Author Topic: Bridal wear tradition/fashion 1912?  (Read 1111 times)

Online ValJJJ

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Bridal wear tradition/fashion 1912?
« on: Sunday 09 September 18 20:21 BST (UK) »
Hi

I have attached two photos (I hope!) of my great-aunt.  Both photos are labelled wedding day, Dec 1912.   This was in Chesterfield, which may have behind the times a little.

Assuming the labels are correct, I am puzzled at the difference in the skirt part of the dress.  The portrait shows a pleat at the hem; the happy couple photo shows a lacy skirt.

Was it the fashion of the day to wear a lacy overskirt along with a veil for the ceremony and discard these later?

Intriguing.
Crook, Bannister, Warren

Online jim1

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Re: Bridal wear tradition/fashion 1912?
« Reply #1 on: Monday 10 September 18 11:00 BST (UK) »
Very few women had outright wedding outfits. Most married in their Sunday best. This lady seems to have had an outfit for the wedding but for further use later without the fussy bits.
The 2nd. photo may not have been taken on the same day, in fact I'm sure it wasn't.
It wasn't unusual to have wedding photos taken a week or 2 after the event.
Warks:Ashford;Cadby;Clarke;Clifford;Cooke Copage;Easthope;
Edmonds;Felton;Colledge;Lutwyche;Mander(s);May;Poole;Withers.
Staffs.Edmonds;Addison;Duffield;Webb;Fisher;Archer
Salop:Easthope,Eddowes,Hoorde,Oteley,Vernon,Talbot,De Neville.
Notts.Clarke;Redfearne;Treece.
Som.May;Perriman;Cox
India Kane;Felton;Cadby
London.Haysom.
Lancs.Gay.
Worcs.Coley;Mander;Sawyer.
Kings of Wessex & Scotland
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www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/

Online ValJJJ

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Re: Bridal wear tradition/fashion 1912?
« Reply #2 on: Monday 10 September 18 11:15 BST (UK) »
Thanks.  I did wonder if the photos were on two different days. 

The bride was a maid, so little money I guess, and certainly her family had little money - she had 5 siblings.  The groom was a tool maker and probably made good money - he certainly did later on.

I have now been sent a family group photo - faded on one side, and it needs work, which we can do so please don't anyone trouble to do this.  I've attached it for interest.   26th Dec 1912 at Chesterfield parish church, Derbys.  Love the hats!
Crook, Bannister, Warren

Online ValJJJ

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Re: Bridal wear tradition/fashion 1912?
« Reply #3 on: Monday 10 September 18 11:23 BST (UK) »
Some of the ladies also have a very awkward angle to their arms in the group photo.  Perhaps the flowers were heavy or would stain the dresses so they are holding them away from themselves?
Crook, Bannister, Warren


Offline Viktoria

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Re: Bridal wear tradition/fashion 1912?
« Reply #4 on: Monday 10 September 18 11:44 BST (UK) »
The fashion of that time was often a skirt and top ,the waistline hidden under a basqu like stiff belt.That made it look like a dress.
The skirt and top could to some degree be a “mix and match “ arrangement.
The wedding dress was kept for evening wear with people who went out to dine and also sometimes cut up for the first baby’s Christening robe.
I think the lady has changed from the skirt part and substituted another plainer one with the pleat.
It is so nice to have something like that,I am sure you treasure it.
Thanks for sharing it.
       Viktoria.

Online ValJJJ

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Re: Bridal wear tradition/fashion 1912?
« Reply #5 on: Monday 10 September 18 12:04 BST (UK) »
Hi Viktoria

I noticed that the top part of the 'dress' looked very similar of the same in both photos but as the images are not very clear, I wasn't certain.  Also it clearly was the fashion, so if women could afford more than one, I wonder if they would look similar?  I suppose they would need a minimum of two tops for when one was in the wash. Or perhaps they had an undergarment that was washed often, and only one top?
Crook, Bannister, Warren

Offline Creasegirl

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Re: Bridal wear tradition/fashion 1912?
« Reply #6 on: Thursday 13 September 18 17:44 BST (UK) »
Could it be the same dress but she is holding her bouquet upside down so that flowers cover top of dress in second photo.  It looks like whole bouquet may be wired so flowers didnt move
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Offline Maiden Stone

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Re: Bridal wear tradition/fashion 1912?
« Reply #7 on: Thursday 13 September 18 18:44 BST (UK) »
She has a frilly decoration on her right shoulder in 2nd picture which seems to match the floral arrangement down length of her gown.
Cowban

Offline Maiden Stone

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Re: Bridal wear tradition/fashion 1912?
« Reply #8 on: Thursday 13 September 18 20:07 BST (UK) »
Hi Viktoria

I noticed that the top part of the 'dress' looked very similar of the same in both photos but as the images are not very clear, I wasn't certain.  Also it clearly was the fashion, so if women could afford more than one, I wonder if they would look similar?  I suppose they would need a minimum of two tops for when one was in the wash. Or perhaps they had an undergarment that was washed often, and only one top?

Less well-off women may have owned one best outfit or ensemble which they altered by adding or changing decoration or accessories.
 I have 2 photos of a female ancestor also taken c1912. She was wearing a stiff-looking brand-new frock in one picture. She'd saved up money, ordered material and had the frock made. It would have been her best frock for several years, worn on Sundays and on special occasions. Her children remembered the frock more than 50 years later. She wore a skirt and a frilly blouse for the other photo. This photograph is less formal; she was kneeling by her toddler, something she wouldn't have been able to do in her stiff frock. The skirt & frilly blouse ensemble may have been her 2nd best outfit or her summer-best. The frills would have needed careful ironing so I doubt if the blouse would have been washed frequently. She probably changed into a more practical garment after the photographic session.  She was wife of a tenant-farmer with a large family; there wasn't much spare money for "fripperies" or time for ironing frills.
Outer clothes would not have been washed often. Skirt and blouse ensemble was practical. Blouse could be washed more often and skirt brushed. Women wore several layers of under-garments, sometimes 2 petticoats.

The bride in your photos, being a maid, would have had low wages and little spare time. She might have been saving all her spare cash for her trousseau and her "bottom drawer". Her mistress or employer's daughter(s) may have contributed some "cast-offs" which she adapted. All girls were expected to be good at needlework. Bride's female relatives may have helped with sewing.
Cowban