Neal Decker

Today we tend to think of custom made wedding dresses as the ultimate in luxury and self-expression - but in past times they were more of a necessity than a luxury.In the 1940s, both during and after the Second World War, virtually nothing was available for anything other than progressing the war. Even after 1945, rationing continued for many years and many fabrics and accessories remained hard to come by, or entirely unavailable. So, many women simply didn't have the option of buying an off-the-peg wedding dress and had to use imagination to create what was, essentially, their own custom made Evening Dresses. Just a few years ago, our grandmothers were resorting to some extraordinary steps:

Bridal fashion has become much more tied to runway and ready-to-wear design than it used to be. Trends evolve and change more quickly in bridal these days, keeping them in sync with style developments in the rest of the fashion world. One great example of this is the 2012 wedding dresses with front slits in the skirts. Slits were a hot trend in ready-to-wear, and bridal designers have embraced this daring style in their 2012 collections. A front slit wedding gown is ideal for the bride who wants to feel sexy and fashion-forward on her wedding day. A variety of designers featured dresses with front slits, including Ines di Santo,Angel sanchez, and Hayley Paige. Shop for dramatic wedding jewelry to suit the striking design of the front slit gowns.

Another great option for the daring 2012 bride is a wedding gown with a low cut back. Designers such as marchesa featured styles with modest front necklines paired with very daring backs. One of Marchesa's standout designs was a fluid crepe column dress that dipped low into a draped cowl just above the tailbone. A special feature of that gown is that it takes advantage of another 2012 Prom dresses trend: embellished illusion. The open back is covered by a sheer material which is decorated with a lovely floral accent "growing" up the back. It adds an unexpected detail, and the illusion also helps to ensure that the dress does not slip around, despite the wide open back. If you want an even sexier low cut back, turn to Pnina Tornai, who is a master of designing bridal gowns which conceal only the essentials. Elizabeth Fillmore created a slinky gown with a barely-there crisscross strap across the open back, for yet another beautiful option.

Hard as it may be to believe, some women claimed to have pressed tissue paper (itself difficult to come by) into service as part of their wedding dress apparel - they must also have presumably hoped against hope that it didn't rain!The linings from the backs of curtains were stripped out to make what must have been an 'approximately' white dress.

So, what's the message from this? We know our ancestors went through hardships that would seem unthinkable to us today, yet against all that they continued to try and express their individuality on that very special day.Was it necessary? Would anyone have minded if, given wartime conditions, they had not had something that resembled a wedding dress?