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Russia, as you know, has a habit of going its own way in many matters. Wedding fashion was no exception. The retrospective will be incomplete without a look at the history of the wedding dress in Russia.

Wedding dresses in Ancient Rus' were very colorful. The main wedding color was red. White color in Rus' was considered the color of holiness and was not used as a festive color. In many regions, the bride had two wedding dresses: before the wedding and after. The first one was simple, modest and sad (in some places even the bride wore all black and was covered with a black veil). The second one was necessarily red and symbolized joy.

The basis wedding suit consisted of a shirt and a sundress. However, both everyday and festive costumes consisted of these same details. But the difference between the wedding was primarily in the decoration.

The undershirt was decorated with rich embroidery - ornaments depicting leaves, berries, roosters and other birds. Birds were generally a favorite motif for embroidery in Ancient Rus' - since the bird was considered a symbol of goodness.

In many Russian provinces, shirts had sleeves up to two meters long and with holes for the arms. This is due to the belief that existed at that time that the bride and groom should not touch each other with their bare hands. An elegant sundress was worn over the shirt. For a long time There was a tradition: the bride had to sew her own sundress, decorating it with embroidery and beads. Later this ceased to be the responsibility of the bride. But the tradition of richly decorating the main detail of a wedding dress remains. The sundress, made of red silk, semi-brocade or brocade, was trimmed with gold and silver embroidery, beads, and braid. A dushegreya (something like a jacket), also lavishly decorated, could also be worn over the sundress.

Wedding headdresses of Russian brides originated from flower wreaths (ancient decoration) and in the 11th-14th centuries they were a strip of fabric or a metal hoop that covered the forehead and was fastened at the back of the head. The hair was left loose or braided into two braids. Later, kokoshniks appeared in wedding dresses.

In the northern regions of Russia, a crown studded with round “cones” made of gold threads was placed on the bride’s head. They wanted the newlywed to have as many children as there were bumps on the crown.

Until the 16th century, neck hryvnias were used as an accessory - hoops made of gold, silver, bronze or iron, worn around the neck. Later, brides began to wear pendants attached to the headdress, monistas, necklaces made of pearls and turquoise (turquoise was also often inserted into wedding rings– this stone was considered a symbol of marital fidelity).

If the bride came from a princely family, she had to wear a cloak-mantle made of heavy brocade with gold embroidery.

In the 15th century, noble brides walked to the altar in brocade dresses, embroidered with pearls and trimmed with fur. Such an outfit could weigh up to 15 kilograms!

IN XVI-XVII centuries the tradition of getting married in sundresses, dresses and kokoshniks was preserved, and the color could no longer be only red.

And in early XVII I century Peter the Great ordered all of Russia to follow European fashion. Traditional Russian wedding attire existed in villages until the 19th century, and in some places even until the 1917 revolution.

Actually, since the 18th century, Russian wedding fashion has practically kept pace with European ones. Russian empresses were married in Rococo style dresses (some of them can be seen in the exhibitions of the Armory Chamber and other museums).

The “Empire” style did not bypass Russia either. Ballroom and wedding dresses were made in this style before the War of 1812 (Natasha Rostova’s dress is a typical example). IN mid-19th century in St. Petersburg and Moscow French wedding dresses- with a huge amount of lace, on crinolines, with corsets embroidered with pearls, gold and silver.

Rich families even bought two outfits for the bride: one for the wedding ceremony - more formal, with a closed neck and arms, and the second - with a deep neckline and bare shoulders- for a social celebration.

Dresses of Russian brides of the early twentieth century

“Moving in step” with all of Europe stopped after the 1917 revolution. Church weddings were cancelled, registry offices appeared, and wedding fashion was forgotten for several decades. The newlyweds came to register their relationship in the registry office in casual clothes. Only during the time of the New Economic Policy (1921-1928) did some semblance of a wedding dress appear. The St. Petersburg Wedding Museum preserved a dress from 1927: simple, straight cut, with a small collar and short sleeves, knee length. Only from the wedding in it White color. In the clothes of that time, practicality and “reusability” were valued, and to think about spending a lot of money and meters of textiles on a dress that you would wear only once in your life... In the 30s, 40s and 50s, such a concept, How Wedding Dress, was basically absent. Some fashionistas sewed their own outfits from light fabric, and more often brides went to the registry office in purchased or sewn dresses from multi-colored or plain materials. (“Yes, I didn’t even have a special dress when we got married!” - this is what my grandmother, who married my grandfather in 1954, said. - N.B.). Something similar to wedding fashion appeared only in the 60s. Because of " iron curtain“, the fashion for “mini” was leaking from the West. And there was a revolution in the textile industry - synthetics were invented. The most fashionable fabric in the USSR in the 60s was a fabric called “Cosmos” - dense, inflexible, “like a waffle,” as an employee of the Wedding Museum said. Valentina Tereshkova got married in a dress made of this newfangled fabric - short, with a flared skirt and a bow under the bust.

Soviet brides, like European ones, wore hats with a veil or veil in the 60s. In wedding photographs of the 70s you can see quite simply dressed brides: either in non-wedding, ordinary dresses, or in wedding dresses - white, straight cut, with unpretentious, monochromatic trim with inexpensive lace or ruffles, modest wreaths and a single-layer veil.

And in this photo are my dad and mom in 1975! (N.B.)

(One of the brides of the 70s told how she tried to sew a lush wedding dress with a lot of decorations in the atelier and was not allowed to do it. The atelier’s cutter even reprimanded the girl: “You’re not a Christmas tree to be decorated! You have to be modest!” ). Many still remember how, during the period of total shortage, after submitting an application to the registry office, brides were given coupons with which they could purchase a dress and shoes.

The 80s and post-perestroika period are the times when foreign wedding dresses first appeared in the USSR. More often, of course, these were Syrian or Turkish white synthetic masterpieces a la “woman on a samovar” or “cream cake,” but even this seemed something luxurious after the Soviet “starvation ration” in the field of wedding fashion. After the collapse of the USSR, a flood of imported goods poured into the country and, of course, wedding dresses were among them. Foreign fashion magazines and catalogs appeared, private ateliers began to sew custom-made dresses for richer clients. Gradually, Russian brides acquired the same opportunities as European ones. And today any girl can choose the dress of her dreams, both foreign and domestic - by the way, Russian fashion designers Today they offer models no worse than Western ones (or even better!).

Any style: modern or “vintage”, baroque or empire, any color (the bride today can be seen in red, gold, green or blue, peach or purple). And one of the residents of the city of Vyatka (Kirov) recently became the reason for a television story by wearing the outfit of an 18th-century Russian bride for her wedding - everything according to the rules: a sundress and a kokoshnik... For today's bride, nothing is impossible!

Concluding this historical excursion, I would like to say that in the future something new will certainly appear in wedding fashion. But we can say for sure: brides will always dream of the most beautiful wedding dress and feel the desire to be the “queen of the day” when they get married. That's how we're all made!

Natalya Burtovaya

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This unusual outfit is fraught with the history of centuries, folk traditions and the age-old foundations of society. Therefore, to this day, a wedding dress remains magically attractive and captivates with its appearance, color and style.

Changes, history is updated, time is running, the earth turns, but the wedding dress remains popular and the most beautiful outfit women. This unusual outfit conceals the history of centuries, folk traditions and age-old foundations of society. Therefore, to this day, a wedding dress remains magically attractive and captivates with its appearance, color and style. But many don't know that the bride's outfit went long haul before it appeared in the 21st century as it is. From the "world's finest" our women also received an "inheritance" perfect image brides

The history of the wedding dress begins, on the one hand, a very long time ago, and on the other hand, the dress that we are accustomed to consider as a wedding dress appeared quite recently. Until a certain time, the concept of a wedding or wedding dress did not exist as such - girls got married in the most best clothes, which could show and emphasize the antiquity and nobility of their family. The patroness of brides was the goddess Aphrodite: in honor of her, brides wore a golden cape and decorated their heads with wreaths of flowers.

In Ancient Rome, the bride dressed strictly, in accordance with the image of Juno. The bride wore a scarlet veil on her head, symbolizing the passion, love and innocence of the bride.

IN Ancient Greece brides were dressed beautifully and elegantly, wrapping their figure in peplos - a long piece of fabric. To make the bride stand out from those around her, the dress was decorated with two clasps. And the richer the bride’s family, the more exquisite and precious the clasps were. The head of the girl getting married was covered yellow cloth, symbolizing sunny joy, happiness and purity.

Ancient Roman women wore more formal clothes that draped the body and fell in even folds, like the curves of the clothes of Juno, the goddess of marriage and motherhood. The head of the Roman woman was covered with scarlet cloth so that against her background they would look languidly pale like marble statues.

In Russia, the situation was somewhat different: the outfits of brides since the times of Ancient Rus' were distinguished by incredible conservatism. For many centuries, girls got married in traditional attire: a long white shirt with wide sleeves, topped with a sundress decorated with braid, and a warmer. In Rus', they loved the color red, which symbolized joy, sun and beauty (hence the expression “red maiden”), so the wedding outfit consisted not only of a scarlet sundress, but also ribbons woven into the hair. After the wedding girlish braids they were unraveled and placed around the head (“twirled”), which showed others that in front of them was a married maiden. Aristocratic brides wore a cloak-mantle over such a robe - usually brocade and with gold embroidery. The beauty's head was decorated with a crown-hoop with melodiously ringing pendants.

Starting from the 18th century, Russian beauties, by decree of Peter I, began to follow European fashion and changed sundresses to fashionable dresses. Nevertheless, commoners have been getting married in sundresses and shirts for at least a century.

The first mention of a wedding suit, which should be worn only for this event, dates back to the 15th century. At this time, the wedding dress was ordered along with the bride's dowry and made the bride "slightly pregnant." Pregnancy was in fashion, so every medieval fashionista had a small false belly in her wardrobe. It was also worn to a wedding.

