Pennod 14 Cwpwrdd Dillad

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-In this programme,

-a love of tweed and of Wales...

-..with Dr Sheila ap Harri.

-Clothes with a touch of drama

-with Reverend Towyn Jones.

-Stories and clothes

-with Lisa Heledd.

-Welcome to Cwpwrdd Dillad.

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-Oscar Wilde said...

-.."You've either got to be a

-work of art or wear a work of art".

-Reverend Towyn Jones enjoys clothes,

-drama, reading, operas, magic...

-..and ghost stories.

-Whatever he's doing,

-he dresses for the occasion.

-I hear you always look smart.

-You always, always wear a bow tie.

-When did you first wear a bow tie?

-When did you first wear a bow tie?

-

-Women wear all sorts of things.

-Men tend

-to be far more conservative.

-Men aren't adventurous enough.

-The bow tie gives a bit more scope.

-I think one should take

-a little pride in your appearance.

-Perhaps the word "pride"

-is too strong.

-You must respect yourself enough

-to be well turned out.

-Reverend DR Thomas, Aberystwyth,

-once said of another preacher...

-..he wouldn't step into the pulpit

-unless he'd combed his hair.

-He said it

-as a criticism of the man.

-He could have been talking about me!

-I wouldn't dream of setting foot in

-a pulpit without combing my hair...

-..out of respect

-for the congregation and for myself.

-I like wearing suits and,

-when possible, a waistcoat too.

-That's probably the most pleasing

-garment a man can wear.

-It moulds to your shape.

-It isn't easy to control the shape,

-of course!

-This is a heavy, tweed suit.

-It's wonderful.

-It's the perfect suit for me.

-It comes with short trousers

-and a pair of full-length trousers.

-I really wanted the short trousers

-and I have worn them.

-They're plus fours, aren't they?

-Yes, they're scrumping trousers!

-They're not baggy

-but I think they look quite good.

-I love your light suit.

-I'd like to take this out!

-Leave it alone!

-There are no pockets

-in the jackets...

-..and I like the idea of a hanky

-to match the rest of the outfit.

-It calls for a little subterfuge.

-Share your secret with us.

-This is the way to achieve the goal.

-If a puff of wind

-blows my jacket open, the game's up!

-Do you wear a dog collar, sometimes?

-No. Never, ever.

-I haven't worn a clerical collar

-for many years.

-When I last wore one, it was

-for less than honourable reasons!

-I'd been visiting a friend

-in north Wales...

-..and one of the car's headlights

-stopped working.

-I had to drive back down,

-late at night.

-I borrowed a clerical collar.

-I thought a policeman would be

-more lenient if he saw my collar!

-I wasn't stopped by the police...

-..so I don't know whether or not

-it would have worked!

-I was stopped by the police

-one night...

-..and the reason they stopped me

-was because of my bow tie.

-They told me they'd seen

-the dark bow tie I was wearing...

-..and they thought, "Hello!

-He's been at some dinner or other!"

-That wasn't true -

-I'd been giving a lecture.

-I don't think

-the policeman was disappointed!

-Are clothes theatric,

-in your opinion?

-Yes. Your clothes

-certainly make an impression.

-I was a child

-in the years after the War...

-..and there was euphoria in the air

-because the troubles were over.

-My grandmother loved carnivals.

-She dressed me up for carnival

-fancy dress competitions many times.

-I love to wear a cloak.

-It's unconventional...

-..for a nonconformist minister

-to wear a cloak.

-I do wear it if it's bitterly cold

-in the winter.

-The cloak is heavy and thick

-and you can wrap it around yourself.

-I have found myself at a concert

-in a particularly cold hall...

-..or at open air concerts...

-..falling fast asleep,

-wrapped snugly in my cloak!

-Lloyd George wore a cloak.

-There's a certain splendour to it.

-I'm a member

-of the Ghost Club, London.

-It's an old club, whose

-former members include Dickens.

-Most members have a conventional tie

-but I had a bow tie made for me.

-It's white ghosts

-on a black background.

-It's already been tied, of course.

-Tying a bow tie is an art.

-I've tried to teach a few people

-to tie a bow tie...

-..and it's really difficult.

-I've had years of practise,

-of course.

-There's a certain sophistication

-about a smoking jacket.

-I have another,

-older smoking jacket in here.

-I received this as a present

-when I was a student.

-I've worn it many times.

-You must wear a black tie

-with a dinner jacket.

-It looks good with a white shirt.

-The only time

-I wear a conventional tie...

-..is with a top hat and tails.

-It's part of the wedding outfit.

-I like the old custom

-of dressing for dinner.

-It makes a special occasion of it.

-It was well worth coming,

-just to see your wardrobe.

-Oh, the door squeaks!

