The years of Austerity still had style and grace... 40's / 50's wedding Dresses

Yes the war may have been going on yet still brides always found a way to look fabulous on their wedding day be it they borrowed a friends dress, mended family dresses or opted for a very stylish dress already in their wardrobe, this was of course during the war as there were a lot of quick weddings with sweethearts going of to war so all had to be planned quickly.  If you were planning to wed your loved one you could collect pieces of fabrics wherever you could... lace was sometimes bought back from overseas by the men or if a German was to land by parachute the ladies were much more interested in the silk parachutes for its fabric than they were of capturing a POW.  Parachute fabric was a prized find to be made into dresses and knickers.

Trends were for long mutton sleeves where they billow at the shoulder and taper down to between the wrist and elbow coming to a point, high Edwardian type necklines, i guess in our terms they would have been considered "Vintage" style, necklines often sweetheart and filled in with lace if you were lucky or more often netting, emphasis was always on the waist often with a v detail.  Rayon was the fabric used more often due to the wartime silk shortage.  Maybe you don't want to wear a typical wedding dress and would like to opt for a suit like those of the forties period, elegant with peplum waists that were accessorised with a fox fur stole, impressive hats and simple bags.  The birdcage hat came into fashion at this point as a full veil was hard to come by so a little netting was added to the hat to give that traditional veil feel

 Come the end of the war and well into the 50's dresses became fuller as rationing on fabric was lifted.  With nipped in waists and billowing netted underskirts  the New Look took over and gave us the typical 50's look.  Lace Boleros worn over strapless dresses, the dress length came up to what became known as Tea Length with flutter hems of scalloped fabrics, lace was back and necklines were either scoop or sweetheart

If you are a bit of a rockabilly chick  then you are sure to be bringing the 50's into your big day, bring a splash of colour to the day and wear a coloured dress or accentuate your beautiful white dress  with block coloured shoes and a jaw dropping bouquet in the same colour giving you wedding photos to be envious of. I love Reading Rock & Roll Bride and it is a great source of wedding inspiration for everything from venues to wedding dresses, sometimes people want an era themed wedding but also want to bring a little of themselves and originality, or like me just like having a sneaky peek at other peoples wedding pictures... sites like this are surely worth a visit.

50's wedding source www.rocknrollbride.com