The Gothic wedding dress required a corset, high waist, V-neck and long sleeves. At the same time, the color scheme of the dress could be absolutely any, and most often the dress was as colorful as possible (the more dyes the bride could afford, the richer her family was).

In the 15th century, “Gothic” brides made it a rule to wear a new dress to their wedding, something that had never been seen before, and, of course, the beauty of this dress had to outshine everything already in the wardrobe. Perhaps, for a bride of the Middle Ages, a beautiful dress was the only joy of marriage, because marriages in those days were concluded as deals of convenience, with an indispensable wedding contract. The wedding dress was also part of the contract - it specified what fabric it should be made from (usually velvet or brocade), what it would be decorated with, and what kind of fur it would be lined with - squirrel or ermine. One of the most fashionable styles was considered high-waisted “cothardie”, long sleeves and a V-neck.

The appearance of women was also adjusted to fashion - in particular, Mongoloid faces with slanted eyes, which, according to the public, were beautiful. Eyelashes were mercilessly plucked, eyebrows were shaved, visually raising the forehead, but the use of cosmetics was strictly forbidden by the church - naturally, the girl was prepared for the wedding with special care (by shaving and plucking even more than usual, apparently). A headdress in the form of a tower - enen - was placed on the bride's head. To hold this heavy and sometimes meter-high dress, brides always looked down, lowering their heads. Henin was always decorated with a floor-length veil, usually made of natural silk. The veil had sacred meaning- she not only protected the bride from evil spirits, but also from the gaze of other men who, having seen the bride in all her beauty, might want to kidnap her. The color of the dress depended on the wishes of the groom's family, but red, scarlet or purple were considered especially popular. were ultra-fashionable boots with long toes.

At the end of the 15th century, “white balls” began to be held in France, which introduced the fashion for monochromatic outfits. The first in Europe to risk walking down the aisle in a white dress was Margarita of Valois, Queen Margot. And soon all the brides on the continent dressed in white. But only if they were getting married for the first time. During the second marriage, a woman (neither divorced nor widowed) had the right to a white robe. This fashion lasted for more than two centuries.

Also in the Baroque era, wedding dresses in yellow and green colors came into fashion, and to make the plump bride seem even more like a rose, dresses began to be decorated with lace, which after that remained in wedding fashion.

At the beginning of the 17th century, giant collars, which were so loved by the famous musketeers, came into fashion. For added pomp, at least three petticoats were placed under the bride’s dress, and the obligatory knee-length stockings with flirty ties, lush bows and other decor were also worn. In the second half of the 17th century, wedding dresses in pink and coral colors became fashionable. Widows could also get married, but the color for them was different - they were allowed to wear black dress with red decor. But he had to dominate the outfit dark color, as a memory of the first wife. The lace collar - freza - was still an important attribute of the outfit, which in Russian was called bryzhi or ploeny collar. By the time the fashion for Medici collars came, they began to decorate them with gold embroidery. By the way, in that era, a wedding dress was not at all a “dress for one day” - after the ceremony, the wife often greeted guests in her wedding dress.

In the 18th century, the fashion for wedding dresses changed again and all brides ordered exclusively dresses with a Medici collar. Dresses were richly decorated with embroidery, lace and gold. The color scheme remained varied, but the most popular were pastel shades: light pink, light green, pale blue. Although green is a very controversial color. For example, in England it was considered to attract evil gnomes and other negative fairy-tale heroes. Commoner girls had their own fashion for outfits and often got married in a gray dress. Both brown and beige outfits were popular, which were then used for Sunday trips to church.

During the Rococo era, more and more brides chose silver dresses. The skirt reached its peak of fullness thanks to the “pannier” design. At the same time, the corsets were chosen to be incredibly narrow, tightening the bride into “ wasp waist" With such a corset, the breasts practically fell out of the neckline - however, this was not considered vulgar, rather fashionable. An indispensable attribute of the dress was the train - its length determined the status of the bride. Powdered wigs and updos came into fashion.

The fashion for light, but not yet white, dresses was brought by the era of neoclassicism, when excavations of ancient statues that became trendsetters were in full swing. The fashion for draping the body with silk came to Europe, so brides began to resemble ancient Roman women.

In the late 1790s, under the influence Ancient Rome and Greece, white dresses entered wedding fashion.

The first owners of a white wedding dress, albeit with a difference of several centuries, were the famous Queen Margot, Anne of Austria, Mary Stuart and Princess Victoria of England.

It is believed that the first white wedding dress was a dress made at the French court for the wedding of Princess Murat, while the dress itself was high-waisted and flowed gently along the slender body. Ruffles and corsets returned to wedding fashion only in the 19th century, at which time the “symbol of the bride” appeared - a special headdress made of orange flowers “fleur-d’orange”.

Napoleon's relative, Princess Murat, became a beautiful bride in white and started the fashion for this color for wedding dresses.

Josephine is the beautiful lover of Emperor Napoleon. Thanks to this sophisticated aristocrat, feminine outfits have become fashionable for all times, in which every woman can feel like a real goddess. Precisely a goddess, because the Empire style is a partial return of ancient images. Where does this name come from? Why "Empire"? Because it's imperial! By the way, others important achievement That distant era should recognize the appearance in the women's wardrobe of short spencers and redingotes, the progenitors of modern women's jackets.

Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte

Empire style dresses, 19th century

High waist, low neckline and short puffed sleeves - these are typical features women's dress in empire style. This style is actually universal: it emphasizes the bust line, visually makes the waist thinner, and helps to hide minor flaws, and also creates an image of purity and innocence. Empire colors are simple and discreet, very often just white, with plain relief embroidery or symmetrical decorative trim.

By the end of the century there appeared wide dresses in creolin, at the same time the return of ruffles and lace from the Baroque and Rococo began.

In the 19th century, brides began to use “blonde” silk lace of a beautiful amber-golden color to decorate their outfits. The disadvantage of “blond” was their excessive fragility - they quickly tore, collapsed and split on sunlight. As a rule, a dress was sewn for the bride with a decor of this lace and with a veil entirely woven from “blonde”. High waist remained popular, but began to be decorated with ruffles. In the Biedermeier era (20-30s of the 19th century), a typical wedding dress consisted of a low neckline, puffed sleeves and a normal, not high, waistline. The dress had a bell shape, thanks to the “roll” sewn into the hem. Under the skirt there was certainly a crinoline hiding the full shape.

Fashion began to change more often than in previous centuries, so every decade brides changed slightly. So in the 30s, brides began to decorate their heads with a headdress made of orange flowers - fleur-d’orange. This “wreath” has been entrenched in wedding fashion for a long time, becoming a kind of symbol of the bride. The buds were artificial and made of silk, velvet and cotton wool. Fleur d'orange not only crowned the head - a brooch in the same style was on the bride's chest or waist, and the sleeves of the dress were trimmed with flower branches.

In the 50s of the 19th century, gloves and jewelry came into wedding fashion - everything except diamonds. Rhinestone and pearls became clear favorites. Skirts still remained wide, and wide pagoda sleeves also came into fashion. Brides gradually began to switch to another type of lace - Brussels lace. The French Empress Eugenie established the fashion by getting married in a dress woven entirely from this kind of lace. Closer to the 90s, narrower skirts came into fashion, but the sleeves became even wider - gigot sleeves. Duchesse satin was considered the most popular material.

At the beginning of the 20th century, with the advent of the Art Nouveau era, the incredible volume of skirts finally went out of fashion. The skirts were finished with “crepe” - wooden cones wrapped in lace. Wedding dresses have become more closed - with a stand-up collar. It must be said that the corset, although partially out of fashion, still often appeared at weddings, masking the shortcomings of the bride’s waist. The length of the dress also began to change - it barely covered her ankles.

Only after the First World War did the corset lose its relevance, as the shape of the dress also changed - a low waist came into fashion. Fleur-d'orange also fell into oblivion and was replaced wedding bouquet usually white roses or callas. It was during this period that brides began to actively use cosmetics and get married not only with a “painted” face, but also with a bright manicure. IN wedding hairstyle feathers were often inserted, which could also decorate a wedding dress. During these same years, Coco Chanel made a revolution in fashion, offering very bold wedding dresses for those times: with short skirt to the knee and a long train at the back.

In the 30s of the 20th century, brides again switched to corsets and fluffy dresses, often accompanied by short jackets. Padded hangers also appeared, which became an indispensable attribute of a fashionable bride’s outfit. During the 20th century it changed many times: in the 50s, Christian Dior introduced the fashion for bouffant skirts, in the 60s, many got married in a mini, and closer to the 80s Long Dresses with romantic ruffles and embroidery have once again won the hearts of brides.

In the wedding fashion of the 21st century, all past trends are intertwined - empire dresses, incredibly full skirts, lace trim, and corsets are popular. A modern bride can choose a dress with motifs from any era, wear a mini or even trousers - and at most she will be called an eccentric.

Despite experiments with minis, trousers and bright colors In the 20th century, modern brides often choose a classic white fluffy wedding dress, decorated with lace and ruffles.

F French bride in white 1823

Miss Stephens as Susanna 1827

Beckingham wedding of 1729

"Pamela is married" from the novel
"Pamela" by Richardson (1740)

The wedding of George Prince of Wales and Princess Caroline Amelia Elizabeth of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel on April 8, 1795

Princess Charlotte of Wales and Prince Leopold of Cobourg returning from the Altar, after the Marriage
Ceremony on May 2 1816

Wedding hairstyles

And this is a collection of dresses from the 19th century.
London and Paris Fashions 1841

A boiling white, classic wedding dress, a sea of lace, ribbons, a long veil fluttering in the wind, a modest bouquet in hands and a joyful smile - modern stereotype brides It is impossible to imagine this special day without wedding paraphernalia; it has become an entire industry. The fashion for white wedding dresses changes every year, great amount designers compete with each other in order to make the desired image of a happy beauty even more beautiful.

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Sewing a wedding dress in ancient times

In the Middle Ages, and even later, until the end of the 18th century, the wedding dress was the prerogative of the upper class. The dress itself cost so much that with this money a poor man’s family could feed their numerous offspring for several years.

