Guidry
1
Jillian
Guidry
Professor
Hannon
English
100
20
May
2023
The
Wedding
Gown
and
its
Relation
to
Bicultural
Identity
for
Asian
Americans
The
wedding
gown
is
an
incredible
garment
that
reflects
and
contains
so
much
history
and
cultural
significance.
The
different
styles
of
wedding
gowns
reflect
the
values
and
struggles
present
in
the
period
it
was
designed
in.
The
wedding
gown
also
signifies
the
new
transition
a
bride
encounters
when
leaving
singleness
and
entering
the
realm
of
marriage.
In
addition,
this
garment
appears
differently
in
individual
cultures
worldwide,
and
is
an
extraordinary
example
of
the
importance
of
preserving
tradition
and
cultural
values.
Many
countries
have
their
own
traditional
costumes
that
reflect
the
nation's
unity
and
the
traditions
that
have
shaped
it.
An
example
is
the
ceremonial
attire
often
worn
for
weddings,
like
the
kimono,
the
sari,
and
the
cheongsam.
Even
though
the
wedding
gown
has
been
pictured
by
many
as
always
or
mostly
white,
many
cultures
do
not
follow
the
Western
tradition
of
the
white
wedding.
Some
countries,
like
China
and
India,
prefer
red
wedding
gowns;
others,
like
Japan
and
Korea,
layer
many
colorful
pieces
of
clothing
to
complete
the
outfit.
The
ceremonies
are
also
celebrated
in
various
ways
and
are
often
scattered
with
many
different
cultural
traditions.
The
wedding
ceremony
not
only
celebrates
the
new
unity
of
a
couple,
but
it
can
also
be
a
celebration
of
a
country’ s
unique
culture. Guidry
2
Through
the
analysis
of
Amy
Tan’s
The
Joy
Luck
Club
and
the
shared
narratives
of
the
experiences
of
Asian
Americans,
one
can
see
that
there
has,
and
still
is,
a
serious
loss
of
cultural
identity
in
the
Asian
American
community .
Many
Asian
Americans
struggle
with
identifying
and
expressing
their
cultural
heritage
while
simultaneously
identifying
as
American
citizens.
Asian
Americans
from
different
ethnic
backgrounds
are
losing
their
personal
and
cultural
significance
through
the
abandonment
of
tradition
and
cultural
customs.
Interestingly ,
there
has
also
been
a
recent
rise
in
the
amount
of
Asian
Americans
who
are
becoming
more
connected
to
their
cultural
roots
through
small
efforts
-
like
the
pursuit
of
learning
their
culture’ s
language,
listening
to
their
culture’ s
music,
eating
traditional
foods,
and
wearing
their
country’ s
national
dress
or
traditional
garments.
There
is
also
a
growing
number
of
Asian
Americans
who
are
reconnecting
with
their
heritage
by
incorporating
ethnic
customs
and
traditions
in
their
weddings.
With
these
small
efforts,
Asian
Americans
are
connecting
with
their
heritage
and
honoring
their
families
who
live
across
the
world.
History
and
Contemporary
Overview
of
the
Wedding
Gown
The
Western
wedding
gown
that
popularized
the
“white
wedding”
did
not
become
popular
until
1840,
when
Queen
Victoria
married
Prince
Albert
of
Saxe-Cobur g
and
wore
a
dress
of
white
satin,
donning
it
with
velvet
robes
and
fine
jewelry .
She
was
not
the
first
woman
to
wear
a
white
wedding
dress
to
her
wedding,
as
a
few
others,
including
Mary
Queen
of
Scots,
did
so
in
1558
(Williams
2).
However ,
Queen
Victoria
was
the
one
credited
with
setting
the
trend,
as
immediately
after
her
wedding,
many
young
brides
started
wearing
white
garments
as
part
of
their
bridal
attire.
Only
a
surprising
five
percent
of
the
wedding
gowns
worn
by
brides
in
the
West
are
not
white
(Williams
2). Guidry
3
Five
stages
were
embedded
in
the
process
when
the
white
wedding
dress
tradition
exploded
and
became
a
trend.
Marilyn
DeLong,
author
of
Theories
of
Fashion
,
stated,
“[The
fashion
adoption
process]
involves
five
basic
stages:
awareness,
interest,
evaluation,
trial,
and
adoption”
(22).
People
were
first
aware
of
the
news
of
Queen
Victoria’ s
wedding,
and
shortly
after,
the
fashion
was
adopted
by
the
community
and
spread
throughout
the
country ,
becoming
a
trend.
When
Queen
Victoria
wore
a
white
wedding
dress
to
her
wedding,
she
was
not
just
setting
a
new
trend
but
also
breaking
the
age-old
tradition
of
not
wearing
white.
The
one
color
avoided
for
a
wedding
dress
was
white,
as
it
was
associated
with
mourning
and
death
at
the
time
(Williams
2).
Because
of
this,
the
general
population
took
the
news
of
Queen
Victoria’ s
wedding
as
something
unordinary ,
as
most
brides
usually
chose
to
wear
their
best
dress
to
their
wedding,
which
generally
happened
to
be
in
bright
colors,
like
red,
green,
and
pink.
Choosing
to
wear
a
mother ’s
wedding
dress
was
also
an
option.
Sometime
after
the
queen’ s
wedding,
the
color
symbolism
flipped,
and
white
began
to
be
considered
the
most
fitting
hue
for
a
bride,
as
it
was
then
seen
to
resemble
purity
and
innocence.
Wearing
white
was
also
a
practical
choice,
as
“the
bride’ s
family
had
to
guarantee
her
virginity
because
it
represented
their
honor”
(Chesser).
Soon
enough,
the
white
wedding
dress
became
a
trend
popularized
in
the
Western
world.
In
the
1800s
and
the
1900s,
bridal
fashion
fell
into
specific
categories
shaped
by
historical
events
and
celebrities
like
Audrey
Hepburn,
Jaqueline
Kennedy ,
and
Princess
Diana
