In Western society, it is conventional for a new bride to wear a whitened wedding dress at the ceremony, often with a matching veil. This tradition is a fairly recent development, however — until the mid-1800s, and even through much of the 20th century, the wedding dress was merely a formal dress that might be reused for any special occasion. The bride could wear any color except for red-colored or black, which were linked with prostitutes and mourning, respectively.
The first well-known woman to wear a whitened wedding dress was Mary, Queen of Scots — at that time, it was seen as a bad choice, as whitened was the official color of mourning for the French. In 1840, however, another royal figure wore whitened to her wedding — Queen Victoria, at her marriage to Albert of Saxe-Colburg. Queen Victoria’s wedding photos were widely publicized, sparking an interest from the whitened wedding dress through England and beyond.
The whitened wedding dress was a symbol of wealth. Because the dress could not be washed or reused for other occasion, it was evidence that the bride’s family could afford to spend money on an extravagant dress. Through much of the early 20th century, only a abundant woman could afford to wear a whitened wedding dress; most women still wore dresses in various colors. Others wore whitened dresses which they would dye another color soon after the ceremony, so that it might be employed for other occasions.
In the 1950s, however, whitened wedding dress started to be a mainstream trend through Western society. With the advent of television, society was bombarded with images of celebrities like Grace Kelly wearing whitened dresses to their weddings. The typical American woman finally decided that it was time to splurge on an expensive whitened wedding dress for her own ceremony.
The whitened wedding dress is typically used as a symbol for virginity. However, the color whitened is also linked with innocence and happiness. over time, as women from all stages of life are wearing whitened to their wedding, the whitened wedding dress has lost the connotations of virginity, and is merely linked with a new bride.


