How a wedding dress showed regal support for a kingdom’s fashion wares and design expertise
Words JENNIFER DALEY
Queen Victoria of Great Britain and Ireland reigned from the age of 18 in 1837. On 10 February 1840, she married Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. She wrote in detail about her wedding in her personal journals, which are currently housed in the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle.
On 19 December 1839, she wrote of a discussion with Lord Melbourne, her prime minister, with whom she often enjoyed candid conversation, where they considered what she should wear at her wedding ceremony. Victoria wrote, “Talked of my wearing my robes at the wedding, which I wished not, and which I thought could not be necessary.” Lord Melbourne replied, “Oh no! I should think not, much better white.” And so, two months before the wedding, it was decided that she would wear only white, without ceremonial robes.
For her wedding, Victoria wore a white silk bodice and matching skirt, which were the fashionable gown components of the time. The ensemble was made of fabric woven at Spitalfields, a neighbourhood in East London historically known as a centre of the fine silk weaving industry. The fabric for her wedding ensemble was specifically obtained from local English textile specialists as the queen wanted to support her country’s wares and expertise. Victoria understood the power of fashion and the potential for utilising clothing as a marketing tool.
With English-made silk textiles as a base, she chose to have it embellished with Honiton lace, an intricate bobbin lace handcrafted in Honiton, Devon, England. Victoria wanted to support the handlacemakers of Honiton as their product was becoming less marketable and less desirable as the Industrial Revolution enabled the manufacture of cheaper lace that was more accessible to consumers.
On her wedding day, Victoria wore on her feet white silk satin slippers with flat leather soles. With ribbon ties to secure the slipper to the foot, the wedding slippers were made by the London firm Gundry & Sons. With her championing of Spitalfields silk textiles, Honiton lace and London cobblery, Victoria supported and advertised the strength of English fashion.
