Something Old, Something New: Dresses from our Collections

White wedding dresses are one of the most recognisable parts of wedding culture in the UK, with Queen Victoria often being credited with the popularisation of the trend. In her 1840 wedding to Prince Albert her white dress represented affluence and fertility, quickly becoming the standard amongst brides. Wedding trends can provide an insight into the political and economic climate of different periods, as well as highlight military history and traditions. While many of these women’s names and stories were lost to time, we still have their wedding photos as a way to remember them.

1870s

Our delve into this will start in 1871, with the marriage of Queen Victoria’s daughter, the then Her Royal Highness the Princess Louise, first Colonel-in-Chief of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. Her dress was made of silk and lace, with many flower details, a popular trend of the time. It paid homage to her family with many national and royal symbols adorning the bust, sleeves, and hems. This dress shows many aspects of the Victorian trends of detailed necklines sleeves and layered skirts. Due to her nature as a royal, her gown is a lot more lavish than the typical dresses of the time, highlighting her elevated status.

1910s

With World War One beginning in 1914 the wedding dress styles changed out of necessity opposed the fashion. War time limited resources led to more simple and practical styles. The image above shows the 1917 wedding of Argylls soldier Kenneth Malcom MacGhie and a women we unfortunately don’t know the name of. Her dress is considerably shorter and less ornate than Princess Louise’s, with a heavier focus on the floral arrangements, featured in her bouquet and headwear. This is due to the availability of local and seasonal flowers, shifting the focus of wedding dresses to availability opposed to luxury.

1920s

After WW1, the Argylls had several overseas tours across Asia and the Middle East, with this international weddings rose in popularity. Quite often these couples would meet in the country the Argyll was serving in.

This photo shows the wedding of an unknown Argylls officer and an unknown woman in Poona, India. Dated 1922, this photo is from the Argylls four-year long stint in the country. The brides dress shows a looser fit and slightly shorter length, a trend which had started to emerge in the early interwar, however it was now widespread. This bride might have been an early adopter due to the warm climate in India; however her dress still appears to be rather heavy so you can imagine it would still be very warm. Her flowers and veil resemble our 1917 bride, highlighting the end of war time trends.

Shown above is the wedding of Robert and Nellie Moir, circa 1920. With this dress you can see the influence of older trends, with her delicate bouquet and Juliet cap veil, while also seeing the emergence of contemporary trends with the inclusion of a lace underskirt and sleeves. This highlights the transition period for fashion, shifting from the war time frugality to 1920s fashions.

The photo above shows the wedding of Argyll, Andrew Hall, and his wife Lena, in Egypt. While the exact date is unknown the 1^st Battalion were present in Egypt from 1924-27 giving a rough period from when this wedding occurred. You can see the more typical 1920s style of dress in this photo, knee length, loose and drapey. While fashionable, this dress would be more comfortable to wear in the sunny Egyptian climate allowing for far more freedom of movement. There are some embellishments and use of different fabrics shaping a more glamorous look this could be attributed to the increased economic stability of the mid-1920s. It was during the rise of consumerism in this era that the idea of a once-in-a lifetime wedding dress arose, previously wedding dresses would be reused and re-worn however this idea fizzled out over the decade.

1930s

During the 1930s women’s fashion returned to a more modest and conservative look.The wedding dress of the unnamed wife of FCC Graham’s wedding dress is a prime example of the changing trends in the early 1930s. Her bouquet is more simile than earlier examples, donning a tiara style veil opposed to a flower crown and Juliet cap styles seen in earlier years. Her full length and straighter fitting gown with a long and voluminous train was an extremely popular silhouette at the time. The lesser embellishments and details on the dress may be attributed to the financial hardship of the early 1930s following the Great Depression.

In the late 30s, the UK saw a surge in marriages as couples hurried to get hitched before the men were deployed. With this double weddings also rose in popularity as they were more practical and effective. With this rush to get married, coupled with lack of resources, the typical wedding dress we think of today fells out of use. The photo above shows a double wedding with two 7^th Battalion members and their newly wed brides. One of the unnamed women is wearing a Red Cross Nurses uniform. This was not unheard of for the time, many women saw their status as nurses as a badge of pride, and if their husbands were to be married in uniform why could not they be too? The second brides dress is hard to see, covered by a long fur coat. Due to the lack of resources many brides chose to wear the nicest clothes they had available at the time. This photo shows an interesting representation of how wedding adapted to the circumstances of WW2.

1940s

This is a second example of a war time wedding from 1941. By this point rationing was implemented, leading to even more restrictions on available fabrics and dresses. It became more popular to borrow dresses from family members or friends, or continue the trend of wearing your fanciest dress, as seen with this bride above. While most of her dress is not visible it is evident it is not a traditional wedding dress. The more casual style was a need-must of the time, however as shown she has dressed it up with a flower arrangement and decorated hat. Even in tough times women were trying to find ways to make their big day feel special.

