Both of these dresses are from the year 1881. The blue dress was donated by the Donegal chapter of the DAR in 1970 and the purple silk was donated by Mrs. William Fox in 1977.
During the Victorian period the white dress fantasy developed because of Queen Victoria in 1840. This fantasy became part of many young girls lives, but this was only for those who could afford such an elaborate wedding dress. In the 1870's there was an emergence of the middle class and many women began to copy fashions from Paris by Worth. Long trains and full skirts in the back were very popular during this time. You cannot see the back of the dresses in these pictures but they are both very full in the back. They also both include beaded designs. Women of the middle class would wear their best dress or make there wedding dress that would eventually be for special occasions for the year of visits after she was married. Most of the best dresses would be a solid color that was darker so it could be worn many special places after the wedding. Blue was seen as s symbolic color because of the virgin Mary and this tradition would continue with the saying something old something new something borrowed something BLUE. From the 1870's on dresses that were worn at a church wedding were required to have a higher neck line. When the wedding was over then dresses would be remade to be evening gowns. Many brides wore their best going away dresses because they would leave directly from the wedding for their honeymoon.
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