About
Bride Chic
Platinum blonde, honey blonde, champagne blonde, golden blonde, strawberry blonde... there are about as many shades of blonde as there are shades of
white. That's right. And if you've been out looking for THE
wedding dress, you know by now that white can be pretty multi-faceted. Below is a brief sampling of the
basic shades of white available for your wedding dress and how they look on a blonde skin tone. Keep in mind though there's nothing like actually stepping into the dress.
OPTICAL WHITE: This is amped up to look like snow white. Usually optical white is made out of man-made fibers like polyester but pure silk can be bleached. Some designers bleach silks white to produce a certain effect. This neon version looks
stunning on darker skin tones and brunettes but if you have one of those deep salon suntans and tan well, snow white may just work for you.
SILK WHITE: These dresses are in that chalky, natural sort of silk white that only natural fibers can produce. Salons and retailers refer to this as
Diamond, Natural or Silky White. Typically it is a couple degrees off Optical. So who can wear silk white? Almost everyone except light-skinned blondes (great if your undertones are blue) and redheads whom it tends to wash out. Again, the lighter whites look best on darker hair and/or warmer skin tones.
IVORY: This is that warmed-up white most bridal gowns come in. Some designers and manufacturers call this candlelight or cream, especially if it has that yellowy butter cream tint to it. Tea-dyed silks and cottons have pink tones underneath.
Ivory is
great for blondes and redheads.
ECRU: Almost tan, similar to
beige, more and more designers are using this hue. Lovely in
heavier fabrics like brocade and peau.
Here's my opinion on shades of white for a blonde bride: Ivory and candlelight whites are your best bets. If you're ruddy complected--that is--your coloring is more on the red-headed spectrum, go for yellow or peach-toned whites.
When looking for your dream wedding dress, are you taking into account the color of your hair and skin? What white hues have you been told would look best with your complexion? We want to hear from you!