The Color Question: White vs. Ivory

Many of the girls who have come into the store recently have asked about the color they should choose for their wedding dress. Traditionalists request strictly white, while others want to experiment with color.

It made me wonder about how the idea for the "white wedding dress" started in the first place. Historians point to the marriage of Queen Victoria to her cousin Albert of Saxe-Coburg in 1840 as the wedding that set wheels in motion for the tradition marrying in white. Many of the wealthy women in England began to request white to reflect their affluence. 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 color (whites were not easy to clean in those days as they are today!). It was written in Godey’s Lady’s Book, 1849, that “custom has decided, from the earliest ages, that white is the most fitting hue, whatever may be the material. It is an emblem of the purity and innocence of girlhood, and the unsullied heart she now yields to the chosen one," even though the tradition had only started about 10 years prior and the idea of white reflecting virtue was not widely adopted.

Coco Chanel brought the white wedding dress into the 20th century with a new knee-length white wedding dress, complete with extravagant train. During World War I and 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 simple white dresses, which could then be dyed and used as an everyday dress. From the 1950s onwards, as the world watched Hollywood stars, royalty and members of high society get wed in stunning white and ivory gowns, the tradition seemed to be set in stone.However, recently designers have been putting wedding dresses in surprising hues on the runway. Modern brides are choosing the color of their dress based on what looks best against their skin tone, or a color that best reflects their personal style. Personally, I love the way an ivory dress looks on most girls, especially in pictures when the tone looks a bit lighter. But the color debate will surely continue on for years to come!