웨딩드레스 색상의 변천과정 연구

A Research on the Changes of Wedding Dress′ Colors

It is quite common today for bride to wear white-colored wedding-dress in wedding ceremony. When does the color date back to? What does the “white” mean? Which other colors had been used for wedding dress and why? This research paper aims to answer those historical questions through literature review. It is found here that the “white” began to be generally accepted for a wedding dress color in the 18th century, and that the color became an official one since the marriage of Queen Victoria's (i.e. 1840). Prior to that, other colors were taken rather than the “white”. In ancient Greece and Roma, “Red” and “Yellow” were used to remove devils or to bring fortune. In medieval society, luxurious wedding dresses were popular and various colors were adopted in order to show up family power among leading classes. The “White” has meant purity of bride since the 18th century. However, two world wars in the 20th century happened to lead some brides in economic difficulty wear “black” colored wedding dress for a practical reason. After the world wars, some light colors such as white, beige, ivory are to be used in wedding dress.