Theroyal familyhas been do fashion standards since long before Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle became household names . More than 175 days ago , the marriage ceremony clothes Queen Victoria wore when she married Prince Albert in 1840 made a major statement . Victoria ’s off - the - shoulder satin nightdress was cover in delicate lace , but most impressively of all , it was the color of snow .
Wedding dress styles have shift a slap-up deal since the prim geological era , but the weak color palette has more or less remained a ceaseless , according toVanity Fair . White was n’t always the obvious choice , though .
Prior to Queen Victoria ’s regal wedding , red and other hopeful chromaticity were the go - to colour for would - be brides . While Queen Victoria is largely credited with being the somebody who popularized the whiteweddingdress tradition as we know it today , she was n’t the first woman to wear white on her wedding twenty-four hours — or even the first royal bride to don the the gloss ( Mary , Queen of Scots choose for white when she married the Dauphin of France in 1558 ) .
While some account have suggested that Queen Victoria wear white as a symbol of her sexual purity , historian have pointed out that fag out white was more of a status symbolic representation . Wealthy Bride wore the color to flaunt the fact that they could afford to have the dress clean — a job that was notoriously difficult in those Clarence Shepard Day Jr. .
" Before decolor proficiency were mastered , white was a rare and expensive colour , more a symbol of wealthiness than purity , ” biographer Julia Baird wrote inVictoria : The Queen . “ Victoria was not the first to wear it , but she made it popular by example . Lace Maker across England were thrilled by the sudden spate in the popularity of their handiwork . "
finally , snowy weddings became the standard — especially once synthetic fibers became wide useable ( and cheaper than satin ) . With that , the “ definitive democratization of the blank wedding party robe ” was thoroughgoing , Carol Wallace wrote inAll decorate in White : The Irresistible Rise of the American Wedding .
