Weddings: Clothing


Figure 1.-- Here we see three generations of a wedding party in preparations for the ceremony. Father (with short hair) is adjusting the suspenders of his young son (the groom, presumably, with long hair), and the little boy (perhaps a young brother or nephew). Everyone wears a white shirt. Daddy as already donned his waistcoat, while that step is yet to come in the case of the young man to be married, and the little boy has a nicely tied bow tie (which the older man or perhaps Mother has tied for him). No date or specific location, but I suspect the photo was taken in an American venue, probably about 2010.

Weddings are a formal occassion and a time for dressing up. There are informal weddings, but in most cases people dress up for weddings. In some cases the clothing is very formal. The center piece of course is the bride and her wedding dress. At formal wedding the groom wear morning dress unless the wedding is in the evening. The best man and and other male attendents wear matching outfits. The bridal attendants on the other hand often wear fancy dresses selected not to overshadow the bride. In less formal weddings the adult men just wear suits. Children's outfits are more varied. In some cases they match that of the adult wedding party. In other cases they wear special juvenile outfits. The fancier outfits worn by ring bearers at formal weddings were specifically tailored for those functions. The blouses with lace collars or white suits might only be worn by the ring bearer. Sometimes at formal weddings, the pages also wear fancy outfits. The more ordinary costumes like Eton suits or other short pants suits might be worn by both the ring bearer and other children invited to the wedding, but having no official role.

Wedding Party

Wedding dress is traditionally structured by age and gender. There are rules for the men and women, variously observed today, and for the children.

Women

The center piece of course is the bride and her wedding dress. Wedding dresses are normally white, but they can be highly varied in style. Every aspect of the wedding dress from the neckline to the hem as well as thje waistline and sleeves can be varied. Especially formal wedding dresses have trains carried by the wedding pages. Brides traditionally wear veils.

Men

At formal wedding the groom wear morning dress unless the wedding is in the evening. The best man and and other male attendents wear matching outfits. The bridal attendants on the other hand often wear fancy dresses selected not to overshadow the bride. In less formal weddings the adult men just wear suits. Tuxedos or dinner jackets (black or white according to the season) are often worn at weddings (if held after 5 PM). White tie and tails are also sometimes worn for evening weddings. The standard correct formal dress for a wedding that takes place before sundown, is called "morning dress" which consists of a cut-away tail coat (dark grey usually) and grey striped trousers. Morning dress can be worn with a wing collar and ascot (and stick pin) or a grey striped four-in-hand tie. Morning dress should never be worn with a bow tie.

Children

Children's outfits are more varied. In some cases they match that of the adult wedding party. In other cases they wear special juvenile outfits. The fancier outfits worn by ring bearers at formal weddings were specifically tailored for those functions. The blouses with lace collars or white suits might only be worn by the ring bearer. Sometimes at formal weddings, the pages also wear fancy outfits. The more ordinary costumes like Eton suits or other short pants suits might be worn by both the ring bearer and other children invited to the wedding, but having no official role. Children's formal dress (if the boys are 10 years old or less) usually consists of a dark suit, white shirt, and dark tie (short or long trousers according to the parents' wish). A reader writes, "I was once in a wedding as a boy and wore a dark blue short trousers suit with long black stockings. One of the younger boys wore white long stockings. But this was in the 1930s of course, and we wouldn't see that now." By the 1940s, knee socks had generally replaced long stockings for formal wedding wear.

Social Class

A reader has assisted with this section. He writes, "I know all this because I was brought up in a family that observed these customs to the letter and that followed traditional etiquette in formal dress stringently. Nowadays people are much more relaxed about the conventions, but among the upper classes, they are still observed. Further down the social scale where people are not used to formal dress except at weddings, all sorts of innovations have crept in such as pastel colored evening jackets and the like, but this is only true when people hire wedding clothes. If you are accustomed to formal dress as a matter of course, you own your own attire. When I was a teenager and attended coming out parties,for example, I wore both dinner jackets (black tie) and full-dress (white tie and tails) according to what the engraved invitation specified. Formal invitations often specify what to wear. One saw in small type in the lower lefthand corner "white tie," (full dress), "black tie" (dinner jacket), and "morning dress" (cutaway tail coat and striped trousers). My father, who served as usher in a socially prominent Episcopal church, always wore "morning dress" (which of course he owned.







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Created: 10:55 PM 1/15/2011
Spell checked: 6:50 PM 1/16/2011
Last updated: 6:50 PM 1/16/2011