Traditional Welsh costume

It was identified as being different from that worn by the rural women of England by many of the English visitors who toured Wales during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

[citation needed] This included a version of the gown, originally worn by the gentry in the 17th and 18th centuries, an item of clothing that survived in Wales for longer than elsewhere in Britain.

Women in towns and those who lived near the Welsh-English border or near busy ports were already wearing English fashions, often made of cotton.

In the 1840s Hall organised balls at which her friends wore costumes based on the set of fashion plates which she may have commissioned, but they were made of satins, not wool[7] The adoption of the costume coincided with the growth of Welsh Nationalism, where the industrialisation of much of south Glamorgan was seen as a threat to a traditional agricultural way of life.

[2] During an 1881 visit by the Prince of Wales to Swansea, the Welsh costume was worn by a number of young women including members of a choir.

[8] From the 1880s both old and modern versions of the costume were worn by performers at concerts and eisteddfodau, by stall holders at fund raising events and for royal visits.

The numbers of women who wore Welsh costume in this way was always small but its use was remarkable enough to mention in reports of such events.

Some of those who wore it may have been the younger members of the new middle-class families who could afford the money to buy the costumes and the time to attend such events.

The costume now generally worn by dance teams is based on the tailored gowns originally found in south west Wales.

A white shawl and a black hat are also worn, with many wearing the costume on St David's Day (Diwrnod Dewi Sant) accompanying the outfit with a yellow daffodil pinned onto it; the flower most associated with Wales.

Although both have often been referred to as bedgowns (spelt in various ways in Welsh, most commonly now as betgwn) the term gown is now used for the long-tailed, tailored garment.

(1) a tailored form with a tightly fitted low-cut top and long wide tail These were common in Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire and possibly in parts of mid-Wales and were often made of red and very dark blue or black striped flannel which was sourced locally.

These were normally of heavy flannel with vertical or occasionally horizontal stripes in bold colours, often reds and dark blue or black and white.

(3) Whittle: Large rectangular or square woollen shawls with long fringes were worn around the waist and used to carry bread and other provisions.

It consisted of a waistcoat (often of bright colours); a jacket often of blue or grey wool; a neckerchief; a pair of breeches; woollen stockings and a black felt hat, either like a bowler or one with a low, drum-shaped crown with a broad floppy brim.

These were chiefly used by the common people who also frequently wear red flannel shirts"[14] (1791) "Men and women are almost indistinguishable except for breeches"[15] (1798) "The modern [man], like the ancient Briton, is not very attentive to food or clothing.

The latter consists of a flannel jacket and breeches for men"[16] (1803) "A farming party also appeared at this instant, proceeding with goods for Carmarthen market.

This group was opened by a robust young fellow driving a couple of cows; he wore the general dress of the country, a short blue coarse cloth coat; and breeches of the same, open at the knees; but he also possessed the luxury of shoes and stockings"[17] (1804) "I here had a specimen, if not a clerical poverty, at least of rusticity.

This, bye the bye is one of the means of distinction between the sexes for we never see the men without shoes or stockings"[21] (1861) "The men wear low-crowned hats, and are for the most part clothed in coats and vests of deep blue cloth, home spun and with brass buttons, have knee breeches of corduroy, and are very partial to showy silk neckcloths"[22] (1878) "A short man, broad, clumsy, wearing a coat of sky-blue cloth, corduroy breeches to the knee, a motley woollen waistcoat, a blue ribbon hanging on his breast, indicating the nature of his office and message through the country which he tramped; black woolen stocking on his legs, and two strong leathern boots on his feet; a hat made of rough cloth on his half-bare head"[23] Most gentry would have worn the latest fashions which they bought either via agents from Paris and London or from local tailors who read the articles on the latest fashions which most newspapers published.

[25] Much of what was written about Welsh costume was influenced by the observer's preconceptions: many of the visitors to Wales at the end of the 18th century came in search of the picturesque and of an Eden or Arcadia and this may have coloured what they recorded.

They were often delighted to find that many of the women they saw were healthy, happy and pretty and wore a costume which was distinct from that of English maids.