Ideas that changed fashion/ THE WHITE WEDDING DRESS - the only colour for a bride

Traditionally, women had married in blue or pink or their favourite colour, making a wedding dress a garment that they could then wear again. Working-class women frequently opted for practical black. But the young Queen Victoria made a big change in a fashion history.

She married her cousin Albert in 1840. Unusually for royalty, this was not a marriage of political convenience, but a genuine love match. The bride chose not to wear jewel-encrusted silver or gold robes as expected, but instead opted for a white satin and lace dress. This example was truly modern and attention-grabbing, and swiftly caught the public imagination. Quite soon, all new brides wanted to wear white for their big day. Initially, this was only possible for the rich, for who else could afford the luxury of a white dress that could only be worn a handful of times before showing its age?

By the 1920s, however, white was established as the only colour for a respectable Western bride. As class divisions gradually melted, it became harder to read a woman's position in society by her clothes. And if a lady could marry in white, why should not her maid?

Thus the colour white quickly became the universal choice for bride's dress, bringing with it associations of bridal purity and virginity. The colour blue, which had traditionally signified purity, came to be considered risqué for a bride. However, marrying in white would not always mean a long white dress. Bianca Jagger chose a tailored white skirt suit in the 1970s, while actress Sharon Tate married in a very short white minidress in 1968.

Bianca Jagger and Mick Jagger, 1971

Sharon Tate with Roman Polanski, 1968

Audrey Hepburn with Mel Ferrer, 1954

Jacqueline Kennedy and John F. Kennedy, 1953

Diana, Princess of Wales with Charles, Prince of Wales, 1981

Elizabeth Taylor with Richard Burton, 1964

Yoko Ono and John Lennon, 1969

Amal Clooney with George Clooney, 2014

Victoria Beckham with David Beckham, 1999

Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks, 1988

Priscilla Presley and Elvis Presley, 1967

Where previously a wedding dress might have been worn again, the modern bride will spend a huge sum on a dress designed to be used just once. It will probably be the most expensive gown she ever wears.