Structured bodices, laced fronts, full skirts, embroidered blouses: details that fashion keeps “discovering” have been worn in European villages for centuries. Two folk costumes in particular are still very much alive, worn by millions and instantly recognisable. One comes from the fjords, the other from the Alps, and together they explain a great deal about where today’s folk-inspired clothing gets its ideas.
The bunad: Norway’s festive dress
Thebunad is a festive costume made of wool, worn with a linen or cotton shirt, rich embroidery and silver jewellery, above all the round brooch called a sølje. Norwegians wear it on Constitution Day, 17 May, and for weddings, christenings and confirmations.
In its present form the tradition is younger than it looks. It grew out of the national-romantic movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when the writer Hulda Garborg and others promoted regional dress as an expression of Norwegian identity. Some designs are careful reconstructions of documented local clothing. Others were composed in the twentieth century from regional motifs.
There are hundreds of variants, each tied to a district or valley, and convention says you choose the one from the place your family comes from. A Norwegian bunad is usually handmade, takes months to complete and can cost several thousand euros. Many people receive theirs as teenagers and wear it for the rest of their lives, letting out seams as needed and eventually passing it on.
The dirndl: from work dress to icon
The Austrian dirndl started at the other end of the social scale. The word is short for Dirndlgewand, “maid’s dress”: the working clothes of Alpine farm servants, made of sturdy linen or cotton. Its four elements have not changed: a close-fitting bodice, a white blouse, a full skirt and an apron.
In the second half of the nineteenth century, city families holidaying in the mountains adopted the dress as summer fashion. Fabrics became finer, with silk, velvet and printed cotton, and the dirndl moved from the farmyard to the promenade. Today it is worn across Austria, Bavaria and South Tyrol at festivals, church holidays and weddings. Popular custom even gives the apron bow a meaning: tied on the left, the wearer is single; on the right, she is spoken for.
What the two traditions share
Despite different origins, the costumes have a lot in common:
- a structured bodice that shapes the upper body;
- a pale blouse underneath, with attention on sleeves and neckline;
- a full skirt that allows movement;
- natural fibres: wool, linen, cotton, silk;
- decoration that says something about place and occasion;
- an expectation that the garment will last for decades.
That last point may be the most modern thing about them. Both are the opposite of disposable clothing.
How folk costume shapes modern fashion
Designers have borrowed from regional dress for more than a century, and several of today’s familiar shapes trace back to it.
The corset top and bodice dress. The laced or buttoned bodice worn over a blouse is the direct ancestor of the corset tops now worn with jeans.
The statement blouse. Puffed and gathered sleeves, square necklines and drawstring collars come straight from the shirts worn under folk bodices.
Embroidery as meaning. Floral and botanical motifs placed on the chest, hem or straps echo the way traditional costumes used stitching to mark region and family.
Layering. Aprons, pinafores and overskirts have returned as a way of adding colour and texture to a simple dress.
The wider cultural mood helps. Interest in craft, natural materials and slow fashion has made clothing with visible handwork desirable again.
How to wear the inspiration every day
A real bunad comes with rules. It is ceremonial dress and Norwegians take the details seriously, so it is not something to wear casually or approximate. Inspired pieces are another matter, and they are easy to live with.
- Pick one folk element per outfit. A bodice dress with plain boots, or an embroidered blouse with jeans, not everything at once.
- Choose everyday fabrics. Linen and cotton make the silhouette practical for work and weekends.
- Try a one-piece bodice dress. A dress with a structured, embroidered top and a full skirt gives the line of a festive costume in a single garment.
- Modernise with footwear. Leather boots in winter, flat sandals in summer.
- Know the source. Learning which tradition a motif or cut comes from is part of the pleasure, and a mark of respect for the people who still wear the original.
Folk costume has survived because it is beautiful, well made and full of meaning. Those are also three good reasons to let it influence what we wear now.
