Short answer
Why do brides wear white? Mostly because of Queen Victoria. When she married Prince Albert in 1840 in a white silk satin gown, she set a fashion that wealthy brides copied and, over the following century, almost everyone else did too. Before then, brides wore their best dress in any color, and white was a sign of wealth more than of purity.
Key takeaways
- For most of history, brides wore their best dress in whatever color they had, including red and even black.
- Queen Victoria’s white silk satin gown, worn at her wedding to Prince Albert in 1840, made white fashionable.
- Before modern bleaching, white fabric was hard to keep and expensive, so a white dress signaled wealth more than purity.
- White was associated with innocence before Victoria, but the link to purity became the popular explanation only later.
- White became the standard for most brides only in the 20th century, as clothing became cheaper.
The white dress feels so timeless that it is surprising to learn how recent it is. For most of history, a wedding dress was simply the best thing a woman owned, and it was usually worn again.
Before white
For centuries, a bride’s dress was her finest clothing, not a garment made for one day. Color depended on fashion, money and what was available. Red and other bright colors were common choices, and some brides wore black. A practical dress could be worn to church and to other occasions for years.
There were royal exceptions. Mary, Queen of Scots, wore white when she married the Dauphin of France in 1558, an unusual choice at the time. White was not a rule, and for most women it was not even an option.
Why white was a luxury
Before modern bleaching techniques were mastered, white fabric was rare and expensive, and keeping it white was even harder. As the historian Julia Baird put it in her biography of Victoria, white was “more a symbol of wealth than purity.” A white dress said that its owner could afford something that would be spoiled by a single wearing in ordinary life.
The wedding of 1840
Victoria married her cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in 1840. Her gown was white silk satin, trimmed with Honiton lace, and it was described as the color of snow.
Wealthy brides in Britain and beyond began to imitate her. The white dress became a fashion, then an expectation, among those who could afford it.
How white became the rule
For decades, white remained a choice for the well-off. Most brides still married in their best dress, whatever its color. What changed things was the cost of clothing. As fabric became cheaper and ready-made dresses spread, more women could buy a dress for a single day. The writer Carol Wallace has described this as “the definitive democratization of the white wedding gown.” White became standard for most Western brides only in the 20th century.
What about purity?
The most common explanation today is that white represents purity or virginity. White already carried associations of innocence before Victoria’s wedding, and the meaning was attached to the dress over time. But historians generally see the original appeal as status and fashion. The symbolism followed the trend rather than causing it.
A short timeline
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| Before the 19th century | Brides wear their best dress, in any color |
| 1558 | Mary, Queen of Scots, marries in white, an unusual royal choice |
| 1840 | Queen Victoria marries Prince Albert in white silk satin and lace |
| Later 19th century | Wealthy brides copy the fashion |
| 20th century | White becomes the standard for most Western brides |
Not everywhere
The white wedding dress is a Western custom, and many cultures never adopted it or combine it with their own traditions. In much of South Asia, red is the traditional color for brides, and in China red has long been associated with weddings and good fortune. Even in the West, the “tradition” is less than two centuries old, younger than many of the churches where it is worn.
Another custom that looks ancient but took its modern form surprisingly late is trick-or-treating. See The Origin of Trick-or-Treating, or explore Customs & Traditions.
Frequently asked questions
When did brides start wearing white?
White wedding dresses became fashionable after Queen Victoria wore one in 1840, and became the norm for most Western brides in the 20th century.
What color did brides wear before white?
Usually their best dress, in whatever color they had. Red and other bright colors were common, and some brides wore black.
Does a white wedding dress symbolize purity?
That is the popular meaning today, but historians generally see white’s original appeal as a sign of wealth, since white fabric was expensive and hard to keep clean.
Was Queen Victoria the first bride to wear white?
No. Mary, Queen of Scots, married in white in 1558, but Victoria’s wedding was the one that made white fashionable.