Johnstown weekly Democrat. (Johnstown, Cambria County, Pa.) 1889-1916, 1890-03-28
THE PICTURESQUE BRIDESMAID.
Different Styles of Costumes Worn Now
adays by the Brides Attendants.


Different Styles of Costumes Worn Now
adays by the Brides Attendants.
The fashionable wedding of today has
become pageant of picturesqueness, in
which the bridal procession is a glitter
ing array of gay colors and historical
costumes. The bridesmaids in dresses
of the first empire or the directoire style,
and the tiny pages in court dress of the
time of Louis XIV alternate, and vie
with the brides procession of flower
girls, who are attended by Little Lord
Fauntleroys. 1t may be that the fair
bride has chosen to go into the church
escorted by bevy of fair maidens who
are arrayed in the hues of the rainbow,
and shining in red, yellow and blue.
Others again are preceded in their pas
sage down the aisle by a seeming flock
of snowbirds, in their frocks of white
silk, trimmed with white fox furs and
silver braid. Another bride will choose
a bevy of fair maids who shall dress in
gowns of golden yellow, carry punches
of yellow chrysanthemums or roses, and
altogether lend a gleam of sunshine to
even a rainy wedding day; while one
bride is recorded as having clothed her
maids in wedding garments of dust
colored broche figured with pink and
red roses, and hats of dust colored felt
hidden beneath claret tipped plumes
crowned their pretty heads, while tiny
pages dressed in ruby plush danced gayly
along.
Formerly the bridesmaids, like the bride,
were "clad in robes of shining white,"
and their beauty and elaborate array were
supposed to be to her as the pale beauty
of the moon to the radiance of the sun,
as the modesty of the violet to the ele-
gance of the rose, as the limpidness of
water to the richness of ruby wine; now
adays, the bride, the central figure round
which clusters all the love and Joy and
hope that wedding ring can hold-the
bride is apt to be in her conventional
wedding gown, the fashion for which
varies but little from year to year, though
she may substitute roses, hyacinths,
chrysanthemums or lilies of the valley
for the old time favorite, the orange
blossom and flower, is somewhat over
shadowed by the gorgeousness of her at
tendant maids Shemay have them hand
cuffed together with floral links, she may
have them bound with chains of roses
which shall fall asunder as she falters
forth her solemn VOW to love, honor and
obey, or she may have them ready to
strew flowers in her path as she turns, a
newly made wife, from the altar; but in
all these picturesque fashions and quaint
ideas, she detTacts from the interest which
should center round herself alone, and in
stead of one interesting and beautiful
fgure-for who ever thinks of the groomi
there comes a group of lovely maidens.
a galaxy of beauty in which each star is
of equal brilliancy. 1t can hardly be gain
said that in their picturesque array the
bridesmaids are fast stealing the honors
from the bride, who must confne herself
to the regulation snowy garments of silk,
satin and tulle, while her maids brighten
and beautify the wedding pageant with
sweet artistic fantasies and raphsodies in
raiment. So long as they are thus attired
the truth of the old adage that Every
wedding makes another" is quite sure to
be proved; and the charming maid, in
addition to her gifts of pin and locket
and bangle and buckle, may count among
her trophies a captured heart Boston
Herald.