
This sumptuous book draws on wedding garments in the V& As collection photographs letters memoirs newspaper accounts & genealogical research to explore the history of the wedding dress & the traditions that have developed around it from 1700 to the present day. It focuses on the white wedding dress which became fashionable in the early nineteenth century & is worn today by women across the world. The book considers the way couturiers & designers have challenged & refreshed the traditional white wedding dress & the influence of the wedding industry whose antecedents lie in the commercialization of the wedding in Victorian Britain. The Wedding Dress is not only about costume but also about the cultivation of the image of the bride. This book is a glorious tribute to an exquisite stylish glamorous gown the romance of its evolution & the splendour of its design.