Wedding Dresses That Changed History

  We've been out of action for a few months now on our blog; January sees the start of our busy months, usually right through to October. To make up for it, this week's Wedding Wednesday is going to be something a bit different. We work in a wedding shop, and talk about our dresses ALL THE TIME, yet we never really talk about what influences the styles of dresses we sell. At the moment, brides are buying a lot of lace dresses, many with straps, sleeves or high necklines. Three guesses at what brought on this mini-obsession with all things lacy! If you really don't want to hear, in any way shape or form, about The Royal Wedding, maybe now would be the time to stop reading. However, we're not going to start with 2011, we are going to go a bit further back in time...

1937 - Wallis Simpson marries the Duke of Windsor  

  The first in this gallery of wedding dresses is the dress of Wallis Simpson, designed by the house of Mainbocher (founded by Main Rousseau Bosher in 1929). A very simple column dress, with an internally structured jacket helped show off Simpson's beautiful figure. Her hair piece was a chic straw hat, decorated with tulle and feather detailing, and for jewellery there was a charm bracelet of crosses (each of the nine crosses had a significant event from the couple's lives together) and a brooch worn at the neck. Although impossible to see from this photograph, the dress was actually a very pale blue colour, which was quite unusual for weddings of this era. Do you know of any brides who had a dress which wasn't white or ivory? We'd love to see a picture if you have one, just put it down in the comments section below.

1947 - Princess Elizabeth marries Philip Mountbatten

In postwar Britain, the pomp and ceremony of a royal wedding were exactly what was needed to lift the spirits of the people. This dress, designed by Norman Hartnell, didn't fail to deliver. With some inspiration coming from the goddess Flora's dress in La Primavera, Hartnell used his expertise in costume design to create a silk satin dress that would 'wow'. There is a floral theme throughout this dress, with intricate patterns running along the neckline and cuffs of the sleeves, and then through the skirt. Unusually, the train is actually attached at the shoulders, and flows down the length of the dress, and four metres along the floor (fit for the venue of the wedding). To complete this dress, over 10,000 seed pearls which were used in the embroidery were imported from America. The ensemble was finished perfectly with the Queen Mary Fringe Tiara, Elizabeth's 'something borrowed' from her mother. On the day of the wedding, the tiara actually snapped; luckily the court jeweller was on hand in case of any difficulties, and the tiara was mended.

1955 - Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainer of Monaco

  Grace Kelly's wedding dress was designed by Helen Rose, also a costume designer, this time for screen at MGM. Although the dress looks quite simple, the structure underneath, in order to get the dress so fitted to Grace Kelly's figure, was extremely complex. The skirt was pleated at the waist and ended with a small train, all made from silk taffeta (underneath which were two petticoats of tulle). At the back of the dress there was a lace insert in a triangular shape, decorated with pretty bows. Then there was the lace bodice, with each piece of lace individually pieced together onto a tulle framework, so the effect was almost of lace appliqué.
  All this detail didn't come cheap, estimates at the cost of the dress put it at $7,200, which doesn't really seem that much, until you convert in into today's money. The total stands at a dizzying $60,000, although MGM decided to give Grace Kelly the dress free, in order to benefit from the additional publicity.

1981 - Lady Diana Spencer marries Prince Charles

Possibly the most memorable wedding dress in living memory was Princess Diana's by David and Elizabeth Emanuel. At only twenty years old, Diana could have easily been swamped by her dress and 40 ft veil (which had sequins all hand embroidered onto the bobbin net), but somehow the designers managed to create a design which flattered and suited her perfectly. The fabric was a paper taffeta, tulle and lace, made into a stunningly romantic dress. The rich cream ivory and the double frill around the neckline only add to this dress's charm and couture feel.

On the front of the bodice, there was a lace panel, edged with a row of pearls which also surround the waist. The sleeves and at the elbow, with large frills to tie in with the neckline of the dress, and lace similar to that of the bodice. It's the tiny details, though, that show the love and care that went into making this dress. On the label at the back of the dress was sewn a tiny gold horseshoe, and a little blue bow was sewn to the waist band.

2011 - Catherine Middleton marries Prince William

  This stunning lace dress was designed by Alexander McQueen's Creative Director Sarah Burton. The dress shows Kate's figure off beautifully; there aren't many people who can pull off box pleats at the waist like this. A classic sweetheart neckline is set off beautifully by the tulle cover and sleeves, covered in dazzling lace appliqué.  Something special about this lace, apart from the fact the needles to make it were replaced every 3 hours, is that it includes the four emblems from the United Kingdom. Somewhere on the dress, there is a daffodil, a shamrock, a rose and a thistle. It's this attention to detail which Sarah Burton is famous for. The train on this dress, although long, is a lot more manageable the Diana's, but still looked stunning as Kate walked down the aisle at Westminster Abbey.
  The bridal collections the season after the royal wedding had obviously drawn some inspiration from this dress. We have seen a vast increase in the number of brides-to-be asking for lace, and the dresses available for us to order have a lot more choice. An element of the luxurious is becoming more affordable, as lace covers and lace appliqué dresses have become more widely available. We love lace here at Especially For You, and hope that this trend continues.

2011 - Kate Moss marries Jamie Hince

The final dress of our blog post today is the dress designed by John Galliano for Kate Moss. It has quite a festival feel to it, with floating fabrics and a ruffle at the hem. The skirt is sequinned with silver and gold, and runs in feather like patterns down through the train. It's the vintage and ethereal qualities which make this dress so unlike any before it, with not so much structure in the bodice as a classic wedding dress. We have seen some of this vintage theme with our brides, with colours such as rose and pale greens becoming quite popular, but we can't decide whether it was just changing times, or the influence of the wedding of the Queen of British Fashion.

  When you think of the most influential wedding dresses, do you think of one that we haven't mentioned? Or did something else influence your choices, like looking through your mother's wedding photos? Are there any dresses you'd like us to see of 'dresses before their time'? Why don't you post a picture into the comments section, or tweet it to us @EspeciallyBride on twitter. We'd also love to hear your comments about our post. Thanks for reading, and come back next #WeddingWednesday !