How to Read A Wedding Dress is a visual, annotated history of one of life’s most symbolic and significant garments: the wedding dress. Examples focus particularly on the trend for white which became a global phenomenon from the late nineteenth century onwards, discussing how this originally western construct has been adapted and reinterpreted across cultures to become a universally recognised symbol of love and commitment. The book aims to refocus some commonly held assumptions about bridal wear, particularly the notion that no white wedding dresses existed before Queen Victoria’s example.

In doing so, the practical and emotional relevance of white (and off-white) is discussed and its prevalence reassessed. Lower-class examples, particularly those held by smaller museums and collections, receive significant focus to highlight how and where brides chose and incorporated colour and practicality into their trousseau. Scattered amongst the book are examples of outfits, such as elopement and ‘second-day’ dresses, that were made to recognise a marriage or union, but do not necessarily fit the status of a traditional ‘wedding dress’. Beginning in the late medieval era, the book analyses carefully chosen dresses to indicate the origin and trajectory of the trend, considering individual stories and lives to chart not only societal trajectory, but also the ways in which individual wearers chose, modified, accessorised and cared for their bridal gowns.

Particular periods of history are explored through the ways bridal wear was perceived and designed, with stories encompassing the Holocaust, rationing, and economic depression illustrating how trauma and seismic political and social shifts affected this side of fashion. A chief focus of the second half of the book is the interpretation of the white wedding gown by other cultures, looking at the ingenious and sensitive ways that the wearing of white – and common silhouettes – have been integrated into garments such as kimono, hanbok, and cheongsam. Finally, the ever-evolving question of gender and identity is explored within the fluid examples that are rewriting the ways we perceive not only bridalwear, but marriage as an institution.