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The Dynamics of a Wedding Dress

Lucie Marsikova

The dress makes the bride, and the bride makes the wedding. But how exactly does the wedding dress turn a woman into a bride? How much does this transformation exactly cost? And is it due to the fact that a wedding is one of the unique instances of life, such as birth or death, which intersect cultures regardless of their geolocation, that the wedding industry operates on a fully international scale?

When we ask these questions, the main three aspects of a wedding dress which makes its choice considerably complicated resurface. The first aspect is its ritual nature: the dress must fulfil its ritual function, however as one of the most prominent parts of the wedding, they are closely linked to patriarchal expectations. Therefore, the second aspect would be the societal expectations of a wedding dress; first of all, it should be a dress; second the dress should be white; and third to a certain extent a veil is anticipated. All these elements are however charged with traditional significations, which might not suit everyone. This is reflected in Strategy R Influencer Driven report on bridal wear in the post-covid era as ‘The Era of Marriageable Millennials and Their Growing Extravagance: The Fundamental Growth Driver’ (Strategyr.com). Is indeed the departure from the tradition mere extravagance or rather a critical approach toward the current expectation of a wedding? For instance, only 23% of ceremonies were religious in 2017 in comparison to 85% in 1900? (Ghosh) To which extent does the expected exquisite nature of the dress enhance the ritual nature of a wedding, where the dress emphasises the magical moment of entering a new phase of life? And yet, to which extent does the dress objectify a woman into a presentable beautiful entity that represents a source of admiration or potential jealousy? I am pointing out this fact because in contrast to a groom, the bride will probably look considerably different on the day of her wedding than on any other day in her life, while the groom will be satisfied with a nice, yet re-usable suit.

Furthermore, this bridal transformation included in the current commercial narration of a wedding has a price, and that price is unexpectedly high due to the so-called wedding mark-up. In the case of a wedding dress “on average, retailers were charging 3.9 times as much” than on a dress of a similar design yet categorised as a ‘white dress’ and not a ‘wedding dress’. (Halzack) This leads to the third aspect of the wedding dress which is its value as a commercial object. The retailers claim, that “prices are significantly high for the handwork and very labour-intensive process required”. It is also the shopping experience that influences the price (Rose and Ingmar in Alben with business insider). Nevertheless, the question is why we think it is necessary to require an item that is probably incomparable to anything else we have ever purchased in the matter of price vs the time we spend on using it. Is it only a result of the global wedding industry and its successful promotion of the most important day of our lives for its monetary value translated into the ‘happy future’?

The use of memes for this project seemed like a suitable medium to portray the tensions resulting from the global politics of gender and the global wedding industry embodied in the purchase of a wedding dress. The illusory simplicity of the memes allows presenting certain characteristics of the tensions via a couple of words and pictures while not losing its complexity. And finally, thanks to the multitude of different templates and diversity in formats, the memes allowed me to include a vast range of ideas, where the choice of a wedding dress oscillates not only between commercial, ritual, and patriarchal hierarchy but also between personal and public dynamics on the global scale of the everyday life of the ancient ritual of a marriage.

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Sources:

Alben, Spencer. “Why Wedding Dresses Are So Expensive | So Expensive.” Edited by Business insider, YouTube, YouTube, 9 Feb. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_MIi3m8D2o

Chesser, Barbara Jo. “Analysis of Wedding Rituals: An Attempt to Make Weddings More Meaningful.” Family Relations, vol. 29, no. 2, 1980, pp. 204–209. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/584073. Accessed 19 Apr. 2021.

Ghosh, Kanak. “Marriages in England and Wales: 2017.” Marriages in England and Wales – Office for National Statistics, Office for National Statistics, 13 Apr. 2020, www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/marriagecohabitationandcivilpartnerships/bulletins/marriagesinenglandandwalesprovisional/2017#type-of-ceremony

Halzack, Sarah. “Don’t Buy a ‘Wedding Dress’ for Your Wedding.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 29 Apr. 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/06/21/dont-buy-a-wedding-dress-for-your-wedding/

Strategyr.com. Bridal Wear – Market Study by Global Industry Analysts, Inc., Apr. 2021, www.strategyr.com/market-report-bridal-wear-forecasts-global-industry-analysts-inc.asp

Virmani, Arundhati. “MARIAGES À LA FRANÇAISE: The Decline of a Millennary Institution?” India International Centre Quarterly, vol. 44, no. 1, 2017, pp. 67–109. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26317528. Accessed 19 Apr. 2021.

 

Other Sources For The Memes:

Schoeny, Marlise. Why Do Brides Wear White?, The Ohio State University, 12 Sept. 2020, news.osu.edu/why-do-brides-wear-white/

HeyItsVadim. How Weddings Exploit Your Love & Wallet – The Wedding Industrial Complex (Ft. HeyItsVadim) | SalariYouTube, YouTube, 6 Feb. 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=3haQT172wW0

Images:

Dunikowski, Lukasz. “Bella P, black wedding dress.” Flickr, https://www.flickr.com/photos/lukasz-dunikowski/3832680719.

“Grey Bridal Dress.” Https://Www.3mshop.Ga/ProductDetail.aspx?Iid=53240921&Pr=68.99 

“Red Dress.” Pxhere, pxhere.com/en/photo/1531693

Wang, Zoe. “Blue-Colored-Wedding-Dress.” Flickr, www.flickr.com/photos/zoe0919/6793747525

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