Katie Jones and Angela Uriyo, WVU experts on fashion design, said the white wedding dress is a relatively recent Western invention that’s gaining popularity among brides worldwide. (Submitted Photo/Wild Native Photography)
Heading into peak wedding season — with many people popping the question of “what to wear?” — two West Virginia University fashion researchers say, while wedding costumes vary widely across cultures and places, the choice of a wedding dress almost always carries meaning.
Katie Jones, associate professor and fashion design and merchandising program coordinator, and Angela Uriyo, assistant professor, both with the WVU College of Creative Arts and Media, are available to discuss how marriage fashions have changed throughout history and the traditions that persist today.
Quotes:
“In Western fashion history, specialized attire worn only for weddings dates back at least to ancient Rome. The modern wedding veil can be traced to the saffron-hued ‘flammeum,’ a full cloak a Roman bride would pull over her head and wear low over her eyes.
“Orange blossoms have long been associated with wedding attire due to the flower’s symbolic associations with fertility. Wreaths of orange blossoms — real, wax, beaded, silk — encircled the heads of Roman brides and have crowned countless brides since, including Queen Victoria.
“And it’s Queen Victoria who’s frequently credited with establishing the tradition of brides wearing white on their wedding day. Although European royalty before her often highlighted their status with wedding dresses trimmed in gold and silver, and Marie Antoinette’s silver wedding court gown was festooned with diamonds, scholars say Queen Victoria opted for the simplicity of a white dress to downplay her status over her future husband, Prince Albert.
“White silk and lace trims were not always in ready supply, and fabric rationing during World War II required some European women to simply wear their best dress for their wedding ceremonies or to procure material from unlikely sources. There are a few documented reports of brides repurposing silk parachutes for their bridal gowns during the war, the precious fabric having literally fallen from the sky.” — Katie Jones, associate professor, fashion design and merchandising, WVU College of Creative Arts and Media
“Globalization, fashion media and consumerism are some of the drivers behind the recent rising popularity of the white wedding gown among non-Western brides worldwide. But many brides from non-Western cultures actively preserve their heritage by adapting traditional wedding attire.
“Garments of all kinds are vessels of personal and collective storytelling. In many non-Western cultures, bridal dress is not merely ornamental. It’s a form of storytelling that reflects cultural memory and social continuity.
“In Indonesia, it is common for brides to wear multiple outfits during a single ceremony, blending Western-style gowns in diverse colors and silhouettes with traditional ‘kebaya’ tops and ‘batik’ skirts. Similarly, in Ivory Coast, couples often hold two distinct ceremonies: a civil marriage, where legal formalities are fulfilled and the white gown is worn, and a traditional marriage, where cultural customs are observed and both individuals don elaborate traditional attire representing their respective ethnic groups. Both examples show how modern weddings can still honor and preserve cultural traditions.
“A fashion symbol becomes dominant through widespread repetition and social consent, but traditional garments resist this dominance by evolving. They may adopt new fabrics, silhouettes or styling, yet their symbolic meanings endure.
“Non-Western brides are not simply choosing between old and new. They are curating identities — blending visual languages to assert belonging, beauty and cultural pride.” — Angela Uriyo, assistant professor, fashion design and merchandising, WVU College of Creative Arts and Media
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mm/6/10/25
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