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edwardian dresses, edwardian fashion, Edwardian wedding gowns, gilded age fashion, titanic era wedding
My absolutely favorite fashion era is the Edwardian era. The Edwardian era follows the Victorian period and begins at the death of Queen Victoria and the succession of her son, King Edward VII, corresponding with his reign and encompassing the years of 1901-1919. At times, historians end the Edwardian period with the King’s death in 1910, but generally it is known to extend beyond his death and including the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912, the start of World War I in 1914 to the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.
The beginning of Edwardian era fashion still followed along Victorian fashion lines with leg-of-mutton sleeves, high collars, long skirts — all focusing on an hourglass silhouette.
Early Edwardian wedding gown and trousseau
Many gowns featured long trains and an abundance of beautiful fine lace and luxurious fabrics. Women still wore corsets, but wore a “health” corset which gave women an S-curve shape, with a full low chest and curvy hips.
Early Edwardian wedding gown
Early Edwardian wedding gown
As the Edwardian era progressed, the high necks got lower and the silhouette became simpler and less full.
Edwardian wedding gown with a simpler silhouette
Edwardian wedding gown
Edwardian wedding gown
Edwardian wedding gown, back view
As the years went by, the sleeves became shorter.
Mid-Edwardian wedding with shorter sleeves
Mid-Edwardian wedding gown
Mid-Edwardian wedding gown
Following is one of my favorite Edwardian wedding gowns, this off-the-shoulder stunner from the Commodore Perry estate and currently for sale at Vintage Textile. I based the bodice of my own wedding gown on this beautiful dress.
Commodore Perry Estate wedding gown, 1908
Back view, Commodore Perry estate wedding gown
The mid-to-late Edwardian period began featuring robed gowns, either faux or with an overdress and cummerbunds or sashes. This is where “Titanic Era” fashion begins to form with opulent, embellished gowns that are my absolute favorites.
Edwardian wedding gown with robe and sash
Front and back view of an Edwardian wedding gown with robe and sash
The Edwardian tea dress is a favorite of mine as well and lovely enough to be worn as a wedding gown.
Edwardian tea dress
I love the abundance of lace on these gowns paired with the short sleeves and slim silhouette.
Mid-to-Late Edwardian wedding gown
Mid-to-late Edwardian wedding gown
Mid-to-late Edwardian wedding gown
Bodice of mid-to-late Edwardian wedding gown
The Late Edwardian period epitomizes the “Gilded Age” with magnificent attention to details with embroidery, beadwork, lace and luscious textiles.
Bodice of late Edwardian wedding gown
Bodice of Late Edwardian wedding gown
Late Edwardian wedding gown
Bodice of late Edwardian bridesmaid dress, which definitely could double as a wedding gown
As the Edwardian era neared it’s end and the 1920’s came into view, hemlines were shortened and dresses became looser and women began to lose their corsets.
Late Edwardian wedding gown
Late Edwardian wedding gown
If you’re planning an Edwardian inspired vintage wedding and aren’t lucky enough to posess an heirloom gown, you can either find an original or have one custom made.
Following are a few sites that feature original antique Edwardian gowns:
I absolutely LOVE the bridesmaids gown. This collection is superb.
Gorgeous, delicate wedding gowns! I’m planning on wearing an Edwardian gown for my wedding this summer. Thanks for posting the beautiful photos and links!! 🙂
Nice collection from this fabulous fashion era…my wedding and the custom gown I designed and made for it were Edwardian. It did indeed take me a long time to find suitable fabrics and laces, but the gown was made entirely of Chinese and Italian silk, which did make the difference in the way the gown presented itself, which is key to Edwardian fashion. Understated opulence is vital, but can be so hard to recreate now days because quality and craftsmanship are not something you can go out and purchase retail very easily these days. Even finding the materials to create a quality gown was difficult for me, let alone the time it took to design and make the gown. However, I was able to purchase all materials for the gown for $300. Usually materials can be found but are not what ends up costing for Edwardian fashion. As Tanya notes, it’s the complexity, detail, and difficulty of such gowns that end up making them cost so much to reproduce since a bride is paying mostly for the labor and skill of the dressmaker in being able to create vintage without having the dress end up looking like a theatrical costume (vintage dresses must work in a modern setting or they do end up looking like a costume). My custom Edwardian gowns (and that’s the only era I design for) usually cost anywhere from $2,400 to $3,000 just in labor costs. When you add the cost of materials most gowns end up going for $3,000 to $4,000. But, when you consider that brides who are going to upscale salons, i.e. Kleinfelds in New York and paying $3,000 on the LOW END for non custom gowns often made out of polyester and synthetic fabrics, it’s a steal, in my opinion, to have a dress custom designed for you from an era that you are in love with and that are made from quality materials that will stand the test of time. I think many of these upscale designers have got a lot of nerve to charge brides from $5,000 to $15,000 for some of the stuff they create. They’re mostly paying for the designer’s name and not for the beauty, custom design, or quality of the dress. If you’ve got a decent budget for a dress of between $3,000 to $5,000 for a dress, do yourself a favor and have it custom made!
I wholeheartedly agree#!
Hi! I am trying to get good ideas for shoes to match my very late Edwardian style wedding dress. It is a soft pinkish pearl and all my shoes are black, any ideas of shoes styles for a wedding dress that is not white and trying to stay before 1920 style?
Hi Maria,
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