1. Brides Before Their Wedding in Our Time
 

"Some time back a custom began among the brides of Venice that before they receive wedding rings and only visits have passed between the bride and groom, on one day they are visited by their male friends and relatives and on another day by the women, and then, carefully chaperoned, they go out to enjoy themselves. At this time they wear a fazzuolo [piece of cloth, [head covering] called a cappa, of black silk that is very thin and covers their face but not their breast, and even though it is not very thick, it still does not allow their covered faces even to be imagined. On this occasion they are richly adorned with pearls and gold, wearing far more of these ornaments than they did before they exchanged wedding vows. And since this veil covers their face, they wear a bodice and sleeves of colored fabric, most often of white silk, with the opening widely laced crosswise with a silk cord, as seen in this portrait. This opening [stomacher] used to be of gold and decorated with needlework, but now it is plain and without any other trim. They wear perfumed full-length gloves in winter; in the summer their gloves go only halfway down their fingers. They wear necklaces and other ornaments and jewels. They wear a jeweled, floor-length gold belt, and the rest of their gown is black, with a long train."

© Ann Rosalind Jones and Margaret F Rosenthal.