Last week I dropped into Unveiled, the WA Museums exhibition of wedding dresses through the ages. The exhibition includes 65 wedding outfits and accessories, representing 200 years of dresses from London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. Not massively into wedding dresses I was surprised how interesting it was. Here’s five things that left me pondering.
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Wedding Boots © The Ponder Room
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White dresses. White wedding dresses were not in vogue until Queen Victoria’s wedding to Prince Albert in 1840. Evidently coloured dresses were more popular. The reasoning? Perhaps early woman was more flamboyant, say … more Cyndi Lauper or Lady Gaga than demure Audrey Hepburn? No the reason was both simple and realistic.
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| Brown wedding dress 1840 © The Ponder Room |
Coloured dresses didn’t show the marks as much, and they could be altered or remade to extend their life. Mind you if you ponder that the dresses were all hand sewn, the unpicking alone would take several months, so you wouldn’t want to be in a hurry for a new outfit.
The shoes. I have no idea how people walked around in the 1860’s. They seemed to have impossibly skinny feet. If Prince Charming was looking for Cinderella he’d be searching for someone who was part woman part mountain goat… one big toe and a little one just for balance. Still, if their feet really were that dainty you probably wouldn’t mind looking at them in a glass shoe. The wedding boots above, were made of white kid leather with cotton calico.
Garters. The garters worn in 1904 looked more like early bondage than the pretty, lacy pieces on offer today.
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| Garters 1904 © The Ponder Room |
Gifts. In the 1870’s husbands gave their wives wedding gifts like this hand painted silk fan. By 1921 presents included silver mesh evening bags. Both very different to a half share in a massive mortgage and a trip to Bali.
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| © The Ponder Room |
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| © The Ponder Room |
The Queen. The general public collected their war stamps so Queen Elizabeth could have enough to buy material for her wedding dress. I’m still pondering whether the Australian public would do the same should Julia change her mind about putting a ring onTim.
The exhibition is extended until April 2 and well worth a visit. Here are a few of the dresses on show.
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Dita Von Teese wedding dress © The Ponder Room
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| Indigenouos Wedding Dress © The Ponder Room |
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| © The Ponder Room |
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| Costarella © The Ponder Room |
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| Flapper Wedding Dress © The Ponder Room
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3 Comments
Great exhibition really enjoyed the time spent
viewing the lovely hand made dresses
Hi Anon, so pleased you got to see it. It sounds like you enjoyed it too. Don’t know that I would have survived long in some of them
Useful postings. With thanks.
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