WEDDING fashion has changed over the years, decades and centuries.
The Gallery Balranald are currently hosting the I Do exhibition, showcasing bridal wear and items.
The oldest item, a wedding dress, was worn 131 years ago, while the newest, a suit, was worn only a month ago.
The Gallery Balranald volunteer and registered indigenous artist Robyn Davis said the 131 year old dress was found in a box in the top of somebody’s cupboard, belonging to their great-grandmother.
“It’s a bodice with a separate skirt,” Ms Davis said.
“It might have been white or cream, but now it has rust spots on it and it’s sort of a bony colour; it’s very fragile.
“You can see the bones at the back of the bodice – we’ve got it open at the front, so you can see the bones – how they used to sew the bones in with a tiny little waist there.”
Ms Davis said also on display was a metallic belt worn with the dress.
“Out of all the dresses, there are so many different styles and so different colours,” she said.
Ms Davis said viewers would be surprised at the different amounts of colour.
Also on display is Ms Davis’ wedding dress from 1967 – a Mary Quant pink satin dress with silver floral lace.
Ms Davis came up with the idea for the exhibition 12 months ago.
“I have a very soft spot for brides,” Ms Davis said.
At first the gallery had three submissions, then 12, then once a call out was made on social media, the “local people just rallied around and we had weddings dressings coming out of our ears”, she said.
Eventually there were 54 items in total.
This includes wedding dresses, page boy suits, flower girl dresses and a few men’s suits.
“I thought we would get a lot that looked the same, because you have an idea of what a bridal dress looks like,” Ms Davis said.
“But, when you get them all together, there’s no two the same.
“I don’t think there’s even two that are the same in design, let alone colour.
“We’ve got a really beautiful gold brocade with a lace over it, and a Mary Quant mini dress that’s like a size eight.”
Ms Davis has officiated between 30 to 40 weddings since she became a celebrant in 2009.
The exhibition opened on July 17 and runs until the end of September.
