2012 Wedding Dress Trends
It wasn’t until 1840, when Queen Victoria married Prince Albert, that the wedding dress became what it is today. Once her wedding photos hit the papers, brides-to-be everywhere were in search of white gowns, lace, and veils, and the rest is history.
Styles of gowns and bridal trends have progressed along with fashion trends, and every season ladies look to the runway or the latest royal wedding for inspiration for their perfect dress. This season, some trends are making a comeback while others are changing a long-standing tradition.
2012 Wedding dress trends are lace sleeves, tiered dresses, the ball gown, illusion necklines, blush color, and horsehair trim – not to be confused with actual horse’s hair. Don’t worry, we’ll explain.
- Lace sleeves are one of two trends making a comeback this season. They’ve been big before – eighties, nineties. No, literally ‘big’. But don’t think of them that way. This season’s take on lace sleeves has a classic, vintage feel that is really beautiful and elegant. Take Kate Middleton’s Grace Kelly-like gown for example. Often, dresses with long sleeves are considered as a conservative option, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Lace sleeves are being done with low necklines or backs, mermaid style and form fitting gowns. Lace is in again ladies, and in its best form yet.
- The ball gown is the second trend making a comeback this season. The size of ball gowns has always varied, mild poof to extra poof. But this season the ball gown is all about the material that’s making it just that, a ball gown. A lot of designers have been using elements that can usually only be seen on the interior of the dress and making them part of the exterior design. Elements such as crinoline, tulle, corsets, or bodices, and lastly, horsehair trim, another trend this season.
- Horse hair trim has nothing to do with actual horsehair. It’s a synthetic fabric that’s often used on the underskirts of gowns to create shape and hemline. This trend is really an extension of the inside-out look designers started last year with the corset tops that were often sheer and see-through. This season though, designers are focusing more on the underlay fabrics and bodices to create more whimsical, unique, and often, fuller dress designs. This is an incredibly beautiful look if you are going for a more elaborate or untraditional gown.
- The two-tiered dresses are a trend that’s been getting a lot of mixed reviews this season. On the right body shape they can look beautiful, but it is definitely a more high fashion style for a modern bride. Some tiers are very delicate and flow well with the rest of the dress, while others are large and poof out from the dress, making for a dramatic and sometimes awkward shape.
- Illusion necklines are another trend sweeping the runways this season. Delicate, sheer, and sophisticated are ways to describe this look, but there are so many ways it can be done the outcomes vary. Often the illusion neckline is done on simpler, sleeker gowns as opposed to the larger ball gown style. It also falls back to the inside-out trend because it’s another light material that is see-through or mesh-like. This soft element can give a seemingly simple dress a very high fashion, interesting and beautiful look.
- Blush is not in reference to a blushing bride. It’s the new color for wedding dresses. For the non-traditional route, a blush-colored dress is a very pretty option. It’s soft and beautiful and makes a statement without being too dramatic because it doesn’t stray far from the traditional, white, off-white, or ivory gowns. Even on the fairest skin tones, the blush colored dress is a subtle and stunning trend for any modern bride.
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