> > Two programmes on British TV over Christmas showed Victorian > > brides in sleeveless dresses. One was the film of "Nicholas > > Nickleby", the other a version of "Dracula". Dammit, you wear > > DAY clothes to a wedding! (or used to.)
> I thought that too, however in my most recent research project covering the elliptical hoop > though the early bustle (1865-1874) a noticeable percentage of wedding dresses were in the > evening dress style. No more then 25%, but a noticeable percentage anyway. I found it's usually respectable middle class that wears day dress (and probably working class too as I suspect there wasn't much opportunity to go to the opera or the odd ball....) and the aristocracy could wear off the shoulder and the like. I was mostly looking at 1870s and 1880s there. Most of the brides on the Musee McCorde site are wearing clothing to the neck. None of the fashion plates show the lower necked style for weddings (though there are rather more open necks for day wear.) Michaela de Bruce http://glittersweet.com _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
