“You’ll Never Regret Going Bold”: The Moods of Wedding Apparel on a Practical Wedding

Abstract

This paper analyzes textual representations of wedding apparel on popular feminist wedding blog A Practical Wedding (APW). APW’s mediations of wedding clothing harness the transformative dimensions of weddings and wedding apparel. Drawing on the critical literature about moods and the political present, I argue that APW’s discussions of dress that is inclusive of all bodies can be seen as an attempt to instantiate extraordinary moods that depart from the despair of mundane contemporary life. In its wedding apparel coverage, wedding clothing becomes a “mood node” that can enliven feminist subjects and convert despair and rage into sustainable political moods.