The History of the White Wedding Dress

As a youngster - or perhaps even as an adult - have you ever sat dreamily imagining yourself in a fairytale wedding dress, about to marry your very own Prince Charming? And, what colour is the wedding dress? The chances are it's a white one. Millions of girls and women that dream of the perfect marriage have a vision of the perfect white wedding dress in their minds. But why white? Where did this tradition come from?

Women Haven't Always Been Marrying in White

In fact, in the grand scheme of things, the tradition isn't even all that old. The white wedding dress of today is deep-seated tradition, and for many is worn to signify virtue as well as uphold tradition. Millions - in fact billions - of women all over the world start thinking about the perfect white wedding gown before they have even found the perfect partner.

Britain is a place that is rife with traditions and legends, so it is little wonder that the tradition of the white wedding dress was started by the English Monarchy. It was the wedding of Queen Victoria that spawned the interest and popularity of white wedding dresses as we know them today.

Queen Victoria married Albert of Saxe in 1840, and wore what would then have been considered a flamboyant white gown. Of course, this did not start the tradition immediately; however, many women saw this as a statement of class and style, and copied the Queen by also getting married in white.

The white wedding dress in those days had nothing to do with being virtuous - it was all about wealth. Getting married in a white, extravagant gown was a sign that you could afford to buy a dress that you would never be able to wear again because of its style and colour (whites were not easy to clean in those days as they are today!).

Of course, women still continued to be married in various colours and styles of dress - it was only the vain and the wealthy that insisted on white to follow in the footsteps of the wealthy Monarch. However, during Edwardian times, the white wedding dress once more soared to new heights of popularity, as Coco Chanel unveiled its new knee-length white wedding dress, complete with extravagant train.

Even so, with the depression that followed World War I and the approach of World War II, many women continued to make do with whatever type of dress they could afford, and this went on for decades. Some women would marry in a short white informal wedding dress, which could then be dyed and used as an everyday dress. Again, it was only the fabulously wealthy that could really afford to splurge on an elaborate gown.

However, from the 1950s onwards, as the world watched Hollywood stars, royalty and members of high society get wed in stunning white gowns, the tradition of white became signed and sealed.