Vintage Wedding Dress

JennieRage

Registered Guest
Hi all! I am looking for help with identifying the age of this wedding gown please.
Most particularly please tell me what the padding at the waist is called! I have tried searching every term I can think of: padded peplum, waist pads, hip rolls etc.
There are pinholes on the lower sides of the train so I am assuming that it pins to the padding to hold it up.
Also wondering what the material in the shoulder pads is.
Any and all help is always appreciated. Thank you. :)
 

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Wow, that's pretty spectacular!
Post war and before The New Look has fully taken hold. I'm guessing early 50s? To me the pads look like they are at the hip, and I tried looking for exposed hip pads, but got nowhere. The shoulders have flanges. I can't tell what the pads are made of—are they sponge-y or more solid?

This photo was captioned:
1951:
A satin wedding dress by Mercia with a long veil held in position by a tiara.
Chaloner Woods/Getty

8aa80c51bf1221b1de10d7f4f547ab5e.jpg


I can't find a source for this photo, but the woman's style looks to be of a similar time period.
b20962a0218169101e38dc2dfc4622cc.jpg
 
Wow, that's pretty spectacular!
Post war and before The New Look has fully taken hold. I'm guessing early 50s? To me the pads look like they are at the hip, and I tried looking for exposed hip pads, but got nowhere. The shoulders have flanges. I can't tell what the pads are made of—are they sponge-y or more solid?

This photo was captioned:
1951:
A satin wedding dress by Mercia with a long veil held in position by a tiara.
Chaloner Woods/Getty

View attachment 200376

I can't find a source for this photo, but the woman's style looks to be of a similar time period.
View attachment 200377
Thank you! Beautiful pictures! The second one with the rolls is amazing. I did not see anything similar while searching so I beyond happy that you found this one.
I am rethinking my idea that the train on mine is meant to pin up on the pads. Maybe the rolls are just for design even though they seem somewhat peculiar.
And thank you for the term flanges for the shoulders.
I will have to snap a better picture of the shoulder pads. The material inside feels like it could be pulled apart easily - not too compact.
I will have to squeeze the hip rolls again to see if they feel like the shoulder pads.
:)
 
It is a beautiful dress. Maggie you have found similar styles! From a historical dress standpoint, these were referred to as "bums" or bum rolls, or "rumps". Worn in the Medieval times and also the late 1700s. Women wore them under their clothing, and these are worn outside, so not sure if that term applies. But it does looks very Renaissance to me.
I did not search for bums or rumps so thank you for these terms! I will continue my search using them.
I like the idea of it being a renaissance style. :)
 
I just wanted to add these photos that I found in the online archives for the Mennonite Heritage Center of Harleysville, Pennsylvania.
My dress was found near a Mennonite community and it could possible that it is a homemade design.
I can see a combination of these two bodices in my dress. Or am I reaching too far? Lol.
The "rump rolls" are still a mystery for me.
 

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