The history of the wedding dress

Throughout history, it is not only the institution of marriage that has evolved. For example, the wedding dress has undergone fundamental changes. For centuries, the bride did not wear a dress specifically dedicated to marriage on the day of the ceremony, but simply the prettiest dress she possessed, regardless of its colour.

In France, women often wore their regional costumes. If it may sound folkloric, this outfit was the Sunday dress for going to mass and therefore was used for her wedding ceremony.  Rangjah provides the best Pakistani Dresses online UK .Intimately linked to the Catholic religion, the wedding dress was imposed in white only from the Renaissance to symbolize purity and innocence for the wealthy classes and princely families.

Even if the white dress with a princess cut remains the trend, today, women are not subject to dress codes in the choice of their wedding attire.

THE WEDDING DRESS DURING ANTIQUITY AND THE MIDDLE AGES

Through various historical documents, we have some testimonies on marriage. However, in the oldest civilizations, if we know that marriage existed, few writings relate with precision the ceremony's course. That is why it is not easy to collect information about the wedding dress.

Thanks to the paintings and the mosaics, one can make assumptions about the outfit of the future bride. But, unfortunately, only from the Middle Ages can we find testimonies on royal or peasant marriages.

THE WEDDING DRESS IN ANCIENT GREECE

Marriage in ancient Greece could be an extremely violent act where consent was not necessarily required in the territories near Sparta. Before the ceremony, the man came to pick up his future wife from her parents' home and bring her home. The latter saw her head shaved and had to put on men's clothes. There was no party: once in transvestite, she was led to the bridal chamber in total darkness.

In other parts of the country, the bride and groom had the right to a ceremony, during which there was a sacrifice and a banquet. For this, the bride wears a long dress imagined in white linen, with a veil. The dress can take 2 forms:

Ø  The peoples or the Dorian peoples, a large rectangular piece of fabric, held at the waist by a belt or a bronze, iron or precious metal pin.

Ø  The Ionic chiton, which is a supple and ample dress, appears with the discovery of linen.

The bride is accompanied by a nympheutria, a person responsible for helping her during the wedding.

THE WEDDING DRESS IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE

In ancient Rome, marriage is an actual contract that obliges the spouses to reciprocal obligations. Before the wedding, the couple must have celebrated their engagement. The woman receives gifts and has no particular outfit. In most cases, the wife passes from the father's authority patria potestas to that of her husband. Under the benevolence of Juno, goddess of marriage, most ceremonies take place in June.

The bride's outfit is much codified. The day before the wedding, the woman must wear a white tunic, the stola, with a Hercules nodus Hercules knot as a "chastity" belt (only the husband can untie the knot at the time of the wedding night). On the wedding day, she wears a long coat, a palla and saffron yellow sandals over her tunic. Capped with 6 braids around the head, she wears a crown of orange flowers in her hair.

WEDDING ATTIRE IN ANCIENT EGYPT

During Antiquity, it was in Egypt that the newlyweds had the most freedom. So far from being a contractual and formal act, marriage symbolized the desire to live together for a couple. The woman was free to choose her future husband, regardless of the opinion of her family. The ceremony was a family celebration where people followed the bride, who moved in with her groom. The couple had to say these words: "I made you my wife. You made me your wife.”

From the engravings and drawings on papyrus, it would appear that the women wore instead flowing linen dresses or haiks, which were very light and pleated chiffon dresses, close to the body.

The woman wears accessories such as wigs and large jewellery, such as bib necklaces and heavy bracelets to complete the outfit.

WOMEN'S CLOTHING FOR THE WEDDING CEREMONY IN GAUL

Nike a rite, the Gallic wedding is the subject of a ceremony which we do not know-how. The Gallic woman wants to be the equivalent of the man. It is according to the size of her dowry that she holds power in her marriage. Rangjah provides the best Pakistani clothing brands in UK . If she is more valuable than that of her husband, the wife rules in the couple. The Gallic women were armed and did not hesitate to go into battle.

The Gallic woman had to wear a long dress of linen or hemp. The bride's outfit had to be colorful because these people perfectly mastered the techniques of dyeing. It could be completed with jewellery, in bronze.