the first time in XV century. At that time, the wedding dress was ordered along with the bride’s dowry. The corset, high waist, a triangular neckline and long sleeves were precondition for the Gothic dresses. The colors of the dress could be of different shades, preferably with a lot of dyes, (only brides from rich families could order more colors). The main difference of a gothic bride and others was not only her gorgeous wedding attire, but also a special headdress “Enen”, something like a tower of one meter height.

At the end of XV century in France began a trend to arrange «white balls» after which one-colored dresses became fashionable. In an era of Baroque style wedding dresses were designed of yellow and green colors and decorated with laces, which gave an effect of rosettes to the full-bodied brides. After that using laces became an inseparable part of wedding dresses. Already at the beginning of XVII century the colors of wedding dresses became more romantic and the bride got married in pink and coral colored dresses, decorated not only with the laces, but also with luxuriant collar of carmine roses which Russians called frill collars. By the time when fashionable Medici-collars came, wedding dresses were decorated with gold embroidery.
Gentle blue, light pink and green colored wedding dresses came into fashion in XVIII century and the shades of pearl and silver in Rococo era. The bride of the Rococo era resembled a delicate flower bed: fluffy skirt brace with special design which gave a wide form to body, almost parallel to the floor, a narrow corset was raising the bust and the whole dress was decorated with flower garlands and bows.

During neo-classical era the dresses with silk body drape came to Europe, so the brides began to look like ancient Romans. White dresses became popular under the influence of ancient Rome and Greece in the late 1790-ies. It is believed that the first white wedding dress was tailored at the French yard for the wedding of Princess Mura and the dress itself had a high waist and was gently streamed along the wonderful body. Ruches and corsets again returned to the wedding fashion only in the XIX century, at the same time appeared «a symbol of the bride», a special accessory from orange flowers which is used till our days and calls «Fleur-d’orange». By the end of the century appeared creoline wide dresses and then again came back ruches and laces from the Baroque and Rococo eras.

The wedding fashion is very democratic in the XX century. Now everything is fashionable: a dress with lush skirt, or vice versa, fitting close with silhouette, avant-garde or classical style, dresses of different colors and shades. Out of all this different options we can mark out several of them.

* Now dresses with long trains are very fashionable. The bride looks very impressive and gorgeous in that type of dress. But it will be right to mention that it is not practical. The train will not be as white as it was after a short walk, it also will confuse the bride’s movements and she will not be free to dance. So it would be better to think twice before choosing it.
* Classic wedding dresses are always in the center of attention. Many brides choose this type dress. White color is symbolizing the innocence and solemnity. Also white color does not accentuate the flaws of the figure. So it will fit to different type of bodies.
* Another wedding trend are dresses with layered skirts from different fabrics and textures. They combine many different materials: satin, silk, taffeta and organza. This dress looks very solemn and impressive.
* Dresses of different colors, decorated with different embroidery, paste and beads.

Here we presented the main wedding fashion trends. But remember, the most important thing is that choosing the wedding dress your decision has to be heartfelt and only after that you have to follow the trends of fashion.