Page 39 - All About History - Issue 53-17

Through History

KENTE CLOTH 1600 .According to legend, the idea for UCHIKAKE 1600
.kente cloth was inspired by an
At Ghanaian weddings, it is traditional .intricate spider web The traditional wedding garment worn
for the bride and groom to both wear by women in Japan is the uchikake, a
garments made from kente cloth. This highly formal kimono worn only by
colourful patterned fabric originated with brides or at stage performances. It is
the Ewe and Ashanti people of Ghana in intended to be worn as a coat over the
the 17th century, and it soon became the top of another kimono and features a
nation’s royal cloth, reserved for important heavily padded hem that trails along the
events. It is woven in narrow strips, with floor. Its exact origins are unclear, but it
each strip containing a series of bands that is likely to have been developed during
feature mutli-coloured geometric patterns. the Edo period when kimonos
Each pattern represents a historical event, Elizabeth as outerwear began to
person or proverb, and the colours also Emanuel evolve. Until the 20th
have symbolic meanings. 1953-, BRITISH century, such exquisite
Elizabeth, along with her brother garments were
David Emanuel, designed the iconic reserved for the noble
wedding dress of Princess Diana for her classes, but when
wedding in 1981. The puffy creation was
made from ivory silk embellished with Japan’s sumptuary .Uchikake are
pearls, sequins and antique lace, and laws were repealed, .typically white or
had a 7.6-metre-long train — still wealthy commoners .red and painted or
the longest in royal adopted them as .embroidered with
wedding history. .beautiful designs
wedding attire.

SAUKELE 1800
.Each saukele
.is unique In addition to a gown made from expensive and
.and may be
typically red-coloured fabrics, Kazakh brides also
.passed down
.through the wear a saukele on their head. These intricate cone-
.generations
The wedding dress of Sophia shaped headdresses can be up to 70 centimetres
tall and usually take a whole year to make. They
Magdalena of Denmark
illustrates the fashion for
are decorated with pearls, coral, silver coins,
extremely wide panniers
fur and semiprecious stones and feature long
suspension brackets called zhaktau on either side,
which frame the face and reach down to the waist.
The saukele is worn throughout the ceremony and
SOMETHING BLUE 1700 then on major holidays for a year afterwards.
The tradition for brides to dress their best continued into the 18th century
in Europe, but fashions were evolving. For nobility, wide panniers – wire Queen Victoria started the
hoops that hung on each hip underneath the dress – came into style, and trend for white wedding
the wider they were the better. For lower class brides, outfits were a little dresses in western culture
more practical, as they would typically be worn again and again. Darker
colours were preferred, as they didn’t show up so much dirt, but each
shade held a specific meaning. For example, blue became popular as it
represented purity, and was featured in the 19th century ‘something old’
rhyme as a sign of good luck.
.Each bunad, meaning ‘clothing’,
BUNAD 1800 .must be officially classified by TE WEDDING 1840
.the .National Bunad Council.
o
g
The bunad is a traditional Norwegian Al hhough h wearing a white wedding
Al
t
costume worn on special occ casions by d dress wa as nothing new, it became
y
both men and women. It is a fairly recent m much m
more popular after Queen
addition to Norwegian culture e, introduced V Victoria o opted for a white lace gown
during the country’s national l romanticism when sh he married Prince Albert.
wh
p
movement in the 19th century ry and inspired Wh ymbolised wealth, and those
White sy
by traditional folk attire. A wo oman’s bunad t that coul ld afford to quickly began
comprises a woolen dress wo orn over e emulatin
ng the royal bride look. A
l
a linen or cotton shirt, with a h shawl l d decade la ater, one of the first women’s
and apron made of wool or si ilk. The magazin
m g ines in America, Godey’s Lady’s
bride’s outfit will be complim mented B Book, d
k
k eclared that white was “the
with a gold crown, headdress s or most f fitting hue” for a bride, as it
elaborate jewelry worn on the e w was “ “an emblem of the purity and
head, and she may also wear a i inno
ocence of girlhood, and the
veil if it has been designed in nto un
nsullied heart she now yields
the traditional costume. to o the chosen one.” © Alamy
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