咖啡廳與健身日常

Wartime Weddings  戰爭時期的婚禮

導言：此篇是翻譯至Priceonomics這個網站的文章，為了盡量保留文章的原貌，文內有些圖片是截取自該網站的。另外，從這篇開始，凡有原文字數超過10000字以上的，會分為上下篇出文章〈有些文章實在太長了~~〉。最後想告訴讀者們，如果比較不喜歡看字數過多的文章，在文章底部有放上本文的簡短總結，可以直接跳至文章後面閱讀〈還是希望有耐心地看看嘛拜託~~〉

前情提要：白色婚紗的意義與由來（上）描寫的是從婚紗問世至19世紀中後期-維多利亞女王當政的時期，在那個階段現代所盛行的婚紗才開始萌芽而已。一直要等到二戰的爆發才開始普及於民間，而本篇正是述說著二戰時期，現代婚紗逐漸興盛的過程和原因。

二戰的爆發，反而讓現代的婚紗普及化，圖片來源：Unsplash, Pascal Bernardon
 

It took a world war to turn the wealthy’s obsession with chaste, white dresses into an institution that crossed class lines.

雖然在19世紀中期之後，人們就經常看到新娘穿著白色的婚紗出現在貴族的婚禮了，但這種款式真正普及到民間的時期，得要等到二戰之後了。

The early 1940s proved to be a time of sacrifice and scarcity with the onset of World War II. Rations imposed limits on a host of goods, including silk, a popular wedding dress material for those who could afford it.

1940年初期，正逢第二次世界大戰，同盟國與軸心國打得正火熱的時候。被世人認為是物資匱乏與犧牲奉獻的世代。各國政府為了戰爭，開始控管民間商業行為，包括控制絲綢的交易量，並徵調民間的絲綢，而絲綢正是當時婚紗常用且平民能負擔得起的布料（如果有看日劇當家姊姊的讀者就會知道，戰爭呀，無論是對戰勝國還是戰敗國都是殘酷的）。

The military began using silk to build parachutes, although in an endearing twist, there are a number of recorded tales of women crafting wedding dresses out of the parachutes carried by their betrothed.

為何政府在戰爭期間會那麼重視絲綢？因為絲正是降落傘的主要原料。的確，婚紗對於女性來說相當重要，但在當時，一個個女性為了戰爭，把自身的婚紗獻給國家來製作降落傘。

二戰時期，絲綢是降落傘必備的材料之一, 圖片來源：Vinícius Henrique, Unsplash

While marriages themselves were sometimes postponed or pared down during the war, the ritualistic significance of the white wedding was on the rise.

雖然在戰間期，物資的匱乏及國家徵招男性前線造成了許多婚禮的延期。但根據史料記載，從那個時期開始，白色婚紗漸漸對世人的影響也就越來越深了。那麼這是為什麼呢？

Though women were encouraged to enter the workforce to fill the jobs left vacant by men at war, they were also held up as symbols of what the country’s soldiers were fighting to protect—and what they would come home to when the battles ended.

在當時，民間鼓勵女性們要在後勤支援前線的男性。儘管不在前線作戰，她們同樣也跟男性一樣，被認為是具有保家衛國的象徵。

Government propagandists initiated the effort to motivate Americans by describing the war as a fight for marriage and family, but manufacturers and retailers quickly picked up on the trend.

政府負責文宣的當局為了打持久戰而做準備，因此鼓勵民間兩性結婚、增產報國。但沒想到，許多企業就趁著這個機會搭上了這個風潮。

One government-sponsored radio broadcast from 1942 emphasized that the war was “about love and gettin’ hitched, and havin’ a home and some kids, and breathin’ fresh air out in the suburbs.” Meanwhile, Eureka, the vacuum company, writes Katherine Jellison in It’s Our Day, sold women on the idea that “you’re fighting for a little house of your own, and a husband to meet every night at the door.” Even soap manufacturers capitalized on the zeitgeist.

一個在1942年由國家贊助的廣播節目裡就有跟民眾呼籲，雖然女性無法上戰場，但是可以透過組織家庭、生下孩子，增加生產力來幫助前線的男性。與此同時，一間吸塵器廠商也趁著這個機會把戰爭的意象放在了廣告裡面，就連肥皂商依樣畫葫蘆也出了類似的廣告。

廣播在二戰時期的作用，就像是現代的智慧型手機一樣，當時的美國幾乎家家一台，圖片來源：Fancycrave, Unsplash

“The public rhetoric of the war,” writes Nancy Cott in Public Vows, “while dwelling on the defense of democratic freedom against Nazi aggression and Japanese imperialism, emphasized the intimate, private and familial aspects of the American way of life, centering on heterosexual love and marriage.”

美國在戰爭時期的文宣，除了是對抗日本帝國及納粹政權外，還重視家庭與伴侶間的緊密關係，甚至把宣傳焦點放在兩性間的愛情與婚姻。

This trend intersected perfectly with the bridal industry’s aims. For years, it had tried to convince Americans that a proper wedding called for a new, one of a kind gown.

