At their belts hang pewter tankards
Fa la la la la la la la la.
They are dancers, not just drunkards

Thankyou for your restraint.

I used to go off on one quite regularly about how I'd Never In My Life seen folkies sporting flowery waistcoats, spotty kerchiefs, pewter tankards, sandals with socks, multi-coloured trousers ect ect. Then I went to my first folk festival. Oh.

I think we're describing the display plumage of Homo Festivalensis rather than everyday wear (if anyone reading this goes to work in the morning wearing a spotty kerchief and a pewter tankard... um, what job is that, then?) But on the matter of beards, which clearly are a bit more permanent, if I mentally look round the male regulars at the local singaround I can only see one or two.