Overview

Although the Victorian white wedding dominates western bridal dress and large portions of former colonial empires, marriage rituals vary significantly throughout the world. The Japanese, for instance, combine both traditional ceremonies with receptions utilizing western approaches to dress. In the Andes the bride will personally create a multi-layered dress to showcase her weaving skills. Berber brides in Morocco wear binding clothing that covers their faces, a notable contrast to Canadian prairie-province brides whose stylized gowns individualize and enhance body shape. This engaging book examines the evolution and ritual functions of wedding attire within the context of particular cultures. It raises questions as to the relationship between contemporary wedding attire and traditional values. It discusses the changes international migrations have had upon the wedding dress of several ethnic groups. It provides insights into numerous societal relationships to weddings, such as the ban on bridal-produced embroidery in dowries in India, the challenges individual values have to larger societal ones in themed weddings, and the relationship between the return to pre-western attire and identity politics. Exploring these issues, the authors provide unusual insights into the centrality of dress in shaping individual identity as well as its importance in reflecting cultural values and ideals.

Full Product Details

Author:   Helen Bradley Foster ,  Donald Clay Johnson
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint:   Berg Publishers
Volume:   v. 31
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 1.30cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   0.348kg
ISBN:  

9781859737477

ISBN 10:   1859737471
Pages:   256
Publication Date:   01 September 2003
Audience:   General/trade ,  Professional and scholarly ,  General ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

"1. Church, Kathryn (Independent Scholar, Toronto, Canada) ""Something plain and simple? Unpacking custom-made wedding dresses from western Canada, 1950-1995."" 2. Martin, Cyd (University of Alaska, Fairbanks), ""Satin dresses and caribou kamiks: negotiation of tradition in northern Alaska Inupiaq weddings."" 3. Suga, Masami (Independent scholar, St. Paul, Minnesota), ""Packaged in Japan: elite weddings in Osaka."" 4. Hong, Na Young (Ewha Women's University, Seoul, Korea), ""Korean wedding dress from the Chosun Dynasty (1392-1910) to the present."" 5. Edwards, Eiluned Moir (De Montford University), ""Marriage and dowry customs of the Rabadi of Kachchh: evolving traditions."" 6. Johnson, Donald Clay (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis), ""Pragmatism and enigmas: the Panetar and Gharcholu saris in Gujarati weddings."" 7. Kidd, Laura (Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Lombuso S. Khoza, Southern Illinois University), ""Swazi bridal attire: culture, traditions, customs."" 8. Becker, Cynthia (University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota), ""Gender, identity, and Moroccan weddings: the adornment of the Ait Khabhash Berber bride and groom."" 9. Foster, Helen Bradley (College of Visual Arts, St. Paul, Minnesota), ""An Athenian wedding, year 2000."" 10. Mee, Janice (De Montford University, Leicester, England, Irina Safronova, St. Petersburg State University of Technology and Design), ""An historic perspective of English and Soviet bridalwear between 1900 and 1960."" 11. Meisch, Lynn A. (St. Mary's College of California, Moraga), ""He gave her sandals and she gave him a tunic: cloth and weddings in the Andes."" 12. Williams, Patricia (University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point), ""Slavic wedding customs on two continents."" 13. Demaray, Elyse (Iowa State University, Ames, Melody Keim-Shenk, Iowa State University), ""Always remembering the motherland: Tai Dam wedding textiles and dress."" 14. Winge, Theresa (and Eicher, Joanne, both University of Minnesota), ""The groom wore a kilt: carnivalesque and theme weddings."""

Reviews

'The essays in Wedding Dress Across Cultures eloquently support the premise that costume for weddings is the most profound and exquisite way that a society distinguishes itself in the language of dress.' The Journal of American Culture 'A tremendous amount of research has gone into this book, and every page is crammed with interesting and significant facts. It has absolutely everything a student or researcher needs to know about weddings.' Elizabeth Emanuel

Author Information

Helen Bradley Foster is Lecturer, University of Minnesota. Donald Clay Johnson is Curator, Ames Library of South Asia, University of Minnesota.

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