Dufferin Historical Museum

Carman, Manitoba

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The White Wedding Dress

by Emily Wiebe

 

The concept of a white wedding dress is very familiar in Western culture. Many assume this tradition originates from ancient times. Contrary to popular belief, the white wedding dress is a relatively recent phenomenon. The popularity of the white wedding dress was brought about by Queen Victoria who wore a white lace wedding gown in her marriage to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg in 1840.
Prior to the 1840s, wedding dresses were made in many different colours and styles. Wealthy brides’ dresses were made using costly fabrics such as silk and velvet, and often included furs, lace, embroidery, and precious or semi-precious jewels. Due to the painstaking nature of fabric making, rich brides used great quantities of fabric to flaunt their wealth. Poorer brides wore their best Sunday dress. But for both wealthy and poor brides, the wedding dress was not a ‘once wear’ dress. It was re-worn many times throughout the bride’s life. Even Queen Victoria repurposed her famous wedding dress for multiple occasions.
Many believe that wedding dresses are traditionally white because white symbolizes purity and virginity, but this is not the case. Blue was originally the colour that symbolized purity because of its affiliation with the Virgin Mary. Instead, white was associated with wealth and privilege. White, due to washing techniques of the day, was impossible to clean thoroughly. This made any white garment necessarily a ‘once wear’ piece. Therefore white wedding dresses were seen as extravagant since only the wealthiest could afford to buy a dress they would only wear once.
After Queen Victoria’s marriage, white became the bridal go-to colour. But with the First World War, coloured wedding dresses gained popularity. The Great Depression furthered this resurgence of ‘Sunday Best’ wedding dresses. World War II continued this trend with rationing of fabric and other materials. By the 1950’s, especially influenced by Grace Kelly’s wedding dress, the white wedding dress had returned to popularity. It is still the most popular wedding dress colour to this day.

Dufferin Historical Museum

Guest’s Comments

“It was so nice to meet you guys and get a chance to see all of your displays. I want to again say how much we appreciated you opening the museum and taking time out of your days for us. We went over to the cemetery and they helped us find the grave sites which was a thrill as well. Thank you again for your hospitality and the gift bag.”
Howard Thomson
Hemenway Family

"Nice to meet you and have a personalized tour of the Museum .... your organization has done a wonderful job of displaying the artifacts and honoring the families in the area. Glad that you were able to use some of the articles that I had available.
The cookbook is really well done. I enjoyed reading and reminiscing - lots of great recipes and 'tidbits'. 
"Big Bouquet" to all involved.

Linda, Morden, MB"

"A Great Museum I visited the Dufferin Historical Museum on Saturday, June 2 for the celebration of Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee.
I have not visited the museum for some time and I was greatly impressed by the changes that have taken place. The people who have been giving their time and expertise to the arrangement and displaying of the many artifacts, as well as the people who have worked with the flowers and plants around the grounds, are to be greatly commended. There is more work and time spent on these jobs than most people realize. The tea was probably a first and in my opinion a good idea. It was overall a great way to celebrate the event. A visit to our museum is certainly a great way to spend an hour or two and well worth it."

Keith Barker, Carman Past Board Member

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Contact

Dufferin Historical Museum
44 Kings Park Road
Carman Manitoba R0G 0J0

Phone:
Museum - 204-745-3597

Trish Aubin – 204-745-7353
Caroll McGill – 204-745-6674
The GPS coordinates:
49° 30.178 N 098° 00.621 W

Admisions

Adult: $5.00
Student: $3.00
Under 5: Free

Memberships:

Single: $10.00
Family: $25.00 (2 adults/2 students)

Hours of Operation

July and August
Tues - Sat 10:00 - 5:00 pm
Sunday: 1:00 to 5:00 pm

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