Most brides dream of wearing luxurious silk underwear on their wedding day and the wired lace basque is perhaps the most coveted item in a bride's underwear trousseau. Complete with lace-trimmed stockings and the traditional bridal garter, these items can be quite expensive, so should be given careful thought. When buying underwear for the wedding day, the design of the gown should be taken into consideration. There are companies who specialise in bridal corsetry and lingerie, such as low-back corsets and bustiers. The ultimate indulgence is made-to-measure wedding lingerie. This canb e very expensive and, unless the bride has special requirements, should be unnecessary as most boutiques offer excellent ranges of ready-to-wear lingerie collections. Plunging necklines require special bras, while a slim-fitting sheath dress will require underwear that will give smooth curves to the figure, so suspender belts and lace bras, which often create little lumps and bumps beneath a fine fabric will not be suitable. Some bridal gowns require little extra support. Boned bodices, for example, have excellent shaping already built in, so a bra is usually optional. A petticoat with a net 'bustle' at the back of it is a good style to wear beneath a gown featuring a train. Petticoats and net underskirts give added fullness to skirts and also provide extra layers beneath fine silks that will otherwise be somewhat transparent in bright daylight. There are many hosiery companies that produce special pantihose and stockings for brides, featuring motifs such as flowers, hearts, wedding bells etc on the ankle or decorated with rows or pearls or diamanté. Whether sheer or opaque hosiery is chosen will usually be determined by the design of the dress. A full-skirted 'Dangerous Liaisons-style' gown suits white or ivory opaque legs as only a glimpse of ankle will usually be seen. A short, or knee-length gown, though, looks better with sheer hosiery as a solid block of a pale colour can be very unflattering. Whether pantihose or stockings are worn is a matter of personal taste, although many brides choose stockings as these can be worn with the traditional bride's garter. The bridal garter is often blue or decorated with blue ribbon to add the blue element of the "something old, something new..." proberb to the bride's ensemble.

close window