Is a wedding dress a uniform?

MA Research

Hi Everyone, I am collecting information for a Masters Thesis on ‘The Wedding Dress as a Uniform; the uniformity of the wedding dress’. With this in mind, I want to look at the importance of the wedding dress to the wedding party. What does it represent? Who influences its aesthetic? Is the bride influenced/supported in her decision by Mum, sisters, friends, bridesmaids? Is the white dress just as important in secular ceremonies? In same sex unions, how important is the white bridal dress? Do any brides opt for a dress other than the white bridal gown?
I appreciate and look forward to your replies and suggestions. Thank you.

Avatar MIA

MA Research wrote: »

Hi Everyone, I am collecting information for a Masters Thesis on ‘The Wedding Dress as a Uniform; the uniformity of the wedding dress’. With this in mind, I want to look at the importance of the wedding dress to the wedding party. What does it represent? Who influences its aesthetic? Is the bride influenced/supported in her decision by Mum, sisters, friends, bridesmaids? Is the white dress just as important in secular ceremonies? In same sex unions, how important is the white bridal dress? Do any brides opt for a dress other than the white bridal gown?
I appreciate and look forward to your replies and suggestions. Thank you.

As the only uniformity around a white wedding dress is the colour, with the expressed goal of being as unique as possible is this not a tough take for a masters?

Plus, now that weddings and dresses are more secular, they no longer need to be white.

And as for white being the fashion, that in itself is only a few decades old.

And the whole reason for the white colour in the first place is pretty much redundant in modern society... except in church weddings. Even then, cream, off white and other variations are not uncommon.

I know way more about wedding dresses than I thought!

wench

Watch a few episodes of Say Yes to the Dress, should give you plenty of material, particularly on the family support or lack thereof!

baby and crumble

MA Research wrote: »

In same sex unions, how important is the white bridal dress? Do any brides opt for a dress other than the white bridal gown?

This question in particular caught my attention. The political background of a white wedding dress has no value in the LGBTQ community.

Lots of brides will not be wearing a dress at all. I am one of them.

You're asking a lot of different questions there, OP. Perhaps you should refine your topic a bit more.

MA Research

Avatar MIA
Having worked in the industry as a couture bridal designer, I saw how the bride struggled to be individual whilst conforming to social expectations. I saw how bridal photography proffered unreal standards for brides, legs and necks being stretched in photos and creases being photoshoped out of wedding dresses. Impossible standards. My question being teased out here, 'Is the wedding dress a variation on a theme. Individual only within structured social perpetrates? In colour choices are white, off-white, ivory, cream, with silhouette being long with a boned bodice. How much choice does a bride really have? I question the uniformity not only in colour and silhouette, also is what the bride is saying. White wedding dresses are still the primary choice in secular ceremonies. Thank you for your response, I am trying to assert how a wedding is viewed in a contemporary society and why.

Thank you 'Wench', I will look at suggested programme. TV programmes can sometimes be contrived and edited as to provide maximum entertainment, I have been involved in a few and its all down to what producer and editor want to say, not always reflecting what has happened.

Baby and Crumble, my current research has highlighted in one LGBTQ wedding, both girls chose to wear white wedding dresses. They went to same bridal boutique with their Mums at different times and chose dresses, which were to be a surprise to one another on the day. In this same bridal Boutique, some brides chose dress with boutique proprietor before the big appointment with Mother, sister, bridesmaid, friend, in the face of pressure to choose something else.
If I may ask, in the event of your wedding, what will you be wearing and why? This is what I hope to discover in this research, the changing value of a wedding garment and what is influencing that. What would it mean to you to wear a white wedding dress, so what is your intention in not wearing one.
Indeed, I am asking a lot of questions here, necessary in research.
I am very interested in how you would approach choosing your wedding attire and would appreciate continuing this thread with you. Many thanks.

Black Swan

MA Research wrote: »

I want to look at the importance of the wedding dress to the wedding party.

• What does it represent? ANS: A social construction of reality that's culture bound, with differences across family traditions, ethnicity, generation expectations (Baby Boom, Gen-X, Millennials, etc.), religions or secular, socio-economic status, educational attainment, catchy marketing-driven fads to increase sales, and historical periods.
• Who influences its aesthetic? ANS: In addition to social constructions, media outlets such as bridal fashion shows, women's magazines, celebrity weddings, specialty wedding retail outlets, wedding planners, and web-based wedding social media sites.
• Is the bride influenced/supported in her decision by Mum, sisters, friends, bridesmaids? ANS: There are individual differences for influence and support that varies on a case-by-case basis, which may pose problems when attempting to reason from the individual unit of analysis to a larger unit, along with cautions about the possibility of committing an ecological fallacy.
• Is the white dress just as important in secular ceremonies? ANS: Once again this may exhibit individual differences that may also vary by the interaction of some social constructions.
• In same sex unions, how important is the white bridal dress? Do any brides opt for a dress other than the white bridal gown? ANS: I'm not qualified to answer this question.

Avatar MIA

Black Swan wrote: »

• What does it represent? ANS: A social construction of reality that's culture bound, with differences across family traditions, ethnicity, generation expectations (Baby Boom, Gen-X, Millennials, etc.), religions or secular, socio-economic status, educational attainment, catchy marketing-driven fads to increase sales, and historical periods.
• Who influences its aesthetic? ANS: In addition to social constructions, media outlets such as bridal fashion shows, women's magazines, celebrity weddings, specialty wedding retail outlets, wedding planners, and web-based wedding social media sites.
• Is the bride influenced/supported in her decision by Mum, sisters, friends, bridesmaids? ANS: There are individual differences for influence and support that varies on a case-by-case basis, which may pose problems when attempting to reason from the individual unit of analysis to a larger unit, along with cautions about the possibility of committing an ecological fallacy.
• Is the white dress just as important in secular ceremonies? ANS: Once again this may exhibit individual differences that may also vary by the interaction of some social constructions.
• In same sex unions, how important is the white bridal dress? Do any brides opt for a dress other than the white bridal gown? ANS: I'm not qualified to answer this question.

BS - I like how your mind works. :cool: