Shopping CartA Bridal Trousseau comes from the old French diminutive of trousse, meaning ‘bundle’ and was traditionally possessions such as clothes, fine fabrics and linens that a bride-to-be would assemble for her forthcoming marriage.
Girls, sometimes as young as eleven, were encouraged to save the special presents they were given throughout their girlhood in a wooden box that Americans sometimes call a ‘Hope Chest’ to be taken into their new married lives. As the tradition grew, the Trousseau began to include jewellery, makeup, even bath towels (!) and significantly for Tink’s, Lingerie.
The main aspect of the Trousseau was that everything in it was new and special. The tradition changed slightly over the years as family and friends were encouraged to contribute to a bride’s Trousseau – particularly in the way of fabrics, clothes and lingerie that would later proclaim her new status as a married woman.
In the last few years, in our ‘post modern’ society , we have seen a rather lovely revival and reinvention of the Bridal Trousseau. Perhaps, because many couples live together before marriage and have no need of the usual wedding gifts of crockery, glasses and tableware, the Trousseau has re-emerged as lovely alternative for family members to give the Bride as a special gift.
Today, the Bride-to-be is given a range of lingerie, night-slips, dressing gowns and peignoir sets. Usually these are gathered together by the bride’s female friends and relatives – men are rarely involved! Sometimes husbands-to-be give their wives presents of Trousseau Money, for their brides to choose and buy items for the Trousseau – which are then revealed after the wedding. Many brides simply make up their own Trousseaus as part of their honeymoon preparations.
At Tink’s , Alison loves to help create Bridal Trousseaus and with her help, it can become a lovely part of the wedding preparations, with the bride attending a lingerie fitting
…but not seeing what has been bought for her until her wedding night or honeymoon!
Contemporary Trousseaus usually contain:
- A ‘wedding night’ lingerie item
- A delicate nightslip (long or short) and/or babydoll suit
- A short dressing gown or bed jacket (long or short)
- A camisole and French knickers for day wear.
- Small, pretty, sexy or fun items such as garters, silk stockings or high-heeled slippers!
Large, wooden Hope Chests are a little hard to get past Customs for the honeymoon flight, so the contemporary Trousseau items tend to be presented in pretty satin lingerie bags that can be artfully sneaked into the bride’s suitcase.
Trousseau item colours tend to be whites, creams, pinks and blues (so as not to freak out the bride-to-be’s mother who can be overwhelmed at the thought of buying her daughter a black thong!)
Talk to Alison today on 01243 779222 who can advise you on how to make a Bridal Trousseau a wonderful aspect to your wedding plans…
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