Vintage Style Wedding Dresses

It was the 'big day' for Maria. It was a day which every girl dreams through her entire childhood, adolescence and adulthood, and so had Maria. As she sat at the dressing table, staring at herself in the mirror, she cast a thought at her past life. She realized that nothing in her life was regrettable. However, she did miss one thing, rather one person, terribly on this important day; that person was her mother. Her mother had passed away a year back. Maria wanted her mom to stay by her side on this occasion but she knew it was not possible. So, to feel her presence, Maria was wearing the same wedding dress that her mother had worn 55 years ago when she married Maria's father. Wearing this vintage style dress was the only way she could feel her mom close to her; and it did make her look like her mom.

With the 1960s and 1970s styles zooming back into fashion, there is no exception for wedding dresses. Let us have a look at the century's changing wedding dress trends and try to understand the factors that inspired them.

The Early 20th Century Wedding Dresses
The 1900 wedding dresses were of the Edwardian and Titanic style. This style reflected an elegant wedding gown pattern with a long train at the back and a ground-touching veil to go along. The silhouette was that of a ball gown or an A-line/princess. In both the silhouettes, the pattern below the waistline was a full skirt. The only difference being that the ball (Cinderella) gown skirt was a little more flared and flowing than the princess pattern skirt. The train was usually carried by one or two bridesmaid, when the bride would walk down the aisle. 1910 onwards the silhouette got sleeker (not body-fitting) and the waistline rose higher. The sleek silhouettes are known as Empire. By the start of 1920, the flapper wedding dresses were in fashion. These dresses were loose throughout, some even up to knee-length. During the 1930s, the dresses became slender with collars and loose-fitting bodice, concentrating more on the length. Instead of tiaras and veils, women wore beautiful hats.

The Mid 20th Century Wedding Dresses
The 1940s fashion trend experienced some major changes. Every aspect of life was affected during war, so were the wedding attires. Since soldiers had to go on war, the whole marriage affair was fast and simple. The bridal gowns were sober, without any display of grandeur. With the end of war, the weddings during 1950s were celebrated with more enthusiasm. The dresses became more fancy but without leaving their modesty. Most of the dresses had long sleeves and a high neckline, while some that were strapless had short jackets called bolero jackets to complement the decent look. During the 1960s, women became a little open-minded which consequently reflected in their preferences for wedding dresses. It gave rise to shorter wedding dresses which were above knee-length, some dresses allowed the brides to reveal their slender shoulders. However, pillbox hats and gloves were totally in fashion and could not be left out, no matter what the style of the dress was.

The Late 20th Century Wedding Dresses
During the 1970s, the designs and patterns went through a roller-coaster ride with flowing patterns, Victorian style neckline and Camelot sleeves. During the mid 1970s a raised waist with balloon sleeves and ruffled Victorian neckline were in fashion. The disco craze during the 1970s also influenced the wedding dress patterns to some extent. Bat-wing sleeves along with long trains were also a famous trend. During the 1980s Princess Diana's marriage to Prince Charles once again brought forth the elegance factor that had somewhat vanished from the wedding dress patterns during the past few decades. Square and V-necked dresses surfaced during this time and the dresses were embroidered with sequins and beads. The fashion of 1980s was carried forward in the 1990s with slight changes. The waistline moved higher, somewhere at or above the hips. Puffy sleeves and bows that were common in those times have eventually disappeared in the current.

Nowadays, people plan their weddings according to various wedding themes and the wedding dresses are custom-designed as per the theme as well as the bride's wish. The latest wedding fashion pose a mix of many of the vintage styles, thus generating its newer and modern versions. Hereafter also, the vintage trends will be an inspiration for the modern world. After all, 'Old is Gold' was definitely said by some smart 'foresighter'.