For many, the marriage dress is the most costly item of clothing they are going to ever own and it has significant emotional and social value.
The current case by a Queensland woman who allegedly conned brides out of their wedding dresses under the guise of dry cleansing has undoubtedly caused trouble for his or her owners, and considering the common price of a marriage dress today (A$2,385) 70 cases of wedding dress theft could possibly be lucrative.
The average cost of an Australian wedding is A$36,000. Although many Australians forego a religious ceremonyDeclaring love in front of family and friends stays a very important social ritual – and the dress is commonly an important aspect.
A brief story
The modern history of the marriage dress in Australia is closely linked to Queen Victoria. Her 1840 dress became the “quintessential wedding dress.”
Victoria's white dress featured an eight-panel bodice with a large, open neckline, short, off-the-shoulder puff sleeves and a pointed waist. The neckline and sleeves were trimmed with lace and the floor-length skirt was wide and had front-facing pleats.
Wikimedia Commons
Before Victoria, wearing white was an indication that the bride was poor and and not using a dowry. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, brides often wore pale green clothing that symbolized fertility.
From the nineteenth century onwards, white wedding dresses were worn by wealthy and royal brides, but for royal brides the dresses were often completely covered in silver and gold threads. Victoria rejected the embellishment and didn’t wear the red ermine State robeShe desired to be seen as a wife quite than a queen.
Most nineteenth century brides had a dress they may wear wear again and popular colours were reddish brown, brown, gray or purple.
State Library Victoria
As white robes became more popular, they were increasingly seen as symbols Purity and innocence due to the religious association of those colours.
The association of white with innocence in the favored imagination influenced the marriage dress decisions of ladies who weren’t marrying for the primary time. Widow remarriage within the Victorian era didn’t wear white and didn’t wear a veil. You could wear pearl or lavender dresses trimmed with ostrich feathers.
State Library of South Australia
As the twentieth century progressed, white wedding dresses became increasingly popular. Brides not wore their “Sunday dress” and the tradition of buying a singular wedding dress became established. At the turn of the twenty first century he was a historian Christyana Bambacas noted that wedding planning was reserved for the bride and the white dress had turn into the central artifact, positioning “the bride as the star of this public ritual.”
Australian brides often have a really emotional attachment to their wedding dresses. Research In discussions on online wedding forums, brides-to-be got here across phrases like “my love for my dress grew” and “in love with her dresses.” The dress represents the bride's idealized self – even when the event is temporary.
AP Photo/Adrian Dennis, POOL
The tradition of keeping the dress a closely guarded secret dates back to arranged marriages within the 18th century, when this was probably the case “Bad luck” for the groom to see the brides, so he doesn't back out of the marriage. The anticipation of the revealing of Kate Middleton's wedding dresswhere even the names of the designers were kept secret, reflects this ritual.
Something old
Unlike couture or historical garments, wedding dresses are familiar. They are a part of the human experience and yet unique to every bride.
Wear yours mother's or grandmother's wedding dress is gaining popularity. Princess Beatrice married within the Sixties in a dress designed by Norman Hartnell for her grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.
With just just a few adjustments, brides can provide vintage dresses a contemporary look.
Benjamin Wheeler/Royal Communications by Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi via AP
Two thirds of Australian brides keep her dressMany hope that daughters or granddaughters will wear it. This suggests that weddings remain a very important cultural ritual, regardless that an increasing number of individuals are selecting to not marry.
Some women keep her dress to be buried in it. Others donate their wedding dresses to have them made Angel dresses to bury stillborn babies, the dress takes on recent meaning for grieving families.
The end of the large wedding
The Average age of first marriage In Australia, life expectancy has increased from 23 years for men and 20 years for girls in 1970 to about 30 years today.
The current cost of living and housing crisis has resulted in couples cutting back on their wedding expenses, which is especially impacting them Wedding dress company at the luxurious end of the market.
Despite rising divorce rates and a generational shift in attitudes toward marriage (43% of 18 to 39 yr olds I imagine it’s an outdated institution.) Marriage is taken into account one unique life event.
State Library of South Australia
The wedding dress is a delight social norms and emotions where the bride often balances tradition with individuality.
While movies, fashion, bridal magazines and celebrity weddings proceed to perpetuate the fantasy and emotions embedded in the marriage dress, the dress continues to be a poignant a part of our social lives.
Of all of the clothing we own, the marriage dress is probably the most precious, whether as a reminder of what it symbolized, of 1's goals, or as a family heirloom – which makes its loss all of the more saddening.
image credit : theconversation.com