Red satin, short-sleeved bodice with low neckline,the sleeves trimmed with ruching and black lace, and co-ordinating satin skirt with panels of pleated ruching down the front; two separate long tight sleeves with lace frills at wrists After Queen Victoria wore white satin for her 1840 wedding, white became established as a fashionable colour for bridal gowns. For most nineteenth century brides, a wedding dress was an expensive purchase which was expected to be worn many times after the ceremony. Many brides chose coloured day dresses to wear for "best" afterwards, but there were other ways to prolong the life of a fashionable white wedding dress beyond its original wearing. This dress illustrates two methods. It was made with removable longer sleeves to enable it to be worn both as a day dress and as a short-sleeved evening gown. The rich silk satin is said to have been re-dyed red, but a close examination of the dress does not support this story. Some brides did have their white dresses dyed, and a coloured dress would have been more practical in the longer term than white. A re-dyed dress could then have been worn for a number of years afterwards. The dress is said to have been worn by Agnes Eleanor Hubbersty when she married Nicholas Price Wood in Darley, North Yorkshire, on 27 April 1843.