Bridal gowns go green in hopes of a happily ever after

Here comes the bride, all dressed in ... biodegradable polyvinyl alcohol. Sound romantic? It does to the environmentally-conscious students and British researchers at Sheffield Hallam University in Sheffield, UK. But don't shed tears saying goodbye to the old-fashioned gowns of yore ... no, really, don't. See, the new dresses dissolve in water. So, that adage about rain on a wedding day bringing good luck might have to be reconsidered.

The fairytale gown, an iconic symbol of love and happily-ever-after was chosen for an overhaul by the fashion and engineering students at Sheffield Hallam as an example of something, usually worn once, to send a message about our increasingly disposable consumer culture.