Wedding Traditions: Something Borrowed, Something Blue

For those familiar with Western wedding culture, there is no doubt that at one time or another, you’ve heard the phrase “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a silver six pence in her shoe”.

According to The Knot, this old Victorian-era rhyme represents traditional beliefs of what a bride should wear or carry with her on her wedding day for good luck. While these traditions aren’t always followed by today’s brides, some still like to incorporate a few (if not all) of the suggestions from this poem into their special day! Let’s talk about what each one of these poetry lines was inspired by and what they represent.  

Something Old

In the Victorian era, everyone was interested in warding off evil. In this case specifically, they were most concerned with the Evil Eye, which was thought to cause infertility in brides. To combat this myth, brides would carry something old with them in the form of a good luck charm. Nowadays, the fear of the Evil Eye is gone and “something old” is usually carried in a form of remembrance and nostalgia. Representing continuity, items such as a piece of jewelry or clothing items from older family members may be worn by the bride to keep them close and carry the family legacy through the special day! 

Something New 

This item can be checked off the list whether you’ve heard of the “something old” poem or not! As can be imagined, the “something new” represents new beginnings and can be represented by literally anything you want for your wedding- such as the dress, veil, shoes, wedding ring etc. If you want something new to be a gift from someone else, that works as well! It’s whatever you’d like it to be. 

Something Borrowed

In traditional times, this part of the poem was (once again) inspired by the need for good luck and fertility. An example of something borrowed during the Victorian era may have been, oddly enough, a successfully married friend or neighbor’s undergarments! This was practiced due to the belief that the good luck would wear off on the person wearing the garments, thus blessing their marriage as well. In today’s times we thankfully don’t have to worry about borrowing someone else’s underwear! The borrowed items are usually very sentimental and can be something like your grandmother’s wedding dress touched up in your style or perhaps the shoes or earrings that your mother wore on her wedding day.  

Something Blue

Blue is such a lovely color, and in this instance it represents love, purity, and fidelity. Of course as mentioned previously, the Victorian era was dead set on getting rid of the Evil Eye, so wearing blue during that period was also intended to ward against it. Brides of that era would usually wear a blue garter under their dress, but in more modern times, the blue can be incorporated into any element of your wedding attire if a garter isn’t your thing. For instance, if you love sapphires you could wear them in your jewelry, include blue flowers in your hair and bouquet, wear blue shoes, or even blue undergarments! Whatever your heart desires for your “something blue”, make it happen- it’s your special day after all. 

Sixpence in Your Shoe 

This final part of the rhyme is one that is usually overlooked simply because it’s not really a decorative element. Traditionally, a bride would be given a sixpence that she would then place in her shoe to represent good fortune for her and her husband’s future. Even though the sixpence isn’t around anymore, there are still options available. Brides from the United States can either use a penny or track one down from the UK! To make things extra special, some brides will customize their sixpence experience by selecting a coin from either their birth year or the year that they met their significant other—how much sweeter can it get?! 

So as you can see, from just one little poem, brides all over can add a little special touch to their special day. Whether you decide to use one, two, or all of the items in this list, there is no doubt that adding “something borrowed,or something blue” will absolutely add that extra touch of magic to an already marvelous day.

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