A wedding dress was considered one of the main items of a bride's dowry. This work of art was sewn by skilled craftswomen for many months, first rich fabrics were selected, then hardworking seamstresses began their hard work and spent the night poring over this beauty by candlelight.

When the dress was completely sewn, the real main stage outfit decorations. Under the watchful eye of the head seamstress, the workers began embroidering with gold and precious stones.

During the period of work, the girls were locked in the workshop and the strictest records were kept of each pebble, each of them was worth huge money. Sewing a wedding dress usually took about a year of daily hard work.

It seems that at all times there was a custom to wear to a wedding White dress, white color is a symbol of innocence and purity, however, looking at the paintings of medieval masters, you can notice wedding portraits where a beautiful lady is dressed in red.

Accident, you say, a kind of sophistication and subjective vision by the artist romantic image young maiden? Oh no, the wedding dress really was red, embroidered with gold, a multi-kilogram work of art in which the bride could only sit; so many kilograms of pearls and gold threads were spent on finishing the wedding dress.
In Rus', white was considered the color of splendor and holiness; it was not for nothing that Rus' was called White, this name was completely synonymous with Holy. Therefore, it was customary to wear a white headscarf, and a wedding sundress, just like in Europe, was red.

White dress in ancient times

Let's delve into history and remember Ancient Greece with its sophistication and love of beauty. White was the color of sacrifice to the gods; a black lamb was never laid on the altar; it was white that was considered by the Hellenes a symbol of humility and worship. And we should be grateful to the ancient Greeks for the ritual of exchanging rings during marriage.

In ancient times, prisoners were led to the scaffold in white. White color did not attract women because of its simplicity; a wedding was supposed to be a grandiose spectacle with an abundance of colors and shine. However, over time, due to witch hunts and frequent executions in public squares, the color red became associated with the executioner's robe and ceased to be a wedding attribute.

By the middle of the 17th century, the white dress suddenly became mourning. In those days, dowager queens began to dress up in completely white dresses, they were even nicknamed “White Ladies.” According to the first legend, Mary Stuart wore a white wedding dress in memory of her dead husband.

All of Europe was shocked by this act, but soon, more and more noble ladies began to walk down the aisle in white robes.

In those days, the color black also came into fashion, and in many portraits you can see brides in luxurious black robes embroidered with gold. Black and white became the main colors of the wedding celebration.

Venetian ladies of the upper class, almost until the 17th century, considered black the most sophisticated color and preferred to go to the altar in black outfits; it became mourning in late XVIII centuries and this custom has remained throughout Europe to this day.

Multicolored wedding dresses

Previously, fabrics were made in one color, then there was no technology for multi-color painting and therefore all the patterns on the dress were applied by hand, and only the second half of the 18th century gave the world a joyful multi-color. Ladies were crazy about innovations and increasingly preferred fabrics with printed patterns, ignoring the outdated fashion for heavy embroidered outfits.

The wedding dress became more democratic and girls from different classes could afford to get married in a festive dress.

The 19th century came and completely changed all the traditions of antiquity. A fashion arose for the first appearance of young beauties, in whose honor a grand ball was held. This was the most significant event in life, they prepared very seriously for this holiday, in most cases, at the first ball, young beauties found spouses. A special white dress was sewn for the ball, quite simple cut, as if with a hint that youth and beauty do not need unnecessary decorations. White became a symbol of purity and innocence, and already at the end of the century the wedding dress became white.

All last century the classic color of the wedding dress did not change, however, sometimes some extravagant ladies amazed and shocked the public with unimaginable bright wedding dresses, but this did not become a trend.

The 21st century has made its own adjustments and increasingly fashion shows wedding dresses the color of champagne or ripe peach flashed. Fashion designers are increasingly experimenting with the image of the bride and making it more original, but white has still been and remains a favorite classic, preferred by millions of happy girls standing on the threshold of a new life.

History of the dress

The most beautiful, the most elegant, the most memorable... Centuries replace each other, the next bride still carefully prepares her outfits, and the rest are eagerly interested in what, what will she wear on that day?

It is almost impossible to briefly outline the history of the wedding dress. It's like summarizing the entire history of costume, the entire history of fashion. After all, what we are accustomed to consider today as an established, and sometimes even boring option due to its familiarity - a white dress of varying degrees of splendor - appeared not so long ago, not even two hundred years have passed. And before that... Oh, what brides didn’t wear on their big day! But really, what?

The same as what they wore on other days. Only more elegant. They chose thinner or, conversely, denser and more luxurious fabrics. Brighter, more expensive. More embroidery, more trim, more jewelry. And what exactly depended on the era, on the country, on the culture. Throughout history, women have tried everything, from the finest tunics and bedspreads of ancient Greek women to the heavy, jeweled outfits of Renaissance beauties, from modest dresses peasant women to luxurious attire of aristocrats...

