When my mother was a young girl, she received a beautiful cedar hope chest for her twentieth birthday from her mother to begin collecting items for her trousseau. Over the years she put in soft blankets, embroidered sheets from her mother, her grandmothers silk shawl and intimate items, all in wait for the grand day she became a wife. Today, the modern bride needs to look at the tradition of the trousseau and adapt it to current times. Is a trousseau still necessary? What should go into the hope chest? What is the story behind the trousseau?

According to the Merriam Websters Collegiate Dictionary 11th edition, a trousseau is the personal possessions of a bride, usually including clothes, accessories and household linens and wares. Before the advent of fancy engagement parties and bridal showers, brides were expected to bring to the marriage herself, and a bundle of clothes, the French translation of a trousseau. Brides to be would bring linens for the marriage bed, towels, tablecloths or even draperies for her new home. She would also have family members make homemade items like the embroidered sheets my mother received. The trousseau would include the clothes the new bride would need for her adult married life including lingerie, dresses and night clothes. In some circles, the richness of the trousseau would reflect on the social standing of the bride. A bride from a rich home had expectations for her trousseau, much like a dowery.

Todays bride to be will probably accumulate piles of items for the home during the numerous bridal showers and engagement parties that didnt exist in her grandmothers day. She also probably has a whole closet of clothes for her new married life already. In fact, todays bride to be may already be living in her home with her fianc and decorating their house will be a shared task.

So does a modern bride need a trousseau or is it a tradition best left out, like the ritual of removing the garter belt from the brides leg during the reception?

Many women today still receive a hope chest from their mother as gift. In it, she could start to plan for a special wardrobe for her honeymoon, and perhaps for the first year of her marriage. She could look for resort wear if she is planning a honeymoon to a beach area, or maybe get a knock- out ski outfit for a trip to the Rockies. Maybe she wants to surprise her new husband with lingerie he has never seen her in, or could imagine her wearing!

Also in the hope chest, the bride could collect items from her family that mean a lot to her. Perhaps a framed picture of her parents, or even her first teddy bear from her childhood. Mementoes from trips or special days the couple have experienced could go into the hope chest, along with love letters or other items from their courtship.

The idea of a trousseau has been around for a long time. Todays brides could still collect items for a trousseau as a way to preserve family memories and to make some of her own!