On the painting realized in 1851 by Eliseo Sala from Milan, Mary Elisabeth of Saxony is depicted wearing the bridal dress for her wedding to the Duke of Genoa Ferdinand of Savoy, the year before the painting was created.

Mary Elisabeth’s dress, cousin of Emperor Franz Josef and his wife Sissi (whose wedding dress, combined with a white train with gold embroidery, is a mystery since the ceremony was accessible only by invitation), is in silk satin, with a long skirt not too vaporous combined with a pointed bodice and a wide neckline.

The sleeves are edged with gathered lace. Her dress is completed with a bracelet on the right wrist and an ermine cloak placed on the back of the chair.

Mary Elisabeth, future mother of Queen Margherita of Italy, wore her hair combed in two soft, smooth bands with a central parting.

Her dress is inspired by the one commissioned by Queen Victoria of England, for her marriage to Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, which took place in public on 10th February 1840. The model, in white silk with lace and decorated with small branches of orange blossoms, influenced future brides. Previously, the wedding dress was traditionally made of velvet and brocade and of a bright colour, generally red.

The white satin dress was then promoted thanks to Queen Victoria’s choice and made with English fabrics to demonstrate the sovereign’s support for craftsmanship, affected by the industrial revolution and the mechanization of hand-made processes such as lace making. The white colour was chosen to highlight the lace that adorned the dress.

To show that she was a woman as well as a queen, rather than wearing royal garments, Victoria inaugurated and exported the romantic model of the bride still widespread in magazines, illustrations and fashion prints: a bride in a white dress, complete with veil and orange blossoms.

The English Queen also wore the brooch commissioned for her by Prince Albert and Turkish diamond earrings and necklace.

The white “Victorian” dress, with a tight bodice, wide skirt and train, is still considered a classic for brides all over the world.