Flower Girl Dresses: A Style History

The Flower Girl has been a symbolic presence at weddings for some time. The flower girl is dated back to Ancient Roman times and has continued to remain important throughout history for almost all types of wedding ceremonies. The flower girls is a representation of purity (often expressed through the solid white flower girl dress). Depending on the time in history, the flower girl has spread many items while “walking down the aisle”, most common now are red roses as symbol of love and passion.

Here's a brief look at Flower Girls and Flower Girl Dresses throughout history:

Greece & Rome: At this time, flower girls didn't spread flowers, but herbs and grains that were meant to signify fertility and prosperity, there were few children allowed at weddings as it was a formal event.

Medieval Period: Accounts differ of the role of the flower girl during this time, however there are suggestions that they sometimes carried garlic to ward of evil presences; still other accounts say this is the first appearance of flowers to diminish the “fragrance” of medieval life.

Elizabethan Period: Weddings at this time were a true procession as all participants would walk the route from the home of the bride to the church. The flower girl followed the musicians (who also walked the path) and spread flowers, often rose petals demarcating the route. The attendant in her pure flower girls dress would sometimes carry a silver cup or rosemary branch representative of the bride.

Victorian Period: This is perhaps the moment when fashion of flower girl dresses become noticeable; it also was the introduction of the flower girl basket.
Colored sashes on the white flower girl dresses became popular at this time and remains so today.

1920s-1930s: Flower girl dresses of this time really took on the “flapper” style of the 20s and all the style traits in the 30s as well. Just look at child stars of the day to get good idea of the dress style, which sometimes included ruffles and ribbons.

1940s-1950s: The 40s saw full encouragement of all children in wedding ceremonies, some even featuring more than one flower girl. Fashion at this time was influenced by royal weddings, as well as the chiffon, satin and lace styles of the 1950s.

1960s-1980s: The following decades saw flower girl traditions and flower girl dresses follow the trends of the times. The 60s were puffed sleeves and “empire” waists. The 70s produced a more casual style, including prints and the continuance of the empire waist. In the 1980s, flower girls often carried dried flowers and fashions ranged from the 80's style, to the elegance of Princess Diana.

1990's: The 1990s saw a return to colorful rose and flower bouquets and the styles pushed the casual envelope at times. It also saw the expansion of “theme” and holiday weddings, so flower girl dresses followed suit.

2000's-Now: The role of the flower girl continues to change as the times do. Some times the spread flowers, perform dances, or even comic relief; occasionally they are ring-bearers. The flower girl dress fashion has more of an emphasis on style and quality than ever before in a traditional sense, and whimsical, youthful representation for less formal weddings.

Flower Girl Dresses

When looking to buy a flower girl dress, be sure to go with a reputable company and one that has the best deals and prices. Make sure you do a little research into what you need. Flower girl dresses vary by age. Infant flower girl dresses also termed baby flower girl dresses cover the general age of 1 - 1 1/2 down to almost newborn. Toddler flower girl dresses most often cover the ages of 1-3 and then traditional flower girl dress selection cover ages 3 and up. There are also specific styles for different types of weddings, including holiday flower girl dresses for weddings at Christmas and such.