Wedding Dress thumbnail 1
Wedding Dress thumbnail 2
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Not currently on display at the V&A

Wedding Dress

1865 (made)
Artist/Maker

Object Type
The bride's dress was a focal point just as it is today. By 1800 it had become usual for her to wear white or cream. This was a popular colour as it implied purity, cleanliness and social refinement. The wide skirt of dress would have been supported underneath by a cage crinoline. In 1865 cage crinolines protruded out more from behind and were flatter in front in contrast to the bell-shaped crinolines of the 1850s.

People
Queen Victoria helped popularise the fashion for white when she got married in 1840. She set a royal precedent by choosing a simple ivory satin dress which was very much in the fashions of the day. Earlier royal brides had worn white but their dresses were often woven or heavily embroidered with gold or silver.

Social Class
Weddings were one of the most festive social occasions. They gave families the chance to show off their wealth and even less well-off couples would make an effort to dress appropriately. Not everyone, however, wore white. Widows, older brides and the less well-off often preferred more practical coloured gowns. These could then be worn for Sunday best long after the marriage. They would not have looked out of place as wedding dresses in the 19th century were designed in line with the current fashions.

Ownership & Use
This dress, veil and a pair of boots also in the museum's collection (T.43B, C-1947) were worn by Eliza Penelope Bright, nee Clay (the mother of the donor) for her marriage to Joseph Bright at St James's, Piccadilly on 16th February 1865. Wedding dresses are one of the rare types of garment for which the name of the wearer and the date of her marriage are often recorded.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 9 parts.

  • Wedding Dress
  • Piece of Lace
  • Piece of Lace
  • Ribbon Bow
  • Ribbon Bow
  • Ribbon Bow
  • Ribbon Bow
  • Ribbon Bow
  • Ribbon Bow
Brief description
White satin and Honiton lace wedding dress
DimensionsDimensions checked: Measured; 28/11/2000 by ET
Gallery label
  • British Galleries: When Queen Victoria married in 1840, 'The Times' reported: 'Her dress was a rich white satin, trimmed with orange-flower blossoms. On her head she wore a wreath of the same blossoms, over which, but not so as to conceal her face, a beautiful veil of Honiton lace was thrown.' This wedding dress, made more than twenty years later, was based on the Queen's, though the skirt and sleeves are wide, following the fashion of the 1860s.(27/03/2003)
  • Wedding dress and lace veil Britain, 1864-5 Ankle boots: France or Britain Like many wealthy brides in the 1860s, Eliza Penelope Clay chose a white satin dress embellished with Honiton lace for her marriage to Joseph Bright at St James's Church, Piccadilly, in February 1865. The bride's veil has been skilfully designed so that the pattern is on the outside when the veil is folded over. Dress: silk satin, trimmed with Honiton appliqué lace, the bodice lined with silk Veil: Honiton appliqué lace Ankle boots: leather, with elastic gussets, trimmed with silk Bequeathed by Miss Helen G. Bright V&A: T.43 to C-1947(2011)
Credit line
Bequeathed by Miss H. G. Bright
Object history
Worn at the marriage of Eliza Penelope Clay and Joseph Bright, at St James's Church, Piccadilly, London, on 16 February 1865
Summary
Object Type
The bride's dress was a focal point just as it is today. By 1800 it had become usual for her to wear white or cream. This was a popular colour as it implied purity, cleanliness and social refinement. The wide skirt of dress would have been supported underneath by a cage crinoline. In 1865 cage crinolines protruded out more from behind and were flatter in front in contrast to the bell-shaped crinolines of the 1850s.

People
Queen Victoria helped popularise the fashion for white when she got married in 1840. She set a royal precedent by choosing a simple ivory satin dress which was very much in the fashions of the day. Earlier royal brides had worn white but their dresses were often woven or heavily embroidered with gold or silver.

Social Class
Weddings were one of the most festive social occasions. They gave families the chance to show off their wealth and even less well-off couples would make an effort to dress appropriately. Not everyone, however, wore white. Widows, older brides and the less well-off often preferred more practical coloured gowns. These could then be worn for Sunday best long after the marriage. They would not have looked out of place as wedding dresses in the 19th century were designed in line with the current fashions.

Ownership & Use
This dress, veil and a pair of boots also in the museum's collection (T.43B, C-1947) were worn by Eliza Penelope Bright, nee Clay (the mother of the donor) for her marriage to Joseph Bright at St James's, Piccadilly on 16th February 1865. Wedding dresses are one of the rare types of garment for which the name of the wearer and the date of her marriage are often recorded.
Associated objects
Collection
Accession number
T.43-1947

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Record createdMarch 27, 2003
Record URL
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