Gallery Title
Gallery Title
wedding dress
Accession Number NWHCM : 1961.105.1
Description
Wedding dress in white satin and brocaded satin, tightly fitted cuirass bodice with high slightly v shaped neck, front fastening buttoned, false collar and lapels trimmed with machine lace and edged with piping, cuffs and standing collar of pleated lace and organdie, sleeves also trimmed with pleated satin and buttons, skirt attached at back only, straight front tieing back with interior tapes, long train, front drapes continue behind to form bustle, fan tail train falling from bustle, hem decorated with rows of pleated satin, lace and organdie, train stiffened with deep organdie frill edged with two pleated frills and lace, worn at a wedding in Shanghai on 11th September 1880
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White wedding dresses surged in popularity following the wedding of Queen Victoria in 1840. Victoria's choice of wedding attire was unusual for the time, as before this wedding dresses were often repurposed. This was due both to the high cost of such garments but also fashions at the time. Prior to this, wedding dresses were often bright colours, often light blues, as a wedding provided the opportunity for commoners to splurge on expensive dyes. White clothing was usually favoured by the wealthy as working people would not want to risk staining their best clothing. However, Victoria stunned the nation when she chose to dress not as royalty but as a bride, avoiding the social complications of a foreign man marrying the monarch.
The Royal couple proved to be very popular, with pure white wedding dresses worn for a single occasion becoming increasingly popular. By the time this dress was worn in Shanghai on 11th September 1888, nearly fifty years after that event, Queen Victoria's influence was clear throughout the world.