Let's remember famous novel Alexei Tolstoy "Peter I", which describes in detail what the Russian bride was dressed in at the end of the 17th century - traditional, but only especially luxurious, in in this case royal, outfit: “Everything was according to the ancient order. The bride was brought to the palace in the morning and began to be dressed. The hay girls, washed in the bathhouse, wearing official crowns and padded jackets, sang without stopping. To the accompaniment of their songs, the boyars and bridesmaids put on the bride a light shirt and stockings, a long red silk shirt with pearl wrists, a Chinese silk letnik with spacious, floor-length sleeves, wonderfully embroidered with herbs and animals, adorned with diamonds on the neck, beaver, all over the shoulders, necklace, they tightened her throat so much - Evdokia almost fainted. On top of the flyer is a wide blanket of cranberry cloth with one hundred and twenty enamel buttons, and on top of it is a silver-woven headband, lined with light fur, and a mantle heavily embroidered with pearls. The fingers were adorned with rings, the ears were covered with jingling earrings. The hair was combed so tightly that the bride could not blink her eyes, the braid was intertwined with many ribbons, and a tall crown, in the shape of a city, was placed on her head.”

Victoria

But very little time will pass, and thanks to the same Peter I, Russian young ladies will begin to wear the same as European young ladies, following the general fashion, and vintage costumes and hats will remain the lot of peasant women. And their costumes will gradually change...

But brides did not necessarily have to acquire a special dress for the ceremony; they could simply use the most elegant dress. Or, if the dress was still specially sewn, it could then be worn for any other special event, especially since the dresses could be the most different colors. There was even an English proverb that spoke of what would happen to the bride if she chose a dress of a certain color. An approximate translation is: “ White- chose correctly, blue- love will be real, yellow- ashamed of the groom, red- I would prefer to die, black- I would like to return, gray- it will be a long journey, pink- he will always think about you, green“The bride doesn’t want (to be ashamed) to be seen.”

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But the cult of wedding dresses truly began in the 19th century.
Very often, when it comes to white wedding dresses, which have become classic, you can hear that it all started with the wedding of the famous Queen Victoria of England in 1840. However, this is not quite true. In a white dress Duchess Anne of Brittany married the French King Louis XII in 1499, and in 1810 she wore white Austrian Archduchess Marie-Louise of Austria, second wife of Emperor Napoleon. Often the brides of monarchs walked to the crown in silver brocade - for example, Princess Elizabeth, daughter of James I in 1613, or the German Princess Edwiga, bride of a Swedish prince, in 1774.

Not only princesses and aristocrats got married in white. Beginning in the 1790s, when fashion sharply took the path of simplification, and instead of bulky dresses with fluffy skirts on frames, women began to wear simple high-waisted dresses, and white muslin became the most common fabric, wedding dresses, accordingly, were also most often white (in such a dress, for example, the niece of the famous English writer Jane Austen, author of many of our favorite novels). But even as fashion began to become more sophisticated again, in the 1820s, white wedding dresses became increasingly common.

However, it was indeed thanks to Queen Victoria, as well as the beautiful Eugenia Montijo, who became the wife of the French Emperor Napoleon III, that the white color of these dresses not only came into fashion, it gradually replaced all other colors!

In one American ladies' magazine they wrote in 1849: “According to a custom that has been preserved since ancient times, the most suitable color- white. White is a symbol of the innocence of girlhood and pure heart which the virgin gives to the chosen one.”

And although both then and now they don’t always get married in white, when you hear the words “bride’s dress,” it is a snow-white outfit that comes to mind. And what it will actually be like - maybe not white at all, maybe short with a low waist, like in the 1920s, or with a full skirt, like in the 1950s, maybe a cheerful mini-dress or a formal one, with a long train, maybe luxurious or deceptively simple, maybe “like such and such an actress” or created according to your own sketch - it all depends on you.

After all, today, in beginning of XXI centuries, we can choose from previous centuries what we like. Long centuries of wedding fashion are at our service!

A wedding dress is perhaps the only outfit that is chosen so carefully and carefully. Every girl, starting from childhood, thinks about what kind of dress she will wear, how irresistible and desirable she will be in it for her chosen one. We pay so much attention to this, but for the most part we don’t even know the history of this beautiful outfit.

Early Victorian bride 1844

The history of the wedding dress begins, on the one hand, a very long time ago, and on the other hand, the dress that we are accustomed to consider as a wedding dress appeared quite recently. Until a certain time, the concept of a wedding or wedding dress did not exist as such - girls got married in the best clothes that could show and emphasize the antiquity and nobility of their family. The patroness of brides was the goddess Aphrodite: in honor of her, brides wore a golden cape and decorated their heads with wreaths of colors.
In Ancient Rome, the bride dressed strictly, in accordance with the image of Juno. The bride wore a scarlet veil on her head, symbolizing the passion, love and innocence of the bride.

In Ancient Greece, brides were dressed beautifully and elegantly, wrapping their figure in peplos - a long piece of fabric. To make the bride stand out from those around her, the dress was decorated with two clasps. And the richer the bride’s family, the more exquisite and precious the clasps were. The head of the girl getting married was covered with a yellow cloth, symbolizing sunny joy, happiness and purity.

