British Life & Culture ~ National Costume of England - National Dress

England, unlike Wales and Scotland, has no official national dress. Some people think all men in England dress in suits and wear bowler hats, and carry an umbrella, too (yes, they will have an umbrella <‘brolly’> if it is going to rain that day) 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. 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. There are a wide variety of costumes from spectacular ceremonies associated with the monarchy to the traditional costumes worn by morris dancers and others at English country fairs.

Interesting Facts
Lots of the ordinary clothes we wear today have a long tradition. The very cold winters in the Crimea in the war of 1853-56 gave us the names of the cardigan and the balaclava. Lord Cardigan led the Light Brigade at the Battle of the Balaclava (1854) A "cardigan" is now a warm woollen short coat with buttons, and a "balaclava" is a woollen hat.
Another British soldier, Wellington, gave his name to a pair of boots. They have a shorter name today - "Wellies".

Let me know your comments ...

PS: I will be in hospital for a few days, so will see you when I get home again ~

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