Lecture 15 of Culture study
- 2. National Dress in Britain Costume of England - National Dress England, unlike Wales and Scotland, has no official national dress. Some people think men in England wear suits and bowler hats, but it is very unusual these days to see anyone wearing a bowler hat. An English National Costume group are trying to make England’s national dress be the clothes worn by the Anglo Saxons during the 7th century.
- 3. The Anglo Saxons were warrior-farmers and came from north-western Europe. They began to invade Britain during 450 A.D. A far better choice for an English national dress would be to choose from our many customs and traditions we have England. There are a wide variety of costumes from the spectacular ceremonies associated with monarchy to the traditional costumes worn by morris dancers and others at English country fairs.
- 5. The Pearly Kings were the leaders of the Victorian street sellers. They got their name because they wore 'pearl' buttons on their hats as a sign of authority. Later they began to wear clothes covered all over in buttons. The title of Pearly King is passed down in the family, and there are Pearly Queens, Princes and Princesses too. They now spend their free time collecting for charity.
- 6. English National Dress Unfortunately the English don't really have a traditional National Dress as such. In one notorious episode during the Miss World pageant the English contestant came out wearing a Beefeater's costume, it was very embarrassing I can tell you.
- 7. There have been calls over the years to create a costume, but as usual no-one can decide on what it should look like. Even Henry VIII got in on the act and commissioned an artist called Van Dyck to create an English National Costume, this also failed. So for lack of anything else I will leave you with the following picture of the nearest thing - a Beefeater costume as worn by Miss England.
- 8. The guards at the Tower of London are called Yeoman Warders. In principle they are responsible for looking after any prisoners at the Tower and safeguarding the British crown jewels, but in practice they act as tour guides and are a tourist attraction in their own right. There are twelve Yeomen Warders. While their role is usually confined to the Tower of London, the Yeomen Warders do take part in one State ceremony. At Coronations, they form a guard of honour inside the annexe at Westminster Abbey. Their nickname is Yeomen of the Guard Beefeater.
- 9. Beefeaters in London, England State dress uniform everyday uniform For everyday duties, Yeomen Warders wear a red and dark blue undress uniform. Yeomen Warders working at the Tower of London, are usually seen wearing the blue undress uniform granted to them by Queen Victoria in 1858.
- 10. This uniform also bears the initials of the Sovereign. The Yeomen of the Guard have a purely ceremonial role. They accompany the Sovereign at the annual Royal Maundy Service, investitures and summer Garden Parties at Buckingham Palace, and so on. Their most famous duty is to 'ceremonially' search the cellars of the Palace of Westminster prior to the State Opening of Parliament, a tradition that dates back to the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, when Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up Parliament.
- 11. Royal Guards Life Guard Foot Guard
- 12. Welsh National dress is relatively young and not as famous as Scottish National dress.
- 13. Still they do have a National costume, but it's the way the ladies dress that is most well known, in fact there isn't really a National costume for men although recently through the rise of nationalism in Wales a tartan has been created and tartan trousers or kilts are often worn. For the ladies the typical Welsh costume consists of a hat, made of black felt, with a high crown and wide brim, which is worn over a lace cap.
- 14. A red flannel shawl is worn over a crisp white blouse, and a full skirt made of wool with a black and white check pattern and a starched, white apron. Proper Welsh ladies always wore black woolen stockings and black shoes and carried a basket, made from willow withies.
- 15. Scottish National Dress One of the most famous national costumes in the world is that worn in Scotland, the kilt, however some people say that the kilt is not as traditional as some would have it. Be that as it may it is certainly what people associate with Scotland, along with whisky and haggis that is. Some people consider it very bad luck to wear a kilt in a tartan that does not belong to your family. Just to remind you should you visit Scotland any time - the men do not wear skirts - they wear kilts - and don't you forget it!
- 16. Gentlemen Today traditional dress for men in Scotland is a kilt with shirt, waistcoat and tweed jacket, stockings with garter flashes, brogue shoes and a sporran. A bonnet is often worn displaying the clan crest.
- 17. Ladies Traditionally ladies don't wear kilts, they do however wear dresses or pleated skirts in a tartan material. More often though they wear a light plaid or shawl of tartan material. In Scotland the national dress is a kilt
- 18. The kilt is worn around the waist.The national costume of Wales is a long skirt, worn with a petticoat and topped with a shawl.
- 20. A pipe band at the World Pipe Band Championships, Glasgow Green
- 22. Over time, the design evolved to become more practical and the pleated, skirt-like garment that we know today was created in the mid 18th century. It grew in popularity after being chosen by Highland regiments serving with the British Army and it quickly became sought after south of the border as the British aristocracy considered all things Scottish a fashion statement.
- 23. The men wore two types of dress depending on their social status. The rich and elite people wore a long sleeved tunic which was pulled over their head. If this tunic was not pleated under the belt it was very full, while the second one was a sleeveless cochal. It was worn over the tunic and fitted on the shoulder.
- 24. The farmers or the younger lot who did more of physical activity used to wear trews. These trews were tight fitting up to the knees and on top of that they used to wear jacket. The trews worn by these people was further designed either to be just above the knees, just below the knees or sometimes went under the instep. The type, pattern and color of the cloak worn used to separate farmer from a nobleman. They used to decorate the mantle with decorative pins.
- 25. Women also used to wear cloak and mantle. Their dresses used to be long up to the ankles. With the arrivals of Norman and English the style of the tunic has changed a bit but the cloak remains the same. The cloaks were usually dyed in different bright colors and were mostly in contrast to the fringes at the edge.
- 26. Most women in Ireland a century ago restrained themselves from wearing shoes so that they had so much of grace during dancing. However, later soft shoes were introduced to assist the dancers during dancing. The cloths were mainly made up of wool and cotton. In 12th century Irish used to wear woolen cloths mostly black in color as the sheep found there are mostly black in color.
- 27. Irish National Dress With the revival of Irish dancing, the traditional Irish costume has become associated with the bright flamboyant costumes worn by traditional Irish dancers. However in ancient Ireland people were more likely to be seen wearing 'leine' (Irish for shirt), trews (Irish for trousers) and long cloaks fastened with a brooch.
- 29. Irish history gives a great glimpse of our ancestor’s costumes. The sources such as “Book of Kells” gives a vast description of the dresses at that time. The costume of Ireland included belted plaid, tunic, trews, cochal, brahts etc. The folklore of Ireland was very much inspired by Gaelic and Norse costumes. The costumed consisted of a fringed cloak or mantle which they wear along with a check trews and a short tunic which was worn both by men and women.
- 30. The folk lore of Ireland has still preserved this traditional dressing although the people now do not wear it on regular days. The folk music and folk dance has still given this traditional dress its due importance. In the 16th century A.D this costume was banned by the British as Irish people were unwilling to be a part of England. The saffron yellow color has special importance in the Irish costume; hence wearing any saffron colored cloth along with cloak and trews was banned at this time.
- 31. In the early 19th century the ordinary peasants used to wear ribbons which were made into flowers or crosses. The skirt that they wear used to reach till ankles were homespun. A simple black bodice used to adorn the dress. The piper’s at that time used to wear kilt. The male dancers in the later period started wearing this kilt whereas female dancers used to wear hooded cloak on a white dress and a sash.