What is with the shawls? Modesty? Keeping the soot off?
“What is with the shawls? Modesty? Keeping the soot off?”
I’m guessing warmth and protection from the elements. I have one of those tightly woven wool shawls I picked up when visiting Ireland. It is so warm, and keeps me relatively dry in the rain. You’ll note, every man has some sort of jacket and hat, but the women wear shawls instead.
It is cold and they lack central heat
What is with the shawls? Modesty? Keeping the soot off?
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London weather, damp and dank for much of the year, was worse to endure a hundred years ago when the streets, sewers, buildings, etc. were primitive compared to the city as it is today.