June Wedding Veils 1911

June Wedding Veils 1911

The girl who is obliged to consider expense very closely in the buying of her trousseau will probably deny herself the luxury of a wedding-veil, wearing a becoming bandeau of ribbon and orange blossoms instead; but the girl with a little more money at her disposal and a desire to conform to all the traditions in her wedding attire, will be likely to insist upon a veil of lace or tulle, and with reason, for it is undeniably lovely and there is something of poetry in its cloudlike folds.

Veils made entirely of lace are rare and are usually family heirlooms. The bride is lucky who has one, but it is a consolation to the girl whose family does not possess such a treasure to remember that the veil of tulle or one of tulle and lace combined is generally more becoming and far easier to adjust.

The illustration at the top of the page shows how a tulle veil caught with orange-flowers may be arranged on the head. The combination of lace cap and tulle veil pictured in the three lower illustrations is very beautiful and perhaps more becoming to many faces than the tulle alone.

The cap may be made of mechlin, Valenciennes, or any other not too heavy lace, either real or in one of the good imitations, and encircled by a narrow wreath of orange blossoms and leaves, with a cluster of the flowers in front, as shown in the lower illustration.

The veil is pinned to the hair before the cap is put on. Any tulle veil should be adjusted after the bride is completely dressed, and the ends should be cut even with the bottom of her gown. If there is a train, then the veil should extend to the end of the train.

 A French fashion, which has been adopted by a few American brides, is to have the veil made of chiffon. The chiffon is usually wound around the head turban wise, the veil proper, of course, falling to the hem of the skirt in the rear. Sometimes, a wreath of flowers is placed at the edge of the turban.

Real or imitation orange-blossoms are used to fasten the bride's veil, but the latter are the more favored as the real ones have to be sent from the far South and are apt to arrive in a partly faded and drooping condition.

The bride, of course, always carries white flowers in her bouquet. Lilies-of-the-valley and orchids are lovely but expensive. Lilies-of-the-valley alone are pretty, and so are white roses. 

The bridesmaids usually carry colored flowers to match or contrast with their gowns, but at a very smart wedding recently the maids' bouquets were made entirely of maidenhair fern.

This is a good point for other brides to remember, for the exquisite lace of the ferns is most effective arranged in bouquets, their dull green makes a charming foil to almost any gown, and their cost is comparatively small.

Bridesmaids' dresses are made in any of the light, delicate shades, harsh and startling effects being avoided by all brides of good taste. Yellows, blues, pinks, pale greens, mauve and apricot tones are all good.

Sometimes more than one color is combined in their gowns, as pink under pale blue, or blue under corn color. Picturesqueness is as much to be desired as an extremely fashionable effect, though in this year of grace the styles lend themselves particularly to the picturesque.

Primarily, should the look of the procession as a whole be considered more than the individual becomingness of the dresses? The Empire style, with its short waist encircled by a cordelière and short narrow skirt, lends itself readily to the making of a charming picture.

Chalmers, Eleanor, "June Wedding Veils," in The Delineator, New York: The Butterick Publishing Company, Vol. LXXVII, No. 6, June 1911, p. 516.

Note: We have edited this text to correct grammatical errors and improve word choice to clarify the article for today’s readers. Changes made are typically minor, and we often left passive text “as is.” Those who need to quote the article directly should verify any changes by reviewing the original material.

 

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