Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This paper examines the interaction between brides, their family members and friends, and saleswomen in the ritual acquisition of the white wedding dress in order to better understand the relationship between consumption, cultural capital, and gendered social interaction in contemporary wedding practices. The white wedding dress not only signifies the bride’s transition in social group membership from single women to married wives, but is a key marker of social status displayed to guests at the wedding, including family, friends, and co-workers. First, I provide a brief history of the white wedding dress and summarize the current literature on white weddings. Then I present data collected from in-depth, semi-structured interviews with women on their interpretations of white wedding ideology and experiences purchasing white wedding dresses. I conclude by discussing the finding this research adds to the current literature, which is that saleswomen and their sales tactics (including by appointment only policies, creating spectacles of beauty, and emotional manipulation) are influential in structuring the gendered cultural capital of the white wedding.