My desire to have a wedding inspired by those held in the early 1950s to the early 1960s was no doubt fueled by my early and ever-going love of 1950-1960s romantic comedies. In fact, my dream wedding/life comes directly from those images forever burned onto my retinas as a child: Elizabeth Taylor in the original Father of the Bride, and "bunny-nose"June Allyson, Betty Grable, and Doris Day in every movie they ever made.... When I was younger, I would complacently sit and drool with envy (is that normal? do I have too much saliva? hehe) at the images flashing before me on that wonderful box, but now that I am "grown up" I have taken to staring fixedly and scribbling notes obsessively. As a result, I have quite a file on fashions, flowers, and colours used in my favorite films. To help bring some fifties flare to your wedding day ensemble, I've condensed those notes into a costumer's 101...
Without further ado, a cheat sheet:
popular wedding fabrics:
taffetas, chantilly/french lace, organza, nets, tulle, chiffon, silk, satin
popular silhouettes:
popular necklines:
popular accessories:
veils (bouffant, ultra full shoulder or fingertip length, or slim drop veils)
bridal caps and floral crowns
"shortie" wrist length, or opera-length gloves
pearls (necklaces, studs, and drop earrings especially)
bolero jackets (short or long sleeved, usually made of lace or organza)
fur stoles (for winter weddings)
predominantely white bouquets (may have pastel pink, peach, yellow, purple, or blue flowers mixed in), often highlighted by ivy. Popular bouquet shapes included nosegays and tear-drop trailing bouquets.
bibles with decorative floral corsages in lieu of a bouquet
Let's break it down and examine some 1950s brides in detail, shall we?
This is a good example of a day-time or more casual 1950s bride:
And, not to be forgotten, the evening/more formal 1950s bride:
Truly lovely! Many of the pieces can still be found today on Ebay, and as the vintage movement grows, many designers are offering affordable reproductions. I have tons of links to guide you, but you'll have to wait for another day!
If you want to read further, here are some excellent resources on 1950s fashion:
2 comments:
Hey Mrs. S! I know that you're no longer looking for wedding inspiration, but I'm wearing my grandmother's dress from 1951 for our July wedding. I saw her last week and scanned all of their wedding photos, which I'm slowly posting about through the week. I also scanned my dad's parent's wedding photos from 1953. Stop by if you want to see some 1950's action shots. They're so glamorous!
Courtney, those are adorable! I am so in love with vintage weddings (still) - thanks for showing me! P.S. I love that car!
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