Webinar from Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum

Making Folk Costumes w/ Barbro Storlien: History of Craftsmanship, Patience & the Love of Traditions  (via the Vesterheim YouTube channel) November, 2023.

From the Vesterheim website: Barbro Tronhuus Storlien grew up in a community strongly influenced by folk art and has made a living out of folk costumes and cultural intangible heritage. She is a certified maker of folk costumes, a writer, and the chairperson of Norges Husflidslag, the Norwegian Association of Arts and Crafts. In 2019 she published her first book, Barbro broderer [Embroidery by Barbro], and she will publish her second book this year. Storlien has her own studio and teaches the art of embroidery and the making of folk costumes.

Barbro Storlien had a large audience for this webinar and the Q & A and chat boxes were continuously scrolling with comments and questions. Obviously there is wide interest in traditional Norwegian costume.

Storlien is passionate about the value of bunad traditions and preserving knowledge of the handcrafts necessary to make them. “In a time when we spend too much time on our phones and our computers and still manage to complain about lack of time, we need to take a deep bow to generations before us and pick up our tools, especially our needles, in their honor.”

Norwegians wear their bunads for special occasions such as weddings, christenings, and school graduations. “And sometimes at your father’s 80th birthday party,” she noted. Every folk costume has two stories: the one we can see, and the one that has to be told. The one you can see immediately is the style and embroidery, the place it was made. There are over 450 varieties. Equally important are the stories that are not evident — who made it? Who used it before you? So the costumes are both beautiful and practical; Barbro noted, “As long as the bunad is clean and well-fitting, you always have something to wear and something to talk about.”

In the last century bunads have been used primarily for festive occasions, but some costumes based on folk dress were used as everyday clothing up to more recent times. The Hallingdal bunad was worn up to the 1970s. The shirts underneath might be a patterned fabric for everyday; white shirts were for formal wear. Barbro heard that many patterned shirts were made from fabric sent by American relatives after the war. “There was even a Micky Mouse shirt, I was told. Sadly, I haven’t seen it.”

In the 1970s Barbro knew she wanted to do something practical that would occupy her hands and her mind; an office job seemed unappealing. She discovered that she could get a diploma in the handcraft art of making bunads, combining her love of history and tradition. “There is so much feeling and history in these costumes,” Barbro explained.

Will the bunad tradition continue? If you ask a woman over 60 where her bunad was made, she could likely tell you who made all the various portions. This was a time when bunad-making skills were passed down through families. These days, when manufactured bunads are purchased and not made at home, the bunad has less meaning as a form of community and connection.

Yet, Barbro is optimistic. When she began teaching embroidery and bunad-making skills around 2007, her students were primarily grandmothers working on costumes for their families; now she is seeing more mothers, and even young people in their 20s who are making their own bunads. Barbro related that today at least 80% of adult Norwegian women own a bunad, and 20% of men, and the tradition is getting stronger for men. “It’s about belonging. It’s a love affair with the bunad.”

BBC Culture Article on Gender-neutral Folk Costumes

“The Scandinavian Folk Clothing Right for Now,” by Matilda Welin. BBC,  January 23, 3023

The article profiles Norwegian and Swedish attempts to find non-binary forms of folk costume that both honor tradition and are more inclusive of gender-fluid wearers. In Norway, Tyril Skaar, who is non-binary and transmasculine, had a woman’s bunad since confirmation, but it sat unused in their closet. Skaar developed a new bunad that incorporated portions of their old bunad, with a more masculine presentation. They were worried that traditionalists might be critical of change, but received positive feedback.

In Sweden, Fredy Clue collaborated with artist Ida Björs to develop the Bäckadräkten unisex folk dress. They researched historical clothing, traveled to culturally-rich areas in Sweden, and held focus groups with five young, non-binary people.

The article includes much more. The title seems appropriate, “The Scandinavian Folk Clothing Right for Now.” It struck me that nothing seemed radical. All of the new variants of meaningful costume are beautifully tailored and thoughtful — both in the incorporation of a regional and national expression, and in skillful construction and quality of the materials.

Traveling Exhibit from the Nasjonalmuseet

Skakke Folkedrakt [Queer Costume]. Oslo, Nasjonalmuseet. In various locations. 

From the website:” Many Norwegians feel a close attachment to folk costumes like the bunad and the kofte. These traditional garments can generate a strong sense of belonging, but also of alienation. They carry messages about where the wearer comes from and what they stand for, but they can also be worn in the quest for acceptance and inclusion.”

Six artists are participating in the multi-year project. One artist of Sami descent, Márjá Karlsen, is deeply researching kommagband patterns. The designs in the bands used in Sami gáktis (the traditional Sami dress) reveal the region and family of the wearer. But how can she reclaim the patterns for her family, who moved from Sweden to Norway generations ago, abandoning their ties to traditional Sami dress?  In her project “Láigecála” [yarn script], she is using handcraft as a personal and political tool to reclaim the culture of her origins.

Read about all the artists, and watch short videos about their projects, here.

One More Article about Bunads

“Folk er positive til festdrakter: – Det som er artig, er at det er ingen regler.” [People are positive towards festive-costumes, and the fun part is that there are no rules.] NRK Nordland, May 9, 2022. In Norwegian.

This article was published shortly before Syttende Mai in 2022, when Norwegian were looking forward to gathering for the annual National Day celebration after two years of covid isolation. According to a survey by NORSTAT, four of ten women planned to wear a bunad, and one in ten men. Others were planning to wear festdrakt – festive, creative costume that didn’t follow the traditional, formal, geographically-based rules of traditional Norwegian bunads. Interest in creating festive-costumes with a personal touch is becoming more popular, often inspired by the fantasy-bundads from Eva Lie Design. 

Is this a problem? A threat to the strong bunad tradition in Norway? Perhaps not. Barbara Tronhus Storlien, Chair of Norsk Husfliden [Norwegian Handcraft Association], commented, “Some people think it is wonderful to have a bunad that reveals where you are from. And then there are some who would like festive dress that expresses them personally, a dress in which they can put their own creativity and fantasy.” Bunads continue to be important, Storlien said, and many people value bunads passed on through generations. She stressed that when bunads are used, attention should be paid to using the proper accessories.

In the survey, 69% of respondents said they didn’t think the new creative festive-costumes would water down the bunad tradition. 23% answered that they were worried. 

The article ended by quoting Marthe Mølstre, who had sewn a festive-costume with silk from Thailand. She also owns a traditional bunad from Sunnhordland, and plans to keep wearing it. “It’s the finest clothing I own. But it’s also fun that I can mix it up.”

November 2023. Happy holidays!

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Robbie LaFleur

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