About Wedding Traditions & Meanings

Showing posts with label black wedding dresses. Show all posts
Showing posts with label black wedding dresses. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 20, 2023

History of black wedding dresses

While most of us in the West tend to think of the black wedding dress as something new, a gothic fashion statement, or a way to buck tradition, the black wedding dress has a rich cultural history. Its origins can be traced back 3,000 years ago to the Zhou Dynasty in China. In the West, black lace wedding dresses were traditional for Roman Catholic brides in Spain and many brides in the West wore black because it was a color that didn’t show stains and the dress could be worn following the wedding as their good dress. 

Bridal dresses

Black wedding dress in Chinese history

During the Zhou dynasty(1046BC——256BC), wedding dresses worn by Chinese brides were modest, solemn, black, and worn over light red underwear. The bride’s hair was worn up and held in place with a band and hairpin.

Black wedding dress

 

Today in China, wedding dresses differ by region. Northern Chinese traditional brides most often wear a dress that is mostly red and decorated with elaborate gold and silver designs. In Southern China, traditional brides prefer a two-piece red dress ornately decorated with a gold dragon and phoenix. Modern couples have stepped away from these traditional dresses to a more simplified wedding dress.

Spanish brides wore black

In Spain, Roman Catholic brides wore black, historically, too. The custom outfitted the bride in a black lace gown, with a black lace veil (mantilla) draped over her head and shoulders. This veil symbolized her vow to love her husband until death. 

Black wedding dress with large bustle

 

History of the black wedding dress in the West

White wedding gowns became popular in the Victorian era, following Queen Victoria’s wedding. Before the white dress, most brides in Western Europe wore a variety of colors, but black wedding dresses were a popular choice. Not because it was the most fashionable, but because they were most practical. Wedding dresses were expensive and most women couldn’t afford a special dress to where one time. Instead, they selected a black dress because the dark color didn’t show stains, and the dress could be worn following the wedding.

Women's Lace Mermaid Wedding Dress

 Available on Amazon

 

Today, some brides who choose to wear black think they are bucking tradition, and while they are, they are also returning to tradition. As the saying goes, there’s nothing new under the sun.

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Photo credits: Photo by Murat IŞIK Photo by Bormann Chen