Without a doubt, the legacy of the simple white wedding dress continues today (Fig. 13). The use of the color white, ivory or cream in wedding dresses has stood the test of time, in fact, it is now considered quite adventurous when a bride gets married in another color. While it was fashionable to have the a bridal gown of white and ivory, as Johnston notes, colored wedding ensembles were also acceptable (Fig. 6). In contrast to the white gown of the bride, the other women in the painting are dressed in colored satins, which were considered fashionable according to “Chitchat upon New York and Philadelphia Fashions for December” in Godey’s Lady’s Books and Magazine (1866):

The story is certainly never boring; there is always something getting in the way of their final happiness, though the epilogue is a lovely tribute to the final issue. All in all, this is a well-done contemporary category romance that works on every level.” As for accessories, the bride herself has the customary orange blossom trim on her gown and on her flower wreath, which the younger girl is trying on. The bride’s hair is in a simple up-do with a single braid going across her hair at the front. The slim waist and full-skirted silhouette worn by the women in the painting was in vogue during the 1860s (Fig. 3). The full skirt is achieved through the use of a crinoline. According to Jane Ashelford in her book The Art of Dress: Clothes and Society 1500-1914: Johnston, Lucy, Marion Kite, and Helen Persson. Nineteenth-Century Fashion in Detail. London: V&A Publications, 2005. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/741415660.Dress was never more clearly one of the most visible signs of “correctness” and “suitability” so valued by nineteenth-century society, than in the bridal gown.” (iv) Reluctant Bride (released in the U.S. as Two Grooms for a Bride) is a 1955 British comedy film. [1] [2] Plot summary [ edit ] As for the fur trim decorating the bride’s dress, it has a similar look to an 1885 dolman (Fig. 4) which Lucy Johnston describes in her book, Nineteenth-Century Fashion in Detail: The Reluctant Bride – review - cast and crew, movie star rating and where to watch film on TV and online". Radio Times. The Hesitant Betrothed.” Sotheby’s. Accessed April 9, 2018. http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/lot.108.html/2005/19th-century-european-art-n08121.

The fashion for white wedding dresses started in the mid-eighteenth century, although most people were married in coloured gowns. By the early nineteenth century more and more women opted for white as it implied purity, cleanliness and social refinement. The less well off or more practically minded opted for pale blue, dove grey or fawn, which they could wear for special occasions long after the event.” (86)Auguste Toulmouche.” Rehs Galleries, Inc. Accessed April 9, 2018. http://rehs.com/Auguste_Toulmouche_Bio.html.