Wedding Dresses (1775-2014) at the Victoria and Albert Museum

At the Victoria & Albert Museum, London

My dear friend, if you are going to do one thing this year in the name of art, my suggestion is visiting the Victoria and Albert Museum for their exhibition: Wedding Dresses 1775-2014.  It is everything you could ever wish when it comes to learning about the history of gorgeous wedding dress designs:

Wedding Dresses 1775 – 2014 at the Victoria and Albert Museum, © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

You can easily make it the most fabulous day by getting all decked up in your Sunday finest, meeting up with a girlfriend (or boyfriend or friend of any kind!), enjoying these exquisite creations, and finishing off the trip with afternoon tea somewhere nearby and talking through your favourites!  This happens to be exactly what Lady N and I did:

Here I am, just about to go into the V&A – wearing the Decades of Elegance vintage-style leopard bracelet 

… together with the lovely Lady N, who has her vintage pearls on, red lips and a Chanel top – a look that never goes out of style!

The exhibition traces the development of the white wedding dress through history, and it brings us designs from key fashion designers such as Charles Frederick Worth, Norman Hartnell, Charles James, John Galliano, Christian Lacroix, Vivienne Westwood and Vera Wang.  It is just amazing to actually see the wedding dresses that you might have read about in the newspapers a few years ago come alive like this:

Dita von Teese’s wedding dress © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

For example, you might remember the purple dress worn by Dita Von Teese when she married Marilyn Manson?

Gwen Stefani wedding dress and Gavin Rossdale wedding attire © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

… or Gwen Stefani’s white and pink dress when she married Gavin Rossdale?

Silk brocade gown and petticoat, silk covered straw hat and silk satin shoes, 1780 Worn by Jane Bailey for her marriage to James Wickham – Image reproduced by kind permission of the Olive Matthews Collection, Chertsey Museum.

I was obviously over the moon to be able to see the historic wedding dresses – with everything from accessories that were fashionable at the the time, like wedding straw hats in the 18th century…

Embroidered corded silk wedding dress made after a Paquin, Lalanne et Cie Paris model by Stern Brothers, New York, 1890        © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

… to the tiniest waists that required tons of corsets – and may very well have had the 19th century bride fainting to the right and to the left on her big day…

Embroidered silk satin wedding dress designed by Norman Hartnell, 1933 Worn by Margaret Whigham for her marriage to Charles Sweeny © Illustrated London News Ltd/Mary Evans

… to wedding dresses in high society that came in the most breathtaking designs!  One that especially caught my eye was this glorious dress that Margaret Wigham wore for her marriage to Charles Sweeny in the 1930s.  When you visit you must make sure that you watch the video that they are playing in the background, as it shows her walking out the church with her husband, stepping into the waiting car – and having these glorious amounts of fabric fitted into the car around her!

Embroidered silk coat and silk dress designed by Anna Valentine, feather headdress created by Philip Treacy, 2005 – Worn by The Duchess of Cornwall for the blessing after her marriage to HRH The Prince of Wales – Photograph by Hugo Burnand

There are also more recent dresses that we all might remember when they were worn, like this embroidered silk coat and silk dress above, designed by Anna Valentine and feather headdress created by Philip Treacy in 2005 – as worn by The Duchess of Cornwall for the blessing after her marriage to HRH The Prince of Wales.

Kate Moss wedding dress and Jamie Hinch’s wedding attire at the Victoria and Albert Museum © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

And I have saved the best for last: my all time favourite wedding dress, designed by John Galliano and worn by Kate Moss in 2011 when she married Jamie Hinch.  When you read the description about their attire you will find out a very interesting fact about the groom’s tie..!

… I will leave the rest for you to explore on your visit to the V&A and you have until 15 March 2015, which gives you plenty of time to book that flight over to London, a ticket to the exhibition and a fabulous lunch or afternoon tea afterwards!

Wedding Dresses (1775-2014) – 3 May 2014 – 15 March 2015

V&A South Kensington
Cromwell Road
London SW7 2RL