The Role of Costume in British Folk Festivals, 1660 to the Present Day

This thesis compares costumes worn in British folk festivals from 1660 to the present day, placing them within the broader context of contemporaneous social and cultural influences. It establishes that, while one feature of folk festival costume is to act as a sartorial disruptor, costumes also create an enduring sense of community identity, authenticity and tradition. This thesis distinguishes between the more traditional community-based and the more recent folk-inspired festivals, to observe how each group responded to contemporary and historical stimuli to create their costumes.

The research incorporates the social constructivist theoretical paradigm by Berger and Luckmann (1966), contemporary engagement with folk practitioners and analysis of archival material. It uses a mixed method approach of quantitative historical data alongside a qualitative analysis of contemporary interviews with performers and audiences. It has assessed garments through their construction type of adapted or bespoke costumes as well as through their historical or theatrical inspirations.

While this research acknowledges the continuing importance of disguise and ritual, for some participants in modern performance, it hypothesises that the use of comedic costumes, to allow licence, has been underestimated; disguise, or the notion of anonymity, and a sense of menace could not engender and maintain audience support without comedic elements. The research demonstrates that licence is often achieved through these comedic components of costumes, the incongruity of which provides transgressive humour, creating a sense of partiality for the audience. This partiality through humour is crucial to the success of the event but its importance was overlooked by folklorists in the early twentieth century who emphasised elements of disguise and ritual. Although disguise is still important for some performers it may only be temporary camouflage or a token of anonymity: a predominately imagined anonymity.

The thesis investigates the combination of reality and theatricality found in costume design. Analysis of the construction and decoration of the costumes demonstrates that they also provide a narrative of the everyday experiences of those who wore and made them. When the practice of hiring costumes for calendar customs waned in the sixteenth century, people began to dress up in borrowed garments, or ordinary clothes, adapted with brightly coloured decorations. The nineteenth century saw the introduction of many highly distinctive bespoke designs, which became fossilised after the First World War. Changes in folk costumes mirror mainstream interest in nostalgic fashions and the greater acceptability of fancy dress.

A sense of tradition is often apparent in costume design, especially for newer introductions, symbolically binding reimagined histories and links to past generations to create a feeling of authenticity for wearers and audience. While this notion of authenticity may relate to the continuation of the spirit of the festival, the costumes are not necessarily an exact duplicate of the original garments worn at the inaugural event. Designs rely upon a combination of social and cultural influences which can provide a sense of identity for communities. They evolve as the festivals themselves adapt to new circumstances. Costumes are the embodiment of the regional vernacular, creating and reinventing local community identities, within a national framework of changing sartorial fashions and cultural conventions of each new generation, blending tradition with innovation.