This fashionable red silk gauze dress was a bold choice for a wedding. It was worn by Monica Maurice (1908-1995) for a quiet marriage to Dr.Arthur Newton Jackson (1904-1985) at the Chapel of Our Lady on Rotheram Bridge in South Yorkshire on 18 June 1938. Monica was an independent and unconventional woman who in 1938 become the first – and until 1978 only – woman member of the Association of Mining Electrical Engineers. In addition to her passions for racing cars and flying, she loved to wear striking and stylish clothes. For her wedding she chose a feminine day dress in her favourite colour, a rich ruby red. The sheer dress was worn with a matching artificial silk slip and contrasting deep blue silk belt. She wore a floral wreath with a shoulder-length veil. Although her headdress has not survived and is only visible in black-and-white family photographs, her veil seems to have been either red or blue to match the dress.

For the bride conditioned to think in terms of a traditional Western white-wedding, red is one of the most daring alternative colours. However, in many non-Western cultures, red is traditional for wedding garments. It is often worn by Hindu and Muslim brides, and for Chinese and Vietnamese brides the colour represents good luck.