A Patchwork Wedding Dress

I found this patchwork wedding dress while I was searching for culturally inspired dresses last week. And, although I’m not too crazy about the dress itself (I don’t really like the patches of brown or something about the color combination), I love the idea of a patchwork wedding dress.

Since it would probably need to be custom made (at least from what I could find), you’d be able to select fabric that is somehow meaningful to you. It would be a great way to have your mom or grandmother’s wedding dress in your gown if you didn’t want to wear their actual dress as is. Or, perhaps you could include some pieces of cloth that have significance in your relationship with your husband-to-be. The dress you wore on your first date and the shirt you were wearing when he proposed could be worked into the gown. Or, you can even simply pick fabric that you love to create the perfect reflection of yourself.

The patchwork wedding dress is nothing new. Yves Saint Laurent designed a patchwork wedding dress in his Spring/Summer 1969 collection. Although it’s a little hard to see, I like the intricacy of the patchwork on the gown. I wish the picture was in color.

He created a couple more patchwork dresses for his Fall/Winter 1969 collection as well. I like the look of the patchwork on these dresses. The fact that the patches aren’t laid out in straight rows makes the dress much more interesting and less like a quilt.

Here is another dress by designer Cassandra Bromfield. I like the simple top with the patchwork skirt. Again I’d love to be able to see it in color.

J.Crew sold a patchwork dress back in 2007 that apparently sold out within a day.  Although it looks a little too much like a patchwork quilt, if the patches were a little bigger or perhaps the colors were toned down a bit, it could be a cute casual wedding dress.

Meagan O’Shea, a performance artist, had costume designer Martha Cockshutt create a wedding dress from the dresses of 16 women who, through divorce, separation or widowhood, were no longer married. Their stories, along with their dresses, were used in her piece “something blue.” It’s not a dress I would wear, but it shows that a dress made from other dresses doesn’t necessarily need to have the typical “patchwork” look.

On Season 4’s Project Runway, designer Sweet P. created a denim patchwork “wedding dress”. This doesn’t look anything like a wedding dress to me (although I guess any dress you get married in would ultimately be your wedding dress), but it illustrates a really interesting way that the different fabrics can be sew together.

And, finally, if you have your heart set on your typical white wedding dress or patchwork isn’t really your thing, you can always incorporate the idea into your cake.

Even though I love patchwork quilts—I bought one in Guatemala and carried it all around Central America in my pack while I was there for 3 months (I purchased it at the beginning of my trip)—I’m not sure that I would have worn a patchwork wedding dress. What about you?

Happily Ever After,

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