A reality-television star sparked an online firestorm after appearing to wear white to her son’s wedding.
Dolores Catania, known for her role on “The Real Housewives of New Jersey,” posted several photos of herself wearing what was described as a pale blue, dramatically embellished gown at her son Frank Catania Jr.’s wedding to Nicole Perricho in Portugal.
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A post in the BravoRealHousewives subreddit titled “Dolores wore white to her son’s wedding” drew hundreds of comments about the apparent etiquette faux pas.
“Of course she did,” a Redditor commented. “She wanted to upstage the bride…”
“She’s already the ‘TV personality,’ the least she could do is try to dress subtle and keep a low profile to give the girl her day. But alas, monster-in-law it is,” wrote another.
“I mean, I expected nothing less,” someone else commented.
“Not a good look,” wrote another commenter.
Several Reddit users argued that the dress was not, in fact, white, while others said it was too close to white to be acceptable.
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“It looks like it has a hint of green, but here’s my thing, WHY do you need to wear something so close to white on this day?” someone wrote. “Any other color isn’t good enough at someone else’s wedding?”
“It wasn’t white, it was like a light blue,” a Redditor wrote. “Personally, I stay away from pale colors like that for weddings because they can photograph white like this.”
“Not defending it at all, it’s definitely way too close to white on any day….but it looks a little silver to me?” another user wrote, prompting a response that said, “As an experienced TV personality, she should know how things photograph. She wanted the limelight, end of story.”
White became the standard color for Western bridal gowns relatively recently.
Before the mid-19th century, many Western brides simply wore the best dress they owned, often one they had worn before, according to History.com.
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In 1840, however, Queen Victoria captured the public’s attention when she wore a white satin gown to marry Prince Albert, according to the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Before that, Western brides commonly wore gowns in a range of colors and patterns.
“Due partly to economic progress and the rise of the middle classes, by the late 1800s, the white wedding gown became the expected choice for most brides,” the museum reports.
As for the bride herself, the Emily Post Institute says, “Today, if you choose a dress that is not a shade of white, you aren’t breaking a rule of etiquette. However, when considering veering from the tradition, recognize that your choice may draw attention away from the purpose of the day or be upsetting to others from older generations.”
Post advises brides to “take into account the big picture (both your personal taste and its effect on others) when making this important decision.”
When it comes to guest attire, traditional wedding etiquette holds that guests should avoid upstaging the bride and generally steer clear of white.
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Wedding-planning site The Knot recommends that guests check the couple’s wedding website for information about the wedding party’s colors and consult the invitation for details about the dress code.
Etiquette expert Diane Gottsman has said gold can be appropriate for the mother of the bride as long as the dress “doesn’t look like you are the one getting married,” and the bride approves.
