Colour Samples

"""The Bride wore White. . . . The white wedding that all mothers dream of from the day their daughters are born did not become popular until the Victorian Era. The brides of the ancient world did not associate white with brides or purity. For centuries after the Romans, there were no "wedding dresses", a wealthy bride wore fancier versions of her everyday clothes, the poor and middle classes wore their best dress, often fancied up with ribbon and garlands. In Ancient Rome, the dress itself was less important than the accessories. As long as the dress was vertically woven and tied with a woollen girdle (belt), there was no special color was called for. The first mention of a white wedding dress in history is Anne of Brittany in 1499. There is not another mention of this occurrence until 1530 when the daughter of Henry VII, Margaret Tudor married James IV of Scotland. Both bride and groom wore white damask edged and lined in crimson velvet. In 1558, Mary, Queen of Scots wore white when she married the Dauphin of France. She defied tradition by doing so; white was then the mourning color for French queens. The fact that these were described in such detail makes them remarkable. The practice was to have a few outfits and wear them until their state of wear was beneath your station at which time they were cast-off. It was a mark of wealth and power to have clothing made for specific occasions in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. The most popular colors for special occasion dresses, (weddings, coronations, presentation to the Crown, etc....), were purple, crimson and royal blue. These rich jewel tones were difficult dyes to obtain and the colors themselves hard to mix and who could wear them was decreed by the rigid sumptuary laws of the day. During the reign of Elizabeth I, Royal Purple was decreed to be only worn by Her Majesty. It was also during this time that white became a symbol of pure, young, maidenhood and an automatic choice for many brides, although still not thought of as the bridal color. It was the formidable Queen Victoria who started the white wedding dress custom that we know today."""

Music of the Troubadours...