This page describes the historically-inspired theme of our wedding which is based on Edwardian/turn-of-the-century art and culture (approximately the years 1900-1914). We want to emphasize that this theme is purely for fun, and you can feel free to take as much or as little from it as possible. If you want to show up in completely modern clothing, that is fine. If you want to go all out and dress like Lady Mary from Downton Abbey (early seasons only!), go ahead. But we hope this theme can inspire you a bit and let you have more fun at the party!

Why an Edwardian theme? Chris is a huge history nerd (and Wilson politely lets Chris embrace that even for the wedding). The reception venue we are getting married at was built in 1905, originally as a firehouse. It has since been converted into a steakhouse and wedding venue. See more of the history here. The Church was opened in 1912. So, the origin of both of these venues is pretty squarely situated in the Edwardian period. By the way, Edwardian refers to the reign of Edward VII of England (1901-1910), so it technically is more of an English periodization, but America does not have an equally snappy name as far as I know. We extend that back to 1900 for a nice round number and go up to 1914 when WWI started.

Colors

· The main color for the wedding is green (anyone who has met Chris will be unsurprised). Especially dark greens and emeralds are welcomed.

· The secondary color is purple, especially lavender or pastel purples.

· As far as accent colors, brown would be great

· Any “nature” themed colors work too with the historical theme (see details below on Art Nouveau).

What is Edwardian Fashion? Probably the most fun part of embracing the historical theme is the fashion! See the “look book” page for visuals. Here is a bit of guidance:

Resources

For men:

· Guide by the Gentleman’s Gazette (with corresponding YouTube video).

· A YouTube video with guidance on how to incorporate Edwardian Men’s fashion into modern outfits.

· A fashion history guide.

For Women:

· A fashion history guide.

· A pinterest with tons of dress pictures for inspiration.

· Hat collection on pinterest.

Men’s Fashion: Men’s fashion is a little bit easier because it is not too far off from modern looks; it is the small details that give the outfit the correct historical look. In general, typical daily attire would have been a 3-piece suit with a jacket, matching pants, and a vest. Ties could be a bow tie or a regular necktie. But there were other options. In a more formal setting, white tie outfits (as opposed to modern black tie) were normal. This would mean a black coat, black pants, and a white shirt with a white bow tie. For these formal outfits, tails on the coat were not uncommon, but they were beginning to go out of fashion. In the summer, lighter clothing could be worn with lighter colors, tweed patterns (usually for outdoor activities like hunting), and even pastels being popular. Straw hats were distinctively summer-y if you want to go that direction. Speaking of hats, one could easily go hatless, but many styles of hats were also possible. Including the top hat (but generally shorter than the earlier Victorian era), a variation on the top cat known as the opera hat, the bowler hat, the Hamburg hat, as well as the flat cap (think Peaky Blinders). Canes, walking sticks, and pocket watches were all common accessories. You could even go with a monocle if you are brave enough.

Details of the suit to give it an Edwardian Look:

· Pants were much higher-waisted than today, with the rise of the waistline coming up as far as an inch above the belly button.

· Pants were generally quite slim on the whole, usually with a taper starting as looser around the waist and becoming narrower as you went down the leg.

· There were no pleats in the pants.

· Shirts and jackets also tapered somewhat, with a broad, more heavily padded shoulders and thinner at the waist.

· The buttoning point of both the jacket and the vest were higher than today. This means that the buttons went much higher up than you would think of today, with much less of the shirt and tie showing.

· Correspondingly, ties were often a lot shorter and usually narrower than we would wear today.

· The Jacket usually fell a bit lower we would do today, with the bottom of the jacket falling anywhere from just below the butt to mid-thigh.

· Sometimes jackets had a rounded cutaway front, but a squarer modern bottom was common too.

· Shirt collars were usually a lot longer than modern collars taking up a large swath of the neck.

Women’s Fashion

The Silhouette of Edwardian women’s fashion achieved an “S-Shape” using a corset, although the silhouette became more natural as the decade progressed with slimmed down shapes more popular especially as we get into the 1910s. Please don’t do that. The top of the dress is usually quite loose forming a “mono-bosom” look, with lots of frills and puffiness in the sleeves. With shorter sleeves, longer gloves were worn. Dresses were quite long with a puffed-out look at the hips and butt, and a long, flowy bottom. Do not be afraid of color and decoration! This is not Victorian times. Bright colors were common, with pastels being especially common. The most fun part in my opinion is the hats! They were often big with lots of flowers and feathers, with fairly asymmetric designs. You can be super creative with those.

Details of the dress to give it an Edwardian Look:

· Flowy, loose top with “mono-bosom”

· Smaller around the waist (but skip a corset)

· Poofy at hips and butt

· Long, flowing bottom

· Poofy sleeves

· Gloves; longer gloves with shorter sleeves.

· Asymmetric hats with lots of flowers and feathers; lots of variety so be creative!

· Embrace color! Dresses were fun and bright, lots of pastels.

General Notes on Art and Motifs from the period--- Art Nouveau

The most influential art movement that inspired the period was called Art Nouveau. In general, this art style was inspired by nature (as a reaction and partial backlash to the Industrial Revolution). So, nature themes and motifs would be very on-brand. To match that nature aesthetic, most designs were asymmetric (like the women’s hats!) with swooping lines rather than straight edges. So, embracing a bit of elegant “wildness” in the look would be cool. And again, lots of flowers. They also really loved dragonflys.

Q + A coming soon!