Figure 1.--This probably English siblings are all wearing sailor suits. Thy are having a vacation portrait taken at a Welsh beach resort. We are not sure if the youngest child is a boy or girl, but his hair suggests a boy. We know they are tourists because the chilren are barefoot. British children at the time would not have had a portrait taken barefoot unless at a beaxch resort. The sailor suit was a trmenoudly flexible style. Children could wear it both when dressing up and as beachwear. The studio was the Portland Studio, High Street, Rhyl. The cabinet card portrait is undated, but tge mount style and down-turned wide-brimmed hats suggest it was taken about 1910. Rhyl is a beach resort in Denbighshire, along the extreme northeast coast of Wales at the mouth of the River Clwyd. Rhyl became a popular has long been a popular tourist attraction with the advent of the railroads during the Victorian era. It was a elegant Victorian resort, but after people from Liverpool and Manchester began moving into the area and the British with the advent of cheap air fares begn vacaioning aboroad and the tourist industry declined. The European Union and Welsh Government have launched an important redevelopmnt effort focused on the seafront.

The Welsh as part of the United Kingdom celebrate the same basic holidays as in England as the rest of Britain. We do not yet have much information about specific Welsh traditions. We have found some information about Christmas in Wales. While we know little about Welsh holiday traditions, perhaos the most notable aspect of Welsh holidays is the fact that there are quite a number of seaside resports in Wales as a result of the lovely beaches. Wales is perhaps best known for King Edward I's imposing castles built during the medieval era as part of the Norman conquest of Wales (13th century), the beautiful beaches became a popular tourist destination during the Voctorian era, especially after the construction of railroads opened up access to the English middle-class and prosperous working-class families (19th century). And at about the same time that Britain began building railroads, the sailor suit thanks to the Bitish Royal familyappeared on the fashion scene. At it was the sailor suit that became the standard dress for the children at beach resorts. Most of the vacationers in Wales were English, just because the Englidh by a large mdasure were the bulk of the Briish population. After World War II, many of these beach resorts began to decline, especially after cheap flights made vacations in warmer climes more affordable. Many of the Welsh and English resorts declined, but in recent years thanks to renewal efforts these resorts have been recovering.

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[Jacket and trousers] [Blazer] [School sandals] [Flat caps] [Sailor suits] [Pinafores] [Long stockings]

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Created: 2:22 PM 11/11/2014
Last updated: 2:22 PM 11/11/2014