Wedding Dresses In Western And Eastern
A wedding dress or wedding gown is the clothing worn by a bride during a wedding ceremony. Color, style and ceremonial importance of the gown can depend on the religion and culture of the wedding participants.
In Western
Over the centuries, brides continued to dress in a manner befitting their social status—always in the height of fashion, with the richest, boldest materials money could buy. The poorest of brides wore their best church dress on their wedding day. Today, there are wedding dresses available in all price ranges, and Western traditions have loosened up to include a rainbow of colors and variety of lengths, which are now considered acceptable.
Today, Western wedding dresses are usually white, though “wedding white” includes creamy shades such as eggshell, ecru and ivory. White did not become a popular option until 1840, after the marriage of Queen Victoria to Albert of Saxe-Coburg. Victoria had worn a white gown for the event so as to incorporate some lace she owned. The official wedding portrait photograph was widely published, and many other brides opted for a similar dress in honor of the Queen’s choice. Today, the white dress is normally understood merely as the most traditional and popular choice for weddings.
In Eastern
Many wedding dresses in China, India (wedding sari) and Vietnam (in the traditional form of the Ao dai) are colored red, the traditional color of good luck and auspiciousness. Nowadays, many women choose other colors besides red. In modern Chinese weddings, the bride may opt for Western dresses of any color.
South Indian weddings traditionally use red or gold-colored saris. Â Indian brides in Western countries often wear the sari at the wedding ceremony and change into traditional Indian wear afterwards (lehnga, choli, etc.).
In Japan, brides will often wear three or more dresses throughout the ceremony and subsequent celebrations with a traditional kimono, white and colour dress combination being popular. The Javanese people of Indonesia wear a kebaya, a traditional kind of blouse, along with batik.
In the Philippines, variations of the Baro’t saya are considered to be wedding attire for women, along with the Barong Tagalog for men.
