Looking around today’s streets and seeing Maltese women keeping up with worldwide fashion, it’s hard to imagine how just a few generations ago, their grandmothers would have modestly covered up with a black ‘ghonnella’, otherwise known as a ‘faldetta’.

In an almost film-like photo dating back to 1929, recently shared on Facebook by Patrick Dagostino, one can see a woman holding up the hem of the hooded cloak as she prepares to step off a pavement, in a city identified by the commenters on the photo as Valletta.

This hooded cloak, part-headdress and part-shawl, is unique to the Maltese Islands and was used by all adult women for several centuries. It only started being relegated to the back of the wardrobe after World War II, and by the 1970s, only older members of the Maltese lay missionary movement ‘Societas Doctrinæ Christianæ’ still used it. However, in its heyday, it used to be so popular that there were seamstresses whose sole job was to design, cut and sew the ‘ghonnella’!

Although very often showing up in black, as seen in this photo, some wealthier households and noble women would often wear a white or brightly coloured ‘ghonnella’ – keep an eye out for these rare ones in old photos!

Have you ever seen or worn an ‘ghonnella’?