The History of the Guernsey Wrap

Guernsey’s best kept bathing secret has been under wraps for decades but now all can be revealed!

Children in wraps on beach in Guernsey

Ask any Guernsey kids on the beach what they think about ‘wrap’ and they will enthuse, not about popular music but about the colourful body length towel that you can see the cheeky, smiling faces poking out from. The garment in question is the Guernsey wrap and it is much more than a mere beach towel, as any of the young wearers will tell you.

“I just find them really cosy,” explains 12-year-old Stephanie, who treasures her brightly coloured wrap, which she sees as an essential and highly practical piece of bathing kit, every bit as important as her actual bathing costume.

Girl in Guernsey wrap

“You don’t have to hold them like towels and they’re more private for changing into because they don’t keep falling down,” Stephanie smiles. “When you come out of the sea they’re so cosy and warm to put on.”

The Guernsey wrap has been around for decades and the island children of today are third or even fourth generation wrappers. Nobody seems to know exactly how this essential piece of beach wear came about but, like many other great inventions, the design is simply brilliant or brilliantly simple.

Popularity of the wrap has grown on the internet in recent years and there is even a Facebook fan group: Eveybody in Guernsey owns a wrap.

Make your own Guernsey wrap

Sewing a Guernsey wrap

Retired teacher Jenny Mahy, would not dream of going down to the beach or to the bathing pools without one of her home made wraps, a skill she learned from her mother many years ago.

“All your mum would have to do was to buy a length of towelling, cut it in half and seam up the sides, then make a hem at the top, put the elastic in, and finish it off with a hem at the bottom. It’s as simple as that,” says Jenny. “They’re marvellous, they last for years, they’re washing machine proof and I think they’ve become more or less a fashion item.”

Guernsey wraps: popular with Mums!

For one Guernsey mum, making wraps has evolved into something of a cottage industry. Hazel Mauger began producing them for her own children, then she found herself making them for her friends’ children, and as the demand grew she realised that there was a definite gap in the beachwear market.

“I thought there’s nowhere you can go to actually buy wraps off the off the peg,” says Hazel. “Most mums were making their own so I decided to give it a go. I went to the schools and asked if I could offer them on the notice board at a discount, and they went so well I decided to open up a shop.”

Children on beach in Guersey wraps

Hazel now produces about 1,200 Guernsey wraps every year, made from large rolls of towelling specially brought into the island from Belgium and Italy. In recent times she has introduced a few small refinements to bring the wrap into the 21^st century, most notably the arm slits at the side.

“Traditionally, the wrap would have no slits for your arms but we felt we needed something for the children to protect themselves if they were to trip, so we introduced the side slit and it’s gone down very well. The design is still very simple, though, and it’s basically just a case of stitching them down and putting elastic around the top.”

Guernsey wraps: souvenirs?

Wrap makers like Hazel are also beginning to see that this genuine Guernsey product has definite export potential, with orders being taken from as far as Australia, but it’s not only our visitors who are left impressed by this versatile beach garment. When Guernsey people go on holiday, they take their wraps with them, and, if Jenny Mahy’s experiences are anything to go by, with some quite startling results.

“I was on holiday in Aqaba in Jordan on the Red Sea and I would change on the beach so I didn’t have to go into a mucky changing room,” she explains. “The Arabs had never seen anything like it and they were open mouthed, speechless, but it didn’t offend their culture because you keep yourself covered in a wrap and it’s all perfectly decent.”

Whether at home or abroad, a wrap is a cheap and cheerful fashion accessory for any beach goer, and you can have any design you want, from porpoises to pirates to palm trees. Stephanie has two wraps in her wardrobe but there is no doubting her favourite:  “I’ve got a new one which is turquoise green with red stripes on the side but the one I like best is my dolphin one because I love dolphins.”

So there you have it. The Guernsey wrap is a unique, highly individual piece of beach wear that keeps the owner warm and extremely well-covered, and if you go to any Guernsey beach or public bathing pool you can be sure that a truly wrapturous welcome awaits. So much so that it probably won’t be all that long before you too become a seasoned wrapper.

Do you have a Guernsey wrap? Have you visited Guernsey and purchased a wrap as a souvenir? If so leave us a comment or join us on our Facebook page, we would love to hear from you.