Love My Dress | Decades of Elegance

The 50’s were a fascinating era for weddings, as the war was over and fabrics no longer rationed, which gave way for more freedom of design. The silhouette changed so that emphasis was now on the feminine hourglass-figure: a marked waist, rounded shoulders and fuller skirts. When looking through vintage wedding dress pictures and blogs you will see that tea-length dresses (dresses that reach down to the ankle) from the 50’s are really prominent, and it almost seems like this dress length represents our idea of vintage fashion. Again, my favourite vintage wedding blog Love My Dress has a whole section dedicated to 1950’s style weddings, and you will note how often the shorter hemlines feature in the posts.

Vintage wedding dress from Saks Fifth Avenue

Our friend Jeanette in Cape Town lent us this 1950’s dress to photograph and it represents 50’s fashion so well with its structured fabric, scooped neckline and zipper at the back – which of course made putting a wedding dress on a two-people job! The long sleeves are also very typical of this era, when it was still tradition to keep the arms covered, especially during church services. (1) This fabulous piece is from Saks Fifth Avenue, the American upscale department store based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. (2) How fascinating it is to see how vintage pieces wander across the continents like this!

Saks Fifth Avenue 1950’s wedding dress

Scooped neckline, bow and pearl embroidery

Hollywood movies and celebrities were also great influences on wedding fashion in the 50’s: in April 1956 the beautiful Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier III of Monaco, in what was referred to as “the wedding of the century”. The bride wore a wedding gown which was a gift from the MGM film studios and featured a full skirted silhouette, a high collar, long sleeves and a fitted bodice. The dress was made of silk taffeta, tulle, 125-year-old Brussels rose point lace, and the bride also wore a sheer veil and a tiara. You can see lots of beautiful pictures of Grace Kelly on Google if you click here (again, due to copyrights I am not adding any photos here!) Parallels have also been drawn between Grace Kelly and Kate Middleton’s wedding dresses – and if you click on the link I am sure you will be able to spot the similarities. (3)

The elegant bow at the back

It is all in the small details – like the embroidery on the sleeves

The beautifully embroidered front

As will all of Jeanette’s wedding dresses featured here on the blog, this one is for sale and if you want to get in touch with the her just send me an email and I will make it happen!

Beaded 1950’s wedding dress

After a long day of photographing the three vintage wedding dresses the sun decided to grant us the most beautiful sunset over Cape Town and the moon responded with this glorious moonrise: