譯文大賞

為什麼那麼多新娘都穿白色的呀？

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~~〉

Flip through a popular bridal magazine these days and you'll find a sea of smiling women, twirling in white.

如果您有翻閱婚禮雜誌的話，會發現裡面盡是穿著白色禮服〈或是白婚紗〉、臉上帶著微笑的女性。

The white gown is synonymous with weddings, a custom that’s often assumed to be a nod to old-school values of purity and chastity, as embodied by the virginal bride.

一般認為，白色婚紗是最能代表婚禮的一種象徵。此外在傳統的觀念上，白色就代表著貞潔、純潔的特質，意即穿著白色禮服的新娘保有純淨純真的樣態。

But in reality, the rise of the white dress is less a story of religious influence or puritanical mores than it is a tale of economics and marketing – one driven by a burgeoning garment industry that managed to harness the power of WWII propaganda and the marital boom that followed.

但事實上，新娘穿著白色禮服的風氣，並不是因為宗教或是道德傳統的潛移默化，而是受到了商業行銷的影響〈好像中秋節的一家烤肉萬家香的概念呀〉-有很大一部份是源自於二戰期間，逐漸興盛的服飾業鼓吹婚姻的緣故。

“The color of the twentieth-century gown itself was an invented tradition, meaning that it evolved into something seen as unchanging and timeless, though it was not always so,” writes Vicki Howard in her book, Brides, Inc.

而《美式傳統婚禮及傳統產業》〈Brides, Inc.一書的作者，維琪霍華德〈Vicki Howard〉就有對這個現象做出了解釋：〝儘管在20世紀時的白色禮服不完全兼具恆久不變及永恆的傳統意象，但對於大眾來說，這兩種意象深植人心。〞

Though considered a historic and time-honored ritual, the white wedding is actually a somewhat modern phenomenon.

因此我們可以了解，雖然許多人都認為，白色婚紗是一種傳統和歷史的象徵；但是事實上，到目前為止，我們沒辦法證明這件事，只能說它是一種現代常見的現象而已。

Aristocratic origins 白婚紗曾是貴族的〝專利〞

曾經有段時間，白婚紗只出現在貴族的婚禮，圖片來源：Unsplash,
Vadim Sherbakov

 

For many women throughout history, a wedding dress wasn’t a once-worn garment in shimmering white, but simply the nicest item of clothing they had. In many cases, they’d wear it again for other formal occasions, some of them less celebratory in nature.

事實上，對於那個時代背景下的女性，這種優雅的禮服在當時已經算是她們眾多衣服中最美的一件了，並不會像現在只有在結婚典禮上穿而已〈才穿一次多浪費呀~~〉。所以從許多的歷史典故中，我們也發現，原來女性在其他重要場合也會穿著這樣的禮服呢。

“Most nineteenth-century brides were simply married in their best dress, which was often black (durable and appropriate for inevitable funerals),” writes Carol Wallace in her history of the ceremony, All Dressed in White.

卡洛華勒斯在她的書《白色禮服》〈All Dressed in White，講述婚禮歷史的書〉裡寫道：〝其實在十九世紀時，多數的新娘就只是穿著他們認為最好看的禮服來參加婚宴，而且通常都是以黑色居多〈在現今的社會，黑色較常出現在喪禮上〉〞

For most of human history, those of lesser means were wise to avoid white – in addition to being expensive, white fabrics weren’t exactly easy to keep clean. Since wedding gowns were typically used on multiple occasions, this was a particularly important consideration. Women often made their own dresses at home, and any faulty stitches or imperfections would be more likely to stand out in white.

事實上，在歷史上的多數時候，大家是不喜歡穿白色衣服的。除了白色布料造價高昂外，也很難保持清潔。另外在當時，禮服是由女性自行製作的。如果布料選擇白色的，那麼只要有瑕疵的地方就會很容易被發現。因此白色婚紗在歷史上出現的機率並不是很高。

Still, there’s evidence of royalty sporting the color dating back to the Middle Ages.

不過，根據研究，早在中古時代的皇室婚禮就曾出現過白色婚紗。

Princess Philippa of England reportedly donned white satin trimmed with ermine (a type of weasel) for her 1406 wedding to a Danish prince, likely the first documented case of a princess in white on the big day.

