National clothes are part of the culture of any country, one of the ways to determine ethnic identity. However, not every country has its centuries-old traditions associated with costume. The national costume of England is a very conventional concept, since from all parts of the United Kingdom official folk clothes are only in Wales and Scotland.
England
Unfortunately, the British really do not have traditional national clothes as such. Over the years there have been attempts to create such a costume, but no one was able to decide how it should look. At one time, Henry VIII ordered the artist Van Dyck to create an English national costume, but this attempt failed.
The existing in the country group of the national costume of England is trying to present in this capacity the clothes worn by the Anglo-Saxons during the 7th century. The Anglo-Saxons were farmer warriors and came from northwestern Europe. They moved to the UK for 450 years.
Before the Norman conquest of England, the inhabitants wore mostly traditional clothing for the Middle Ages: a tunic, usually made of wool, with a high collar and long sleeves. Such tunics were usually worn on a linen shirt.
At that time, in England, the women's national costume was also a tunic that looked like a man’s, but long, which was complemented by a mantle attached to the shoulder.
Scotland
Scotland's traditional dress, also called mountain dress, is changing our understanding of men's suit. Women's clothing here is more familiar, unlike the male kilt. The Scottish national costume in England is interesting and unusual. In addition, it is quite difficult to correctly put on a kilt and all accessories. This requires practice and knowledge. A photo of England's national costume gives an idea of ​​what the traditional clothing of this region looks like.
Traditional Menswear Scotland
It consists of a kilt, sporran (waist-bag purse), skin-do (a small one-sided knife), stocking and gilly (traditional shoes).
In Scotland, there are several types of men's clothing: casual, semi-formal, formal and antique clothing.
A casual dress usually includes a kilt, Jacobin shirt, sporran, belt and buckle, stockings and a kilt pin. But this outfit is not strict, any details or accessories can be added to it. This is considered casual wear.
The semi-formal suit is more formal, but nevertheless it can be used as casual clothes. It includes a kilt, a shirt, an argyle jacket, sporran, a belt and buckle, stockings, a gilly, a pin.
A full formal suit is a very formal outfit and is used for receptions, formal meetings, festivals and other events. It includes a kilt, shirt, jacket, sporran, belt and buckle, stockings, flags, gilly and fly plaid - a long piece of tantanum material that is worn over the left shoulder diagonally on the right thigh.
A large kilt is a long tantanum fabric that is worn not only as a skirt, but also as a cloak. Half of the fabric is attached to the shoulder and tucked into the belt. Usually a large kilt is worn with stockings, sporran, flags and boots corresponding to the era.
Women's traditional costume in Scotland
It consists of a tartan skirt (fabric in a cage), a belt and a shawl, tartan, gilly. Skirts can be of different lengths, historically they have ankle lengths, but nowadays women wear long or even very short tartan mini-skirts. There are also long tartan dresses. Numerous photos of the national women's costume in England help to imagine how these clothes look.
Women's mountain dress is not as peculiar as men's. Usually it consists of a skirt and a tartan shawl. Another option is a female big kilt and a blouse.
Historically, women in Scotland did not wear kilts. But they were dressed in Scottish skirts of different models. The female big kilt was quite popular; it appeared in the 16th century. Usually it was made of wool, but sometimes even silk kilts were worn. The material of the female and male big kilt was different. In addition, the female version did not have so many folds: only a few were made on the back.
Wales
Welsh national clothing is relatively young and not as famous as Scottish. Nevertheless, the Welsh (residents of Wales) do have a national costume, this applies to their female national costume in England. In fact, this is the only known Welsh folk clothing. This is due to the fact that, in fact, there is no Welsh male national costume in England, although recently, due to the growth of nationalism in Wales, tartan or kilt trousers have been worn.
Traditional dress was worn by women in rural Wales. It was based on the shape of a women's nightgown made of wool, according to the style of the fashion of the XVIII century, worn on a corset. It was complemented by a neckerchief, skirt, apron and knitted stockings. The outfit was completed by a high hat and a red cloak.
Until the end of the 18th century, there was no such thing as a Welsh national costume. During the 1830s, Lady Llanover, the wife of an iron craftsman in Gwent, had a great influence on wearing a “national” dress. She considered it important to establish a Welsh (Welsh) national identity, since at that time many believed that she was at risk. Llanover encouraged the use of the Welsh language and the wearing of a recognizable Welsh costume based on the traditional clothes of rural women.
Gradually in the 19th century, wearing traditional clothes became less popular, and in the 1880s, the Welsh costume became more viewed as an attempt to maintain tradition than as an everyday costume.
Ireland
In Ireland, as in England, there is no national costume, so the concept of “Irish clothing” can refer to everything from historical clothing to modern costumes.
In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the Irish wore a very large linen shirt called a lane, which was usually dyed yellow. Men wore it with a woolen jacket, breeches, and a fur cloak called a mantle. Women wore a long dress, often laced in front and an unusual headdress consisting of a roll of linen.
The spread of English law and cultural pressure in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries did not allow the Irish to wear their traditional clothes. For some period of time, these clothes were virtually illegal. During this period, Irish men and women dressed like the British. Although, there were several national preferences. For example, 19th-century Irish women often wore red skirts, while men preferred a coat style called the dovetail.
The Irish kilt appeared around 1900. They became especially popular among in the 1930s and 1940s, which may have contributed to the popularization of kilt as Irish national clothing.