Many brides take inspiration with their weddings, especially their dresses, from the past. Looking at photos from the past and seeing how dresses have changed can help brides find the perfect dress for her wedding. We have looked at wedding dresses from the 1850s up to the 1960s. Our series on wedding dresses will finish up with the 1970s into today.
In the 1930s, wedding dresses could be anything because the Great Depression did not give brides the option of buying the latest wedding trends. This idea took off in the 1970s and is still present today. Brides in the 70s wore whatever the dress they wanted, regardless of trends or what was popular in the past decade. Some stuck with the short dresses from the 60s. Other embraced hippie culutre with a loose fitting sheath and flowers in the hair. Some brides took the working woman pantsuit to their wedding. Others wanted the dresses of the 1850s and chose a princess gown.
The differences in outfits show that brides ignored what society thought and did whatever made them feel beautiful. This is different from women in the 30s who wore whatever they wanted out of necessity. The grooms, however, stuck to one trend of the era and jazzed things up with colored tuxedos.
The 1980s dress trend changed because of one person – Princess Diana. Her dress was the epitome of a princess dress. Her train was nine yard long, stretching through the church beautifully. After Diana, every bride in the 1980s wanted the same marshmallow princess gown for their wedding.
Every bride strived for a perfect and dreamy wedding in the 80s. Veils were long, trains were even longer, lace and frills were everywhere, and oversized bouquets were favorite. The 80s also presented the invetion of the wedding video, the beginning of extremely high wedding costs and a profitable wedding business.
The 1990s are when the wedding obsession began to start. Many popular movies centered around weddings came out, causing every bride to work for the dream wedding that costs thousands of dollars. No expense was spared for the bride’s dress. While many 90s brides stuck with the princess dress, Carolyn Kennedy introduced a return to simpler dresses by wearing a sheath wedding gown. Near the end of the decade, brides began to opt for a simpler style.
The 2000s saw the introduction and huge popularity of the sleeveless wedding gown that is still seen today. As we entered the 2010s era we are in today, brides began to choose form fitting and hip hugging gowns. This is why mermaid gowns are such a popular option today. Brides today are also taking more and more inspiration from previous decades. When you go to a wedding, you could see a 2000s sleeveless, a 1990s sheath dress, a 1980s princess gown, a 1970s hippie dress, a 1960s mini dress, a 1950s tea length gown, a 1940s themed bombshell or suit dress, a 1930s long gown, a 1920s ankle showing or flapper girl outfit with a headpiece to match, a 1910s long sleeved and flowing gown, or a 1900s high necked historic gown. Today, brides only search for the dress that is perfect for them and their wedding.
Photo Credit: Babble, Google Images
