The Cottage, the Castle, and the Couture Cloak: ‘Traditional’ Irish Fabrics and ‘Modern’ Irish Fashions in America, c. 1952–19691

What is it about?

In the 1950s and 1960s, Irish ready-to-wear utilizing native lace, linen, and wool was shrewdly marketed in America, often with the aid of Irish state agencies and tourism interests. Nevertheless, the role played by the government has been overlooked. Though Irish fashion was sold as a continuation of picturesque ‘traditions’, the textile and needlework industries upon which it relied were rooted in the less palatable reality of post-Famine relief projects. Likewise, Irish couture was sold with images that effaced historical trauma and poverty, juxtaposing patrician and peasant and castle and cottage. This was particularly true of Sybil Connolly, who brought Irish couture to international prominence. W

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Photo by Charisse Kenion on Unsplash

Photo by Charisse Kenion on Unsplash

Why is it important?

What was sold as ‘Irish’ clothing, be it mid-market Aran sweaters, couture, or quality ready-to-wear, often combined fashionable cuts or palettes with handwoven textiles. Irish couture and export Arans came to prominence with the Kennedy- and Grace Kelly-era social rise of Irish-America and the evolution of Irish tourism, readying the U.S. market for the ensuing success of Irish off-the-rack. Irish ready-to-wear boasting the ‘handwoven’ label benefited from the cachet of Irish couture, whose unique selling point was utilization of handmade native textiles and lace. Although Connolly appropriated a colonial image of Irish womanhood in her marketing and designs, the female-dominated workforce for Irish couture, ready-to-wear, and home knitting were harbingers of Irishwomen’s growing autonomy. 1950s Ireland was neither fully ‘traditional’ nor evenly modernized, and the early 1950s success of this female-dominated industry spearheaded economic modernization in a way uncredited in Irish economic histories. Paradoxically, the short-term gain of presenting Ireland as ‘traditional’ contributed to explicitly ‘Irish’ apparel’s eventual decline.

Perspectives