Weddings are celebrated all around the world, and while they often involve special foods, rituals and clothing, each culture has its own unique traditions. This exhibition explores the garments and associated wedding traditions of some of the cultures represented in the Historic Costume & Textiles Collection.
The white bridal dress only became common practice in Western society during the reign of Queen Victoria, although identically dressed brides have long been a traditional feature of many other cultures. However, the primacy of white as a wedding color flies in the face of many other cultural norms, since the color has the connotations of death and mourning. In contrast, red, which is still forbidden to most mainstream Western brides due to its associations with immorality (the “scarlet woman,” for example), is considered the best-luck color in many Asian cultures.
In the mid-Elizabethan period, a country bride in the English Jamestown settlement might wear a dress made from russet cloth, dyed a natural wool color or painted a rich reddish brown with tree bark. This dress, which was often embroidered, was intended to serve as a woman’s only formal dress for the rest of her life and therefore needed to be very durable.
In the tradition of the Delaware tribe, a bride might adorn herself with a belt of turkey feathers and fine beads. If she married in winter, she might wear deerskin leggings and moccasins, with a robe of feathers over the top.
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