There is an awful lot of work going into some of the wedding dresses around today. In the 70’s – following Princess Anne’s lead, many dresses had fairly simple lines [mine included] I am rather glad Kate Middleton opted for ‘cleaner’ lines a couple of years ago. But Princess Diana came along in 1981 with her frothy silk meringue and since then we have had this sort of thing - every bride has her own dream dress, many choose frills and froth and pleating and ruching.
I was very impressed this week, when I did an afternoon’s supply at a local Junior School to see on display a dress made by some pupils.
The information alongside explained that the children had been working with Ruth Singer, who is a talented textile artist working in Leicester. She did this project with them at Snibston, a local museum [whose funding is under threat, sadly] teaching them to manipulate fabrics to achieve these effects.
I hope these young people go on to experiment some more with fabric and achieve even more stunning results!
Sometimes it is wise not to follow fashion too slavishly, as I discovered when sorting out my own wedding dress. I did try on a dress which had a full, frothy skirt – but being only 4’11” tall, I ended up looking like one of those covers for the spare toilet roll! And those little ‘Juliet caps’ also popular in the 70’s, made me look like the Pope.
What was your wedding dress like?
Interesting post. My dress was very plain with a roll collar, long sleeves and a circular skirt all made in chiffon so it fell close to the body rather than sticking out. All was lined except for the sleeves and I wore a big white hat not a veil. I kept it for years and only got rid of it a few years ago!
ReplyDeleteI think some brides definitely suit hats rather than veils. My dress had long sleeves too.
DeleteWhen I got married (for the first time) in 1972 I wore a trouser suit made of white crepe fabric with a peplum jacket that had dozens of tiny fabric coloured buttons down the front. Oh and the obligatory platform soled sandals! It was a bit radical but lovely.
ReplyDeleteThe interesting thing is that it had a high neck and long sleeves so every bit of me was covered up. It makes me cringe when I see brides wearing those strapless tops and constantly hoisting them up to keep themselves in!
Yes, I too feel anxious about some of those boned, strapless tops - the possibilities for 'wardrobe malfunctions' are verygreat.
DeleteThat's what I thought until I wore my wedding dress. I always swore I wouldn't wear a staples dress but I fell in love with mine! Although, i'd never have word it without the matching shrug! There was no way mine would have slipped down- it fitted perfectly!
DeleteA lady at church made mine. Not a meringue. Clean straight lines with a lace bodice and full sleeves. You don't see full sleeves so much now.
ReplyDeleteMine was made by a lady from the church too - and had full sleeves [but no lace]
DeleteMine was cream lace, off the shoulder with a full skirt and no train. I had a full length veil attached to a Juliet cap, and a bouquet like the Princess of Wales. I had a lot of trouble finding a dress that wasn't white. I really didn't want white as it made me look washed out, but the staff in one shop were obnoxious, made rude remarks, and looked rather closely at my stomach.Needless to say we left very quickly. K was born 4 years after we were married so they were definitely barking up the wrong tree! K almost had a very frilly dress and was so set on it that she was going to cancel her appointment at the final shop. She was glad she didn't as she found the dress of her dreams, half price in the sale ( that's my girl!). It was the very first one she had ' pinned' when she started looking at wedding dresses, and was by her favourite designer! It really felt like it was meant to be.
ReplyDeleteSome of these staff are a little less than tactful, aren't they. Although my dress was made by a friend, I visited a few shops to get an idea of what style I wanted [this was pre-internet days!] It was the way they promptly got out the stool for me to stand on, because I was a 'shorter bride' as if this was a major defect on my part.
DeleteGlad K followed her Mum's thrifty example.
What a shame about Snibston. For many years we took a group of 70-80 kids from school for a day at Snibston and I enjoyed every one of them.
ReplyDeleteI made my own wedding dress which had a high neck and long sleeves. The bridesmaids' dresses were made from my pattern too. I had a short veil and it was a windy day so my veil went soaring over the little graveyard next to the church and somebody had to go running after it to bring it back to me : ) If you look at the photos carefully, you can see that the veil is firmly anchored between my shoulders and those of my husband after that.
DH wouldn't let me get married in jeans. I got a dressmaker to make a sort of 'weddingy' calf length skirt with jacket from a roll end of material I got from the market. In 1990 the dresses for me and the bridesmaid cost less than £100 - but jeans would have been cheaper still! WS xxx
ReplyDeleteI thought I wanted poof but when I tried on dresses, the poofy frocks looked a bit ridiculous on me. I went with sleek and high necked! Pearls. I did have a poofy veil.
ReplyDeleteI do wonder if styles differ from Britain to the U.S. In recent years, as I've watched my students marry, all the girls seem to have these straight sheath dresses, and ALL of them are bare shoulders. I don't really like this -- I mean, I'm not opposed to it some of the time, if the style really fits the girl. But so many of the girls, especially the heavier ones, truly should not wear this style. I think they'll regret it later, in their photos! Ah well. We each have our own preferences, don't we?
ReplyDeleteMy wedding dress...long sleeves,high neck.I didn't really want a wedding dress, I thought they were a waste of money,Chris was actually worried I'd turn up in a trouser suit.We did save on Chris' outfit as he wore his uniform.
ReplyDeleteJane x
I made my own - a simple high waisted long dress with a net veil. It was nothing fancy or frothy.
ReplyDeleteLove from Mum
xx
In 1996 I wore a meringue! It even had a net skirt to make it bigger. I was a bride of the times...Lesley x
ReplyDeleteMine was dark blue (my groom had a cream tux) - made to my designs by my dress maker mother in law! I've worn it since as a ball gown.
ReplyDeleteI made my daughter's wedding dress...using 3 different patterns, and it looked lovely. Very plain and simple, V neck, tiny sleeves and a swirly skirt. I do not like bare tops at a wedding, but I'm old fashioned!
ReplyDeleteAs we have been married as long as Jane and Chris (same year) mine was also the same, long sleeves and high neck; and mine also had a long cape/train as well.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun post and an impressive project for those students to have produced.
ReplyDeleteI made my wedding dress from a Vogue pattern (I believe the pattern cost $10, which was a hefty investment for me in those days). The dress was cut similarly to Diana's - fitted bodice, full (but not puffy) skirt - and trimmed with a narrower (2") lace ruffle at the neck, at the bottom of the elbow-length balloon sleeves, and at the hem. It could be worn off the shoulder or on. It was white lace over white sateen, and the lace ruffles were edged with very narrow pale lavender ribbon. My shoes were high-heeled lavender Mary Janes - very daring back in the mid-80s when most brides wore white shoes! No veil for me - I wore a wreath of rosebuds trimmed with hanging ribbons.
I too am not fond of the continuing trend for strapless dresses - they make me think of someone who just stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around themselves. :)
I got married in 1985 - my dress had been worn by another bride in 1935! Don't like the trend for strapless dresses at all.
ReplyDeleteLesley in Livingston
We married in 1974-my dress was white lace-long sleeved with a fitted bodice and full skirt and train. I had a juliet cap with a long veil to match the train. It was very heavy and gave me a horrendous headache! My husband wore a white tux jacket trimmed in black velvet and huge lapels. Very 70's. We'll celebrate our 40th anniversary this summer!
ReplyDeleteI wore a cream wool suit. My husband wore a very smart charcoal-coloured suit with a navy blue tie. Both my daughters wore strapless gowns for their weddings!
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