An invaluable companion to the bestselling How to Read a Dress by the same author, this is the ultimate visual guide to how wedding fashions have evolved over the centuries and the ideal tool for identifying historical styles.

Lavishly illustrated in full color, How to Read a Wedding Dress displays annotated images of historical garments that outline important features and highlight how styles have developed over time, offering a fascinating overview of changing bridal trends over three centuries.

In this ideal companion to her bestselling guide, How to Read a Dress, Lydia Edwards offers a fascinating glimpse into the evolution of bridal wear around the world, from the Renaissance up to the modern day. This guide explores prevalent trends and developments, including how the Victorian fashion for white silk (a break from the previous 18th-century tradition of the bride simply donning a ‘best’ dress) over the course of the 19th century developed into the now familiar and indeed ubiquitous cultural icon of the white wedding dress and veil. Finally, she explores how today, brides worldwide are reimagining the past and incorporating ‘vintage’ style as an integral part of their big day and considers style choices influenced by gender identity fluidity and same-sex marriage.

Equipping the reader with eclectic examples of bridal wear over the centuries, this is the ultimate guide to the wedding dress for students, researchers of fashion history, and anyone looking for inspiration for their big day.

"Edwards once again charms and informs readers of the history behind life’s arguably most meaningful and culturally significant garment." - Karin Bohleke, Director, Fashion Archives & Museum, Shippensburg University, USA

"A meticulously researched, thorough and comprehensive guide to bridal attire that will be a useful reference guide for brides, collectors, and museum professionals." - Ingrid Mida, author of The Dress Detective and Reading Fashion in Art

"An authoritative chronology of the wedding dress and exploration of its symbolic status through the ages." - Cally Blackman, author of 100 Years of Fashion, Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, UK

"Lydia Edwards has once again brilliantly demonstrated the power of clothing to speak volumes without ever having to say a word. Highly recommend!" - Cassidy Zachary, author and co-host of the Dressed podcast