In Russia, the situation was somewhat different: the outfits of brides since the times of Ancient Rus' were distinguished by incredible conservatism. For many centuries, girls got married in traditional attire: a long white shirt with wide sleeves, topped with a sundress decorated with braid, and a warmer. In Rus', they loved the color red, which symbolized joy, sun and beauty (hence the expression “red maiden”), so the wedding outfit consisted not only of a scarlet sundress, but also ribbons woven into the hair. After the wedding, the girls’ braids were unraveled and placed around their heads (“twirled”), which showed others that this was a married maiden. Aristocratic brides wore a cloak-mantle over such a robe - usually brocade and with gold embroidery. The beauty's head was decorated with a crown-hoop with melodiously ringing pendants.
Starting from the 18th century, Russian beauties, by decree of Peter I, began to follow European fashion and replaced sundresses with fashionable dresses. Nevertheless, commoners have been getting married in sundresses and shirts for at least a century.

The first mention of a wedding suit, which should be worn only for this event, dates back to the 15th century. At this time, a wedding dress was ordered along with the bride's dowry and made the bride “slightly pregnant.” Pregnancy was in fashion, so every medieval fashionista had a small false belly in her wardrobe. It was also worn to a wedding.
The Gothic wedding dress required a corset, high waist, V-neck and long sleeves. At the same time, the color scheme of the dress could be absolutely any, and most often the dress was as colorful as possible (the more dyes the bride could afford, the richer her family was).
In the 15th century, “Gothic” brides made it a rule to wear a new dress to their wedding, something that had never been seen before, and, of course, the beauty of this dress had to outshine everything already in the wardrobe. Perhaps, for a bride of the Middle Ages, a beautiful dress was the only joy of marriage, because marriages in those days were concluded as deals of convenience, with an indispensable wedding contract. The wedding dress was also part of the contract - it specified what fabric it should be made from (usually velvet or brocade), what it would be decorated with, and what kind of fur it would be lined with - squirrel or ermine. One of the most fashionable styles was considered “cothardie” with a high waist, long sleeves and a V-neck.
The appearance of women was also adjusted to fashion - in particular, Mongoloid faces with slanted eyes, which, according to the public, were beautiful. Eyelashes were mercilessly plucked, eyebrows were shaved, visually raising the forehead, but the use of cosmetics was strictly forbidden by the church - naturally, the girl was prepared for the wedding with special care (by shaving and plucking even more than usual, apparently). A headdress in the form of a tower - enen - was placed on the bride's head. To hold this heavy and sometimes meter-high dress, brides always looked down, lowering their heads. Henin was always decorated with a floor-length veil - usually made of natural silk. The veil had a sacred meaning - it not only protected the bride from evil spirits, but also from the gaze of other men who, having seen the bride in all her beauty, might want to kidnap her. The color of the dress depended on the wishes of the groom's family, but red, scarlet or purple were considered especially popular. Wedding shoes were trendy boots with long toes.

During the Baroque era, the silhouette of a wedding dress changed radically, as did the overall look of the bride. Fullness, voluminous dresses with full skirts and sleeves came into fashion. Gold has become the most popular wedding dress color. The dresses were richly decorated with lace, which later became a traditional element of decorating a wedding dress. The main precious stone was pearls, which were woven into hair and worn as pearl necklaces and bracelets.
Also in the Baroque era, wedding dresses in yellow and green colors came into fashion, and to make the plump bride seem even more like a rose, dresses began to be decorated with lace, which after that remained in wedding fashion.

At the beginning of the 17th century, giant collars, which were so loved by the famous musketeers, came into fashion. For added pomp, at least three petticoats were placed under the bride’s dress, and the obligatory knee-length stockings with flirty ties, lush bows and other decor were also worn. In the second half of the 17th century, wedding dresses in pink and coral colors became fashionable. Widows could also get married, but the color for them was different - they were allowed to wear a black dress with red decor. But the dark color certainly had to dominate the outfit as a memory of the first spouse. The lace collar - freza - was still an important attribute of the outfit, which in Russian was called bryzhi or ploeny collar. By the time the fashion for Medici collars came, wedding dresses began to be decorated with gold embroidery. By the way, in that era, a wedding dress was not at all a “dress for one day” - after the ceremony, the wife often greeted guests in her wedding dress.

In the 18th century, the fashion for wedding dresses changed again and all brides ordered exclusively dresses with a Medici collar. Dresses were richly decorated with embroidery, lace and gold. The color scheme remained varied, but the most popular were pastel colors: light pink, light green, soft blue. Although green is a very controversial color - for example, in England it was considered to attract evil gnomes and other negative fairy-tale characters. Commoner girls had their own fashion for outfits and often got married in a gray dress. Both brown and beige outfits were popular, which were then used for Sunday trips to church.

During the Rococo era, more and more brides chose silver dresses. The skirt reached its peak of fullness thanks to the pannier design. At the same time, the corsets were chosen to be incredibly narrow, cinching the bride into a “wasp waist.” With such a corset, the breasts practically fell out of the neckline - however, this was not considered vulgar, rather fashionable. An indispensable attribute of the dress was the train - its length determined the status of the bride. Powdered wigs and updos came into fashion.

