Welsh Ladies in Aberystwyth - a photo on Flickriver

            The Carte de Visite

A carte de visite that was published by John Edwards of The Aberystwyth Photographic Studio, 25 Pier Street, Aberystwyth. On the back of the card it also states:

'Portrait and Landscape
Photographer'.

There are no indications as to the identity of the group, nor the date of the photograph.

Welsh National Dress

The popular image of Welsh national dress, i.e. that of a woman wearing a tall black hat with a red cloak over a decorative checked apron, is one which largely developed in the 19th. century as part of a conscious revival of Welsh culture during a period when traditional Welsh values were under threat.

The costume is based on clothing worn by Welsh countrywomen during the early nineteenth century; this was a striped flannel petticoat worn under a flannel open-fronted bedgown, with an apron, shawl and kerchief or cap.  

The tall 'chimney' hat did not appear until the late 1840's, and seems to be based on an amalgamation of men's top hats and a form of high hat worn during the 1790-1820 period in country areas.

Augusta Hall, known as Lady Llanover, who was the wife of an ironmaster in Gwent, was very influential in encouraging the wearing of a 'national' dress, both in her own home and at eisteddfodau. 

She considered it important to encourage the use of the Welsh language and the wearing of an identifiable Welsh costume. She succeeded in her aim mainly because people were feeling that their national identity was being eroded, and that the wearing of a national costume was one way to promote that identity.

A further influence was the work of photographers producing prints for the rising tourist trade, which had the effect of popularising the idea of a typical Welsh costume, and later the work of publishers who produced postcards in large numbers. 

This contributed to the stereotyping of one style of costume, as opposed to the various styles which had been worn earlier in the century.

Shawls were the most fashionable of accessories between 1840 and 1870. At first plain shawls with a woven patterned border attached were the most common, although later many fine examples with all-over and border patterns were woven in Norfolk, Scotland and Paris. 

Shawls of the middle of the century were very large, and complemented the full skirts of the period.

Shawls were made in various fabrics and patterns, including Cantonese silk and fine machine lace, though it was the paisley pattern which became very popular in Wales, along with home-produced woollen shawls with checked patterns.

In later years, although fashionable women no longer wore shawls, smaller shawls were still made and worn by countrywomen and working women in the towns. By the 1870's, cheaper shawls were produced by printing the designs on to fine wools or cotton. 

Even during the early years of the twentieth century, woollen, knitted and paisley shawls were widely worn in rural Wales. The paisley shawl even became accepted as part of 'Welsh' costume, though there is nothing traditionally Welsh about it at all, having originated in Kashmir.

One tradition of shawl wearing which is truly Welsh is the practice of carrying babies in a shawl.  Illustrations showing this have survived from the late eighteenth century, when Welsh women wore a simple length of cloth wrapped around their body. When shawls became popular, they were adapted to the same use, and some women even today still keep up the tradition.

Taken on: September 10, 2021

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Sets appears in: • Group Photographs • Traditional Dress more » • Vintage Studio and Other Photographic Portraits • Wales « less

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