When Wedding Dresses Were in Color--and Some Weren't

18thVirginia

Major
Joined
Sep 8, 2012
In June, our thoughts often turn to weddings. The fashionistas tell us that brides started wearing white in the 1840s and continued on through the 1860s, but that was mainly for the wealthy. The average woman wore her best dress, which was more often of colored fabric than white. For young women who married soldiers, a wedding was often a hastily pulled together affair and might even take place at an encampment.

While looking at day dresses and evening gowns, I came across various colored wedding dresses and thought that it might be interesting to see some of them. And when I wasn't looking for them, found some additional white gowns as well.

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Purple Silk Wedding Dress, 1863
 
And some wore what was then a white gown.
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Starched Organdy Dress, 1865. "Typical of mid-19th century styling, the very full skirt was worn over a hoop petticoat and is further widened by layers of ruffles. The starch used on this garment has discolored it over time. This dress was worn by Marianna Heyward (b. 1844) when she married Benjamin Walter Taylor on December 14, 1865. They had eight children, including early 20th century artist Anna Heyward Taylor. During the Civil War, Benjamin had served as a surgeon, becoming the Medical Director of the Calvary Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia." http://charlestonmuseum.tumblr.com/post/5039740715
 
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This is a genuine wedding dress, but an unusual one. It's from slightly after the ACW--1866-69--and is part mourning/part wedding dress. The gray and black silk are in honor of the deceased soldiers.

Finally found the description that goes along with this dress, which was part of a show on Civil War mourning dresses at the Metropolitan Museum.

"In fact, one of the most intriguing outfits on display at the Met is a Civil War-era wedding dress of gray silk wool poplin and black silk faille. Even though neither bride or groom had suffered immediate losses, the bride wore the dress as an act of general mourning for Civil War causalities. It's hard not to wonder what she thought about making this choice—forgoing pure, virginal white for a more sullied color, reminding us that even in the midst of life, we are in death. But as the exhibition notes, choosing grey instead of white would have been a sensitive way of celebrating the beginning of a new life while others still grieved."

 
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The 1864 wedding gown passed down in my family (along with an engraved wedding invitation which gives the date) is white dotted Swiss over cotton. High neckline, short sleeves with separate lace sleeves (there's an example of similar sleeves on another thread somewhere), full skirt with ruffles made for a rounded crinoline, and lots of covered buttons up the back. Since the wedding was in Dyersburg TN during the middle of the war, it must have been quite an extravagance.

I love some of the colored gowns, thanks for finding these!
 
I'd say maybe some gowns made in the middle of the war could have been re-made from others except it took an awful lot of fabric- no way to ' repurpose' that much! Allie's gown of dotted Swiss, well, couldn't be done, the fabric is so fragile. And stitches pulled out, even terribly carefully would leave holes or tears. Of course that story will now fascinate me- where the blazes the family procured such extravagance late in the war! Who knows, perhaps some very savvy women had it put by for just such an occasion? Or the family had the means to cast a very wide net? Surely brides have not changed in a 150 years. A determined bride will find a way. :smile:

Allie, I'm guessing that dress resides in someone's home with the eldest generation of your family? It's how it's been in ours for most treasures although since Mom lives here we're lucky enough to house hers. Is it too intrusive to ask about a possibility of a picture or does the family like to keep these things quite private? Understandable if so, am just being nosy.

Mr. an Mrs. RobertP's Emporium ( made that up, please no one think they call their houseful of antiques that ) has been the exception with privacy, Holy. Holy Gee Whiz. SO lucky, seriously- must dig out some of the textiles they allowed us to see. Wonder if there are any wedding frocks in the collection?
 
Beautiful!! If you could hear me right now, murmuring "aaaawww" and *sigh*.
How wonderful!

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This is a genuine wedding dress, but an unusual one. It's from slightly after the ACW--1866-69--and is part mourning/part wedding dress. The gray and black silk are in honor of the deceased soldiers.

This one reminded me of Scarlett's green dress, made from the curtains at Tara ...

Thank you, 18th, for this wonderful thread!
 
Mary Chesnut's description of a wedding gown during the War:

The wedding of Miss Aiken, daughter of Governor Aiken, the largest slave-owner in South Carolina; Julia Rutledge, one of the bridesmaids; the place Flat Rock. We could not for a while imagine what Julia would do for a dress. My sister Kate remembered some muslin she had in the house for curtains, bought before the war, and laid aside as not needed now. The stuff was white and thin, a little coarse, but then we covered it with no end of beautiful lace. It made a charming dress, and how altogether lovely Julia looked in it! The night of the wedding it stormed as if the world were coming to an end—wind, rain, thunder, and lightning in an unlimited supply around the mountain cottage.

Chesnut, Mary Boykin (2011-04-26). Mary Chesnut's Diary (Penguin Classics) (p. 209). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
 
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An ivory silk gown.

"Wedding gown, ca. 1862. Ivory silk faille two-piece gown with a boned and stayed bodice with fashionable deep hem points, and piped at the neckline, armscyes, and double box-pleated waistband. A pleated tulle bertha accented with silk velvet ribbons that repeat on the short sleeves, with a pleated tulle modesty insert above, and a lace-up closure at the back. Crinoline lining, turned hem. Time Travelers Antiques, via All the Pretty Dresses."

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Mr. an Mrs. RobertP's Emporium ( made that up, please no one think they call their houseful of antiques that ) has been the exception with privacy, Holy. Holy Gee Whiz. SO lucky, seriously- must dig out some of the textiles they allowed us to see. Wonder if there are any wedding frocks in the collection?
I don't have a CW era wedding dress but we do have this faded white one from my father's family. I have always believed it was a wedding dress but didn't think to ask while anyone who would have known was still alive. Maybe someone with a lot more knowledge of styles than I have can guess the era and I might be able to pin it down.
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Silk faile and satin, cotton, wool flannel, swan's down

This is from 1868, so it's still within Reconstruction, but such an interesting dress, I thought to include it. And of course, I love red.

"This dress and jacket were the wedding ensemble worn by Louise Gertrude Jacobs when she married Harry G. Reyner, September 17, 1868 in Macon, Missouri. The dress and jacket have multiple cord and knot closures known as frogs. Decorative braiding is a common decoration on military uniforms and as used on this gown may reflect a residual influence from the Civil War."

http://www.sandiegohistory.org/curatorial/costumes/1860.htm
 
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