In the Rococo era, the bride resembled a delicate flower bed: a fluffy skirt was supported by a special design that ensured the shape of steep wide sides, almost parallel to the floor, a narrow corset raised her chest high, and the entire dress was decorated with flower garlands and bows.
The fashion for light, but not yet white, dresses was brought by the era of neoclassicism, when excavations of ancient statues that became trendsetters were in full swing. The fashion for draping the body with silk came to Europe, so brides began to resemble ancient Roman women.

In the late 1790s, under the influence of Ancient Rome and Greece, white dresses came into wedding fashion.
The first owners of a white wedding dress, albeit with a difference of several centuries, were the famous Queen Margot, Anne of Austria, Mary Stuart and Princess Victoria of England.
It is believed that the first white wedding dress was a dress made at the French court for the wedding of Princess Murat, while the dress itself was high-waisted and flowed gently along the slender body. Ruffles and corsets returned to wedding fashion only in the 19th century, at which time the “symbol of the bride” appeared - a special headdress made of orange flowers “fleur-d’orange”.

Napoleon's relative, Princess Murat, became a beautiful bride in white and started the fashion for this color for wedding dresses.

Josephine is the beautiful lover of Emperor Napoleon. Thanks to this sophisticated aristocrat, feminine outfits have become fashionable for all times, in which every woman can feel like a real goddess. Precisely a goddess, because the Empire style is a partial return of ancient images. Where does this name come from? Why "Empire"? Because it's imperial! By the way, another important achievement of that distant era should be recognized as the appearance in the women's wardrobe of short Spencers and Redingotes, the ancestors of modern women's jackets.

Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte

Empire style dresses, 19th century

A high waist, low neckline and short puffed sleeves are typical features of a women's dress in the Empire style. This style is truly universal: it emphasizes the bust line, visually makes the waist thinner, helps hide minor imperfections, and also creates an image of purity and innocence. Empire colors are simple and discreet, very often just white, with plain relief embroidery or symmetrical decorative trim.

By the end of the century, wide dresses in creolin appeared, at the same time the return of ruffles and lace from the Baroque and Rococo began.

In the 19th century, brides began to use “blonde” silk lace of a beautiful amber-golden color to decorate their outfits. The disadvantage of “blond” was their excessive fragility - they quickly tore, collapsed and split in sunlight. As a rule, a dress was sewn for the bride with a decor of this lace and with a veil entirely woven from “blonde”. The high waist remained popular, but began to be decorated with ruffles. In the Biedermeier era (20-30s of the 19th century), a typical wedding dress consisted of a low neckline, puffed sleeves and a normal, not high, waistline. The dress had a bell shape thanks to the “roll” sewn into the hem. Under the skirt there was certainly a crinoline hiding the full shape.

Fashion began to change more often than in previous centuries, so every decade brides changed slightly. So, in the 30s, brides’ heads began to be decorated with a headdress made of orange flowers - fleur-d’orange. This “wreath” has been entrenched in wedding fashion for a long time, becoming a kind of symbol of the bride. The buds were artificial and made of silk, velvet and cotton wool. Fleur d'orange not only crowned the head, but a brooch in the same style was on the bride's chest or waist, and the sleeves of the dress were trimmed with flower branches.

In the 1900s, with the advent of the Art Nouveau era, the incredible volume of skirts finally went out of fashion. The skirts were finished with “crepe” - wooden cones wrapped in lace. Wedding dresses have become more closed - with a stand-up collar. It must be said that the corset, although partially out of fashion, still often appeared at weddings, masking the shortcomings of the bride’s waist. The length of the dress also began to change - it barely covered her ankles.

Only after the First World War did the corset lose its relevance, as the shape of the dress also changed - a low waist came into fashion. Fleur-d'orange also sank into oblivion - it was replaced by a wedding bouquet, usually white roses or callas. It was during this period that brides began to actively use cosmetics and get married not only with a “painted” face, but also with a bright manicure. Feathers were often inserted into the wedding hairstyle, which could also decorate the wedding dress. During these same years, Coco Chanel made a revolution in fashion, offering very bold wedding dresses for those times: with a short knee-length skirt and a long train at the back.

In the 30s of the 20th century, brides again switched to corsets and fluffy dresses, often paired with short jackets. Padded hangers also appeared, which became an indispensable attribute of a fashionable bride’s outfit. During the 20th century, wedding fashion changed many times: in the 50s, Christian Dior introduced the fashion for full skirts, in the 60s, many got married in minis, and closer to the 80s, long dresses with romantic ruffles and embroidery again won the hearts of brides.

In the wedding fashion of the 21st century, all past trends are intertwined - empire dresses, incredibly full skirts, lace trim, and corsets are popular. A modern bride can choose dresses with motifs from any era, wear a mini or even trousers - and at most she will be called an eccentric.

Despite experiments with minis, trousers and bright colors in the 20th century, modern brides often choose a classic white fluffy wedding dress, decorated with lace and ruffles.