-All we need now is a ghost story.

-All we need now is a ghost story.

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-All things are possible!

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-I have two grandmothers.

-One lives in my memory

-and the other has lost her memory.

-Both are beautiful, funny

-and sharp when they're angry.

-The difference between them

-is only one remembers my name.

-The memory is a strange thing.

-My grandmother remembers she likes

-a cup of tea with lots of sugar...

-..and only a china cup will do.

-She doesn't remember

-she's my grandmother and Mam's mum.

-She only wore

-Marks and Sparks clothes.

-She had her hair styled

-every week...

-..and she never left house

-without lipstick and face powder.

-Before the grandmother in my memory

-became the grandmother I now know...

-..she sat down and stroked my hair.

-She said she was getting old

-and forgetful...

-..but, come what may,

-she would always love me.

-My grandmother

-is the biggest influence in my life.

-She first showed signs of dementia

-when I was ten years old.

-I remember her before then.

-She was a smart lady

-who wore nice clothes.

-Dementia

-started to take that away from her.

-It stripped her

-of her pride in her image.

-The thing which hits me hardest

-is losing her stories.

-Stories are the threads which

-create the fabric of life, for me.

-I love to wear

-second-hand clothes...

-..because I adore thinking

-of the stories behind them.

-Clothes can bring you good luck

-and I'm quite superstitious.

-What sort of clothes

-will I see in your wardrobe?

-Most are old.

-I've also received a few garments

-as gifts.

-You'll see

-lots of charity shop clothes.

-When I'm in a shop, patterns,

-colours and fabrics catch my eye.

-I'll walk straight past

-black or white clothes.

-I rarely notice them.

-Patterns stand out for me.

-It's all about instinct.

-I get excited when I feel fabrics

-in a charity shop or a vintage shop.

-Something stirs inside me

-when I feel a special fabric.

-Wow!

-There's a lot of colour in there.

-The patterns are amazing

-and so is this wall, of course.

-Do you hang clothes

-and handbags there all year round?

-Yes. I find it's the best way

-to see what I've got.

-I have a few dresses there

-but it's mostly bags.

-It's a work of art.

-I swap the dresses around.

-This is one of my favourites.

-This is the first vintage dress

-I ever bought.

-I found it years ago in Amsterdam.

-I instantly realized

-this sort of dress suits my shape.

-I wear it all the time. I love it!

-That lovely dress

-is a block of colour...

-..but most of your dresses

-are patterned.

-What a rich colour! It's great.

-What a rich colour! It's great.

-

-I love this dress.

-My best friend gave it to me.

-She lives in Norway.

-I wore it to a party.

-I'd only been there for five minutes

-and I was drinking red wine.

-I had a glass in my hand

-when a man bumped into me...

-..and spilt red wine

-down the front of the dress!

-It could have been a disaster...

-..but I decided to carry on

-and try to enjoy myself.

-Half an hour later

-and the red wine had disappeared!

-It's a magic dress!

-Tell me about the top

-with the pearls on it.

-I got this at a clothes swap.

-My friends and I have

-a clothes swap, every now and then.

-A group of us get together

-and bring clothes we no longer want.

-One of us then auctions the leftover

-clothes to the people in the room.

-The proceeds go to charity.

-I got this top and I love it!

-I was the auctioneer

-at our last clothes swap...

-..and I didn't like to bid on items.

-People may have been loath to bid

-against me because it was my party.

-My love for this top

-must have shone in my eyes...

-..because my friend bid for it

-then she gave to me.

-She said, "I know you want it."

-I really love the pearls.

-I bought it on eBay for 1.50.

-I'll never go higher than 10.

-That's my limit.

-I have to be strong

-because I could go nuts!

-I must set some sort of limit.

-I have

-a large collection of buttons.

-I don't buy new buttons.

-I'll buy a shirt from a charity shop

-because it has interesting buttons.

-I love it when I find a button

-and wonder, "On what was this?"

-I've collected clothes and I start

-a new chapter in their stories.

-I've collected the stories,

-woven into garments, over the years.

-I'd be upset

-if anything happened to them.

-I could start a new collection but

-I'd be heartbroken to lose this one.

-It's the storyboard of your life.

-It's the storyboard of your life.

-

-Yes.

-When I touch Welsh tweed

-and close my eyes...

-..I think about my childhood

-and the west Wales landscape.

-Drizzle, sheep on the hills,

-primroses and streams.

-It's special.

-Comforting, isn't it?

-Comforting, isn't it?

-

-Yes, like a teddy bear.

-Who could not love it?

-Sheila is a Doctor of Psychology.

-She's loved Welsh tweed

-since she was a child...

-..and she collected it in the 1970s.

