January 29, 2025

Michael Freeman: Welsh Costume / Gwisg Gymreig (Cambrian Christmas Lecture 2024)

On 11th December 2024, Cambrians were treated to a wonderful lecture given by Michael Freeman on Welsh costume as worn by women in Wales from the mid-18th to mid-20th centuries. We all are used to the stereotypical simplistic mages of Welsh women with their tall black hats and red shawls and Michael did us great service explaining how much more interesting and complex is the real picture. Regional variations and chronological developments abound as well as the difficulty of establishing every day costume from photographs of ladies in their ‘Sunday best’. While costumes developed from styles worn mostly by rural working women, they were celebrated by tourists, whose descriptions and illustrations helped to establish them as ‘traditional’.  From the 1850s this style was taken up by middle- and upper-class women who wore it as a ‘National Costume’ at major events.  Michael outlined each element of the costume, from hat down to stockings, giving us a fascinating glimpse into colours and dyes, patterns and decoration and the origin of that famous black hat.