With Argylls being deployed on overseas tours after WW2, again, more international weddings took place. The Argylls served in Palestine from 1945 to 1948, two Palestine weddings from 1946-7 are shown above. The dresses shown two differing styles from the late 1940s. The first image shows the wedding of Lieutenant Lamont and his wife. Despite the hot temperatures her dress is rather traditional for the later 1940s, with a full-length skirt, sweetheart neckline, and mid length voluminous veil. While difficult to see in the photos, there is some detailing and layers of fabric, a trend that emerged as war time restrictions lessened.

The above image, the wedding of Private MacDonald and an unnamed wife, shows a more typical 1940s-day dress style. While this would be more practical in the warm climate it does not follow the typical wedding dress styles of the era shown in the first image. While restrictions were lessening in the post war years rationing remained in place in the UK until the mid-1950s. This dress may have been less ornate and more simple due to these limitations placed on brides.

In November 1947, the then Her Royal Highness the Princess Elizabeth, got married to, the later, Prince Phillip. Earlier that year she was appointed to the role of Colonel-in-Chief of the Argylls. Princess Elizabeth’s dress had to purchase with ration coupons despite her royal status. The government allowed her to use 200 extra ration coupons to buy this dress, as well as hundreds of women donating their clothing coupons to aid in the purchase of the dress, however these has to returned due to the legality of shared rations. Her dress was made of silk and chiffon, with crystals and around 10,000 seed pearls embroidered into the blossom design across the skirt and veil. The dress was a symbolic representation of rebirth after the war, and the change Britain was currently experiencing.

1950s

This 1950s bride’s dress shows a great deal about of the rebirth shown in Princess Elizabeth’s dress. The exact date is unknown, so it is unclear if this wedding dress was bought under rations, which ended in 1954. There is evidence of the influence from the dress of Princess Elizabeth shown in this dress with the V-neckline and V-shaped sleeve details.

1960s

By the 1960s rations were gone from society and with this wedding dresses became more expressive and up to personal preference. In the 1960s, suits were worn for the first time with celebrities like Mia Farrow and Patty Boyd paving the way for this trend. Early in the decade, Princess Margaret donned a modest neckline and long sleeved dress, similar to what can be seen for the Argyll brides here.

The large veil was an immensely popular trend of the times. The less detailed dress was also very classic of 60s styles, with the rise of the mod movement.

1970s

This late 1970s dress, belonging to Lynda Walsh, shows an interesting mix of styles. 1970s wedding dressed show the rise the hippie aesthetic and anti-consumerism. This dress embodies some of these trends, including earlier inspired high neck lines and looser sleeves. However, it still consists of many aspects of more traditional dresses seen in earlier years.

1980s

During the 1980s, wedding dresses typically fell into “the bigger, the better” category. Statement sleeves, large veils and ballgown styles were in style. The large round skirt worn at this wedding was typical for the decade, as was seen with other brides this decade, like Princess Diana and the photo above.

1990s

As with every decade, there was a shift in trends in the 1990s. The photo seen above from the 1990 wedding of Julia McGuire. This dress shows the end of the stereotypical late 1980s trends of dramatic and romantic silhouettes. While high neck dresses had been popular before, lower sweetheart necklines started to appear. Veils were typically minimal with flower crowns or tiaras headpieces, similar to those seen in the early 1900s.

This photo from the 1995 wedding of Stuart Ross and Mo. This wedding suit shows a style very reminiscent of the 1960s, showing a simple jacket and skirt. After the extravagance of the 1980s and early 90s, minimalism came into fashion in the mid to late 90s. The popular silhouette shifted from an hourglass with full skirt to a straight and more slitted one.

2000s

2000s saw the rise of trends like strapless gowns, sweetheart necklines, and Aline silhouettes. This bride’s dress encompasses all of these trends. She appears to have opted for a simple veil, as in this period lacey and floral veils had fallen out of fashion instead moving toward “sexy simplicity” where more simple and minimalist accessories taking the spotlight. These bridal trends differed largely from the flashy street styles often associated with the 2000s.

In the 2006 all regiments in Scotland restructured into the Royal Regiment of Scotland, creating a unified force. With this change the uniforms gradually switched from regiment specific styles to the uniform of the Royal Regiment. As this photo was taking in the 2007-8 period, shortly after this change the groom and soldiers appear in a mixture of both aspects of the Argylls uniform and aspects of the new Royal Regiments uniforms providing an interesting snapshot into this period of change within the regiment’s history.

2010s

In the 2010s, we see lace heavy mermaid silhouettes, bohemian tyles, and sleek minimalism styles. This 2015 wedding of Shaun Dick and Dany features the popular boho lace trends. She has also chosen to not wear a veil instead a flower in the back of her hair, this was a popular trend.

As stated, we do not have many of these women’s names or stories, but we do have their wedding photos which can be used to provide an insight into an interesting aspect of the Regiment personal histories. We would love to grow our collection of Argylls wedding photographs, if you would like to be included in our collection you can send over photos to museum@argylls.co.uk

Additionally, if you are able to provide names for any of these women we did not know, please contact the museum, we would like to record these properly.

Written by Roisin Macdaond, Digital Content Volunteer