The Wedding Dress : 300 Years of Bridal Fashions

This beautiful book explores the history and traditions of the wedding dress from 1700 to the present. There are wedding dresses from the Victoria and Albert Museum’s superb collection, and the royal wedding dress of 2011. These gowns, supported by a rich collection of photographs, letters, memoirs, and newspaper articles, illustrate how designers have re-invented the traditional white wedding dress, in particular, since it first became fashionable in the early 1800s.

This book – about beautiful gowns, the wedding industry, and the romance that surrounds it all – is an excellent accompaniment to Te Papa’s exhibition, Unveiled: 200 years of wedding fashion from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Featured designers:
Charles Frederick Worth
Norman Hartnell
Charles James
Zandra Rhodes
Vivienne Westwood
Vera Wang
Christian Lacroix
Lanvin
Jean Paul Gaultier
Stephen Jones
Philip Treacy