-My earliest memory

-of a dress made of Welsh tweed...

-..was a photograph

-of my parents' wedding.

-She was a professional tailor.

-She'd been an apprentice in Swansea

-for five years before she married.

-I saw this wonderful,

-cream, flannel dress.

-She'd made it herself.

-Although I never

-actually saw the complete dress...

-..I did see it, in a sense.

-It was recycled

-in all sorts of garments.

-A dress for a doll and a petticoat

-for my sister and me.

-A Sunday apron.

-Recycling was a way of life for us.

-We recycled everything.

-This bolero is very special to me.

-It was recycled

-from my mother's wedding dress.

-Her wedding dress was cream.

-You dyed it black, did you?

-You dyed it black, did you?

-

-Yes, that's right.

-When I left home

-to go off to university...

-..this was one of the things

-she gave to me.

-She made it especially for me.

-I wore this bolero last Christmas,

-over this Liberty blouse.

-I don't think I'm too old for these!

-I also

-wore these Donna Karan trousers.

-Can you see the high waist?

-Can you see the high waist?

-

-Wow!

-It's fashionable.

-I also wore black boots.

-I said goodbye to Wales

-when I was around 22 years old.

-I was a young woman.

-I found a job in Kent.

-I felt very homesick.

-It's a different way of life

-and the people are different.

-You become more self-aware.

-You realize

-what sort of person you are.

-You also realize

-what sort of Welsh person you are.

-You question yourself.

-I could design clothes...

-..and I'd loved Welsh tweed

-ever since I was a little girl.

-That's why I started

-to make one or two dresses.

-During the 1980s and the 1990s,

-the whole thing grew...

-..and I called it 'Celtic Couture

-a la Branwen ap Harry'.

-What I tried to do

-was create something modern...

-..which was

-a departure from the traditional.

-I wanted it to be simple

-but fashionable.

-I took a few of my dresses

-to the Sloane Street boutiques...

-..and to King's Road,

-Fortnum & Mason and Harrods.

-They were interested in them

-and I sold several dresses to them.

-Business was brisk!

-This dress really is wonderful and

-there's something regal about it.

-You look like a princess in it.

-This dress has a name.

-That name is Gwenllian.

-My sister has the same design

-in different colours - called Nest.

-I wore this dress when we had

-our picnics at Glyndebourne.

-We watched wonderful operas

-when I wore this at Glyndebourne.

-You also knew no-one else

-would be in the same dress!

-What pleasure

-does this Welsh tweed give to you?

-It gives me an intense,

-deep pleasure.

-One of the things

-which gives me great pleasure...

-..is to dress my wonderful donkey

-in some Welsh tweed.

-I put a coat over him

-and he sometimes wears a hat.

-I also fit his carriers

-and we toddle off to the shop.

-The best-dressed donkey in town!

-The best-dressed donkey in town!

-

-Yes, I think so!

-I wore this dress

-when I went out to dinner.

-I thought they'd all look at me

-when I walked in wearing this dress.

-I was fond of the colour.

-I'm sure everyone did look at you.

-I'm sure everyone did look at you.

-

-I doubt it! It was wishful thinking.

-I received

-several orders for this dress.

-I may give you one more order!

-I may give you one more order!

-

-I'll give you the pattern.

-I sold this on the King's Road...

-..in one of the boutiques

-where Mary Quant sold her clothes.

-This is wonderful.

-I'll explain the concept to you.

-It's based on the bedgown

-and the petticoat.

-The traditional Welsh costume.

-Not only is it Welsh tweed

-but it's also a Welsh concept.

-Yes, with a very modern twist.

-I designed it when I did

-the Ikebana programme for the BBC.

-That was in the early 1970s.

-Have you heard of Ikebana?

-Have you heard of Ikebana?

-

-Is it a Japanese art?

-Yes, that's right.

-It's the art of floral arrangement,

-isn't it?

-Yes, flower and twig arrangement,

-through Zen Buddhism.

-It's very symbolic.

-Tell me about this cape.

-It's really heavy.

-It's really heavy.

-

-Yes, it's heavy.

-It's also reversible.

-My mother and I

-designed this together.

-I wore this with a big bag,

-a pair of gloves and a hat.

-It's not about one garment.

-It's about the complete look.

-I understand your collection is

-about to leave its present home...

-..and find a new home.

-Yes, it's going to

-The National Wool Museum of Wales...

-..at Dre-fach, Felindre.

-Most of the collection was made from

-tweed bought from the Cambrian Mill.

-That mill

-is now housed in the museum.

-Life is full of twists and turns.

-When I created these dresses...

-..I never for a moment thought

-they'd end up back home!

-That's what will happen and I

-can view them whenever I please.

-S4C subtitles by Eirlys A Jones

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