Boys' Irish Step Dancing Costume Garments: Jackets


Figure 1.--Boys participating at Irish dance competitions call feises wear either kilts or black long pants. This boys red jacket has white piping. Notice the Celtic-styled embroidery on the girl's blue dress.

Boys doing Irish dance wear short jackets looking like blazers or sports jackets. Some of the fancier ones have Celtic-styled embroidery on the sleeves. The embroidery is very popular in America. A popular style in Ireland is jackets with piped edges. Some of the jackets are black or dark blue. Other boys wear brightly colored jackets. The jackets come in a wide range of colors including bright red or even an occasional yellow. There are also a wide range of slightly more subdued hues. White jackets are also worn, but are difficult to keep clean. The dancing jackets are not regular blazers. They are cut much shorter than regular jackets which makes them more suitable for dancing. Some girls' outfits include jackets, but they are not common. Most girls just wear dress-like dancing costumes.

Cut

The boys wear jackets looking like blazers or sports jackets. The special dancing jackets are, however, not regular blazers. The precise cut varied. Some did not even button. But they all had lapels and were cut much shorter than regular jackets. This made them more suitable for dancing and better shows off the kilts the boys wear. Many were cut to waist levelm or just slightly below the waist. The jackets worn by the boy dancers varied. Some seem rather like standard blazers. This was a cost matter. Thrifty mothers wanted the boys to wear jackets that they could use when dressing up and not just for dancing. The dancing jackets were only suitable for dancing performances and copetitions. Quite a few boys wore just regular jackets. They are easily identifuable because unlike the special jackets, they extend well below the waistline. These were, however, cut a little long for dancing. The made for dancing jackets were cut shorter than blazers and suit jackets. Some of the jackets were particularly short with cut away in front. They were thus less constricting for the dancers.

Embroidery

Most pf the jackets worn by boys for Irish dabncing were plain jackets done in neutral colors, in sone cases to go with a brightly colored jacket. Some of the fancier ones have Celtic-styled embroidery on the sleeves. The girls had dresses with very elaborate embrider using celtic designs. The embrioidery on the boys' sleeves also was in celtic designs, meaning primarily the stylistic motifs found on stone carvings, jewelry, amd most importantly illuminated manuscripts. We do not think that cloyhing was commonly decorated with these decorations. It was much less common on bots' costumes han the elaborate designs used for the girls' dresses. The embroidery is very popular in America. We have not observed the embroidered jacket sleeves nearly as as commonly as in other countries. Presumably the ladies doing the embroidery hace reserached actual Celtic designs.

Piping

A popular style in Ireland is jackets with piped edges. The piping is usually the wide ribbon style around the hem and jacket lapels. They are usually bright colored jackets with white or silver ribbon piping. The piping is similar to that found on British school uniforms. I have never observed the piped jackets in America. They appear to be popular in Ireland and other countries with Irish populations like England and New Zealand. The fact that this was a devicec used for schoolunjiforms in these countries probably explains its use there.

Military Features

We note some jackets with military features, mostly in British competitions. They were similar to some of the jackets worn by pipers. We do notvsee this style in America.

Colors

Some of the jackets are black or dark blue. Other dark colors like burgandy are also popular. Other boys wear brightly colored jackets. The jackets come in a wide range of colors including bright red, green, blue, or even an occasional yellow. There are also a wide range of slightly more subdued hues such as greens and browns. Saffron is a common color for kilts, but rarely chosen for the jackets. White jackets are also worn, but are not as common as the colored omes. They are difficult to keep clean. I'm not sure just how the colors are chosen. The mothers may discuss it with their sons or just order what they think is appropraite. It is unclear if the bright colors are more commonly chosen by the boys or the mothers.

Girls' Jackets

Most girls just wear dress-like dancing costumes. Some girls' outfits include jackets, but they are not common. The girls' jackets are cut much shorter than the boys' jackets and do not look like blazers.








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Created: May 20, 1999
Last updated: 8:59 PM 7/9/2013