Not much is known about Irish traditional dress but we do know that they wore mainly wool and animal skin. The cloaks they wore were called mantles. They were often made of many scraps of wool sewn together.
Brats were another type of cloak worn. The wealthy wore these cloaks as they were made of different colours of wool and signified wealth. These cloaks signified so much that in Brehon Law it was said that slaves were not allowed to wear cloaks with more than one colour in them.
The léine was worn under the brat. It was a long tunic that went to their knees and was wide in the bottom and got narrow at the top.
The ionar was a pleated jacket worn over the brat, historical sources show that the ionar was very intricately decorated with embroidery.
Women wore léine like the men but as time went on they began wearing long dresses decorated with ribbons. The léine was traditionally yellow as the colour of Ireland was yellow. The Irish used yellow as it was a representation of the sun, the Irish then believed that the sun was a symbol of life.
Traditional Irish clothing is very similar to traditional Scottish clothing. Animal skin and wool had to be worn as it would get very cold in winter. As you can see from the different types if clothing worn, the Irish layered many garments to keep warm. Their clothes also gave a clear representation of their wealth.
Bye :)
Sources: wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_clothing
http://www.mcginleyclan.org/nativeclothing.htm
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