據文獻記載，在西元1406年英國的斐禮帕公主嫁給丹麥王子時，她就穿著白色貂皮所製成的禮服參加婚禮，以目前現有的文獻來看，她可能是歷史上，最早穿著白色衣服參加婚禮的新娘呢。

A bride in a dark wedding dress. Photo credit: Lindner, Chicago

穿著黑色婚紗的新娘，圖片來源：Linder, Chicago

 

The color gained a significant PR boost when Queen Victoria of England chose a white satin and lace gown for her marriage to Prince Albert in 1840. As the most public royal wedding to date, news of the event, including engravings of the queen, quickly made the rounds.

雖然早在中古世紀就有相關紀錄了，但是一直要到400年後，白色婚紗才開始成為了婚禮的象徵。在1840年，英國的維多利亞女王嫁給艾伯特王子時，就挑了白色禮服參加婚禮。當時的皇室婚禮就像是現在一樣，各家新聞媒體的爭相報導，因而帶起了白色婚紗的風潮。

A trend had begun to take root, although it would be another hundred years before the style would be widely available to middle class women at an affordable price.

從中可以推論，現在穿著白色的風氣正是在當時紮了根；不過因為當時白色布料的價格仍然高昂，一直要等到近百年後才開始大為盛行。

A portrait of Queen Victoria in her wedding dress. Photo via Wikipedia
維多利亞女王穿著婚紗的樣貌，圖片來源：維基百科

Brides from elite families in England and the U.S. began to adopt the color in the decades following the queen’s debut until, just fifty years later, it seemed as though the custom had always been: “From times immemorial the bride’s gown has been white,” claimed an issue of Ladies’ Home Journal in 1890.

在維多利亞婚禮後的數十年間，有越來越多貴族新娘穿著白色禮服出席，而在短短的五十年間，幾乎所有的貴族婚禮都出現了這樣的禮服。甚至在1890年的女性居家月刊中，一位專欄作者聲稱：〝現在正處於白婚紗的時代〞

By the turn of the century, the wealthy still had a monopoly on the white wedding dress, even as the color choice took on new significance: underscoring a bride’s sexual purity. That likely wasn’t Queen Victoria’s intent. But after her trendsetting nuptials, as one journalist has written, “the sentimental Victorians idolized innocent brides and their pure white gowns.”

儘管現在白婚紗有著純潔的意象，但是〝富裕〞這個百年前就有的意象到了現在依舊無可取代。這很可能就只是女王當時的無意之舉，當時一位新聞記者對此表示：〝在她出席婚禮的那一刻，白色就注定成為了純潔與處女之身的象徵。〞

“Custom has decided, from the earliest ages, that white is the most fitting hue, whatever may be the material,” declared the Godey’s Lady’s Book in 1849. “It is an emblem of the purity and innocence of girlhood, and the unsullied heart she now yields to the chosen one.”

在1849年出版的一本書針對這樣的現象做了解釋：〝當時，女王手邊有的禮服中，最合身的禮服正好就是白色的，但當時對於世人來說，白色正好代表純潔和單純，而當女王穿著這樣顏色的衣服，就順帶給世人有了這樣的意象〞

Nevertheless, Vicki Howard argues that it’s not clear whether the brides themselves were adopting the same cultural message or just following the fashions of the day. “Wearing white,” she writes, “simply could have been the thing to do because it was what others were wearing, and had worn in the past.”

但是，維琪霍華德認為，儘管有不少的歷史典故，但還是很難了解，到底白色婚紗的風氣是源自於文化還是只是流行而已。另外她也認為：當時會開始流行穿白色婚紗的原因，只是因為看到其他人穿才跟著穿，而且對於許多人來說，也常看到很多穿著白色的新娘。

Soon, the ritual of the white dress would reach new heights.

雖然到目前為止，對於白色婚紗盛行的真正原因，沒有一個確切的答案。不過就現有的資料來看，至少在維多利亞女王的婚禮後不久，白色婚紗的流行趨勢來到了前所未有的高峰。

結論：

1. 本篇的內容，講述的是白色婚紗的起源至逐漸興盛的階段〈中古世紀到維多利亞女王時期：14到19世紀中期〉，並非原文的全部，這是因為篇幅過長的關係，所以剩下的原文部分及翻譯會放在下篇（有興趣的可以看下一篇〉

2. 早期白色婚紗並不盛行，主要是因為當時的技術有限以及生活習慣

3. 在19世紀末以前，白色婚紗只出現在貴族階級

4. 由於白色禮服在當時算是女生最美的衣服，所以在其他重要場合上，還是會穿著白色禮服

5. 早在中古世紀，就有貴族穿著類似現代白色婚紗的相關記載

6. 白色婚紗的風氣，主要是源自於二戰的商業行銷〈詳細資訊會在下一篇-白色婚紗的意義與由來（中）出現喔〉