It's June—the month traditionally associated with weddings.
That is especially true for me this year as my son is getting married on the 23rd. Because a wedding is a special day in the
life of a woman, she often saves her dress.
The Benton County Historical Museum has many wedding dresses in its
collection. I found at least nine from the 1914-1925 period.
Wedding dress styles changed just like women's fashions in
general, noted in the last post. Before the start of the 20th
century, most brides did not have a special dress. They wore the best dress they had or
purchased one that could be wore for other occasions. The light-colored suit with braid trim worn
by Lizzie on her 1888 marriage to George Humphrey is an example.
 |
| George and Lizzie (Perin) Humphrey Wedding Portrait |
Although these dresses where characterized as white, they
were not pure bright white as silk could not be bleached to that level. Most were what we would call ivory or cream
colored.
Bridal dresses in the 1915-1919 period covered the bride-
they were long with high necklines. If
sleeves were not full length, the bride wore long gloves. Lightweight fabrics,
frequent use of embroidered lace, and high-waisted, empire styles were common.
Lillian Goddard's dress for her 1915 wedding was originally ivory silk with
soft pleats and short, lace sleeves. As the accompanying photo shows, she wore
it with long gloves and an under slip so the lace insert was not revealing.
By the time of Helen Harbke's wedding in 1921, shorter,
dropped waist dresses were popular for both weddings and everyday wear.
Two other wedding photographs show what grooms and
attendants wore for weddings in the early 1920s:
By
Martha Fraundorf, Volunteer for Benton County Historical Society, Philomath,
Oregon
No comments:
Post a Comment