這樣的風氣恰好巧妙地置入了婚紗業的行銷。二戰以來，婚紗業的從業者藉由告訴人們：一個正統的婚禮不能沒有這種嶄新的、精美的禮服。

As an example of these marketing efforts, Vicki Howard writes in Brides, Inc. about a bridal consultant handbook from the era, published by Mademoiselle. “Wearing an heirloom wedding gown simply because it is old or simply because it has sentimental value,” it cautioned in profit-maximizing tones, “does not guarantee a beautiful wedding day.” Such a gown could potentially impose on a bride’s “inalienable right” to look her best for the ceremony.

維琪霍華德在她的著作裡就舉了個例子：以往新娘會穿著像是傳家寶，那樣一代傳承一代的婚紗，是因為它擁有情感上的價值。但是它沒有辦法像現在的婚紗一樣，能夠保證新娘在婚禮時能穿得漂亮、穿得合身。當時婚紗業就以這一點來打開市場，並隨著時間逐漸地改變了原有的風氣。現在可以發現原來婚禮著重的，是美觀而不再是傳統。

Advice from etiquette guides and fashion designers spun a similar message, and by the 1930s, Howard writes, the tradition of a bride wearing her mother’s dress had begun to wane.

霍華德接著在書中提到，禮儀相關的指南和時尚設計師也傳遞了類似的訊息。而且在1930年後，新娘穿著母親的婚紗-這種原有的婚禮傳統開始沒落。

The bridal industry’s campaign against inherited and homemade wedding dresses culminated with marketing that took advantage of wartime propaganda.

由前文可以推論，從二戰爆發後，現代婚紗業者利用了戰間期的宣傳而逐漸贏過了傳統手工婚紗業。

Take one 1942 advertisement from Brides magazine, entitled “Your Right to a Wedding.” The ad, for the Bridal Makers of New York, describes the importance of “one day above all others.” It soothes women with visions of a “glorious sweep of white” and assurances that “when this war and its restrictions are long forgotten, the memory of your day will shine through all the years.”

就以一個在1942年、刊登在新娘雜誌，以〝婚禮是您一生當中的權利〞為標題的廣告為例：這份廣告是由紐約的婚禮企劃商所拍攝的。它主要是以〝一生當中最重要的一天〞這樣的slogan做宣傳。在廣告裡所傳達給大眾的意象是〝當擺脫了舊有的傳統和長久的戰爭，那麼接下來我們將會迎向光明的未來。〞  

Indeed, wedding gowns “were seen as part of the war effort – what the country was fighting for,” Vicki Howard writes in Brides, Inc.

維琪霍華德在她的著作中提到：〝雖然戰爭與婚禮看似矛盾，但婚紗風氣的改變是戰爭下的產物。〞

The industry even established its own trade group, the Association of Bridal Manufacturers, which successfully fought for an exemption on silk rations for use in wedding dresses, arguing that it would boost morale.

這個產業甚至創立了它自家的貿易組織-婚紗協會，以提升民心為由，成功地在戰間期向國家機關要求減少絲綢的徵收。

One member of the group reported later that it largely focused its efforts on a single congressman: “We told them, ‘American boys are going off to war and what are they fighting for except the privilege of getting married in the traditional way? They’re fighting for our way of life, and this is part of our way of life and the government is taking it away,’” writes Jellison.

協會中的一位成員甚至告訴政府官員：〝我們美國男性大都上了戰場，卻沒有享受到結婚這種國家傳統的機會。他們是在為我們大家拚命耶，您們竟然還把他們的人生奪走了一部份。〞

“By invoking ‘tradition’ to justify its exemption from wartime restrictions, the association actually promoted a new cultural norm,” Jellison adds. “Without a factory-produced bridal gown, a ‘real’ wedding simply could not take place.”

組織藉由呼籲保留這樣的傳統，進而達到國家減少絲綢的徵收量，確實促成了一個新的文化規範。再者，如果當時工廠因為絲綢短缺而無法製作婚紗，那麼〝現代〞的婚禮應該不會存在。

By the middle of the twentieth century, the marketing of the wedding dress had transformed it into a sacred garment to be used just once.

到了20世紀中期，婚紗的行銷手法已經轉變成一生當中只穿一次這樣的珍貴的象徵。     

Thanks in part of wartime research, more women were soon able to justify that one-time investment.

白婚紗的普及很大一部份得歸功於婚紗業在戰間期的付出，讓更多女性得以在婚禮上穿著這種一生可能只穿一次的禮服。

結論：

1. 本篇講述的內容，是白色婚紗開始普及民間的階段（20世紀中期〉。而白色婚紗受到廣大的群眾喜愛的過程及原因，因為原文篇幅過長，所以會放在下篇。

2. 白色婚紗的普及得感謝戰爭時期，美國政府大力推廣宣傳兩性婚姻、控制民間交易行為，以及廣播的發明。讓大眾除了報紙或是口耳相傳外，有了新的方式了解社會活動，間接帶動後續婚紗業的興起。

3. 婚紗協會的成立，能確保了民間的絲綢量，並讓工廠能有原料生產婚紗。

4. 時代背景與傳播科技的進步，是白色婚紗受歡迎的其中兩個原因。但是還有什麼因素帶起了這樣的風潮呢？請看下一篇：白色婚紗的意義與由來〈下〉