Just found out the average wedding dress has like 50 yards of fabric

I was reading this old book from the library about costume history, and it mentioned that a standard 1950s ballgown silhouette used around 50 yards of material. That blew my mind, I always guessed maybe 20. It makes sense when you think about all the layers and the big skirt, but still. Has anyone here actually worked with that much fabric on a single piece?

4 comments

4 Comments

nathan_palmer2mo ago

Ever try to move a dress with that much fabric? I made a big skirt for a play once and just carrying the roll of fabric was a workout, lol. It really makes you respect the craft.

rayadams2mo ago

Remember that scene in Sleeping Beauty where the fairies make the dress? I always thought the magic was the easy part. After helping my sister with her wedding dress, I know the real magic is just getting the thing up a flight of stairs. You gain a whole new level of respect for historical costuming. Those people were athletes.

ryan79317d ago

Actually, the fairies in Sleeping Beauty didn't make the dress. They made the scene where they fight over what color it should be. But that's not right either. The fairies didn't fight at all in the original movie. That was a different fairy tale or maybe a remake. The blue versus pink thing was just a joke about how they couldn't agree. Your point about stairs is spot on though. Wedding dresses are basically parachutes with lace.

henry_ross2mo ago

Those historical costumers must have had killer leg day from all that stair climbing.