A Brief History of the Norwegian Bunad

[@lottavaher]

This is excellent! I'm from Estonia where the discussion about what is "rahvarõivad" (our word for folk garb), how and when to wear it etc is also quite prevalent in some circles. Exactly the same things you brought up. It's interesting to see how we are essentially having the same discourse

[@hjrdiskristinakure2730]

before i watched this video, i was a bit on the fence about if we should protect or conserve the original bunad designs or not, kind of leaning towards the "we should" side bc i find it kinda sad when these things are forgotten or left behind, but after watching this, i think i've changed sides. we're gonna be a part of history too and we shouldnt be scared to change it

[@KristineVike]

Oh my, what a compliment! I can certainly understand both sides, but worry we shortchange ourselves these days. We are part of our history and culture too. 🥰

[@babaksenia2532]

I am born in America and was blessed with the unique privilege of being taught my by parents of my ancestry and geneology. There are 3 unique parts that make up who I am, but Scandinavian (primarily southern Norwegian) is the closest to my heart. Especially as an Orthodox Christian and an appreciator of St. Olav of Norway (Olav II) who fought for Norwegian independence and frequented Kieven Rus. I have been trying to educate myself on my heritage as much as possible, and researching bunad and festdrakt is a large part of that, as I am very enthusiastic about folklore of all kinds. I have since put together my own festdrakt (not a bunad as it is put together of different parts, free-form, and not approved by a council of any kind lol). Your video is very inspiring. Thank you!

[@rawforyou5514]

I am a Dutch woman living in Bretagne. And even though i am not from Norway, i am deeply interested by what people used to wear. I love their skills, techniques and their inspirations. Can't get enough of it. One life is definitely not enough. Dream of making it all.....

[@TheLeftwheel]

I'm a Norwegian-American woman from Texas, and I'd love to hear more about traditional Norwegian clothing! I loved this video. My ancestors were from Nissedal and Amli, and I'm fairly sure that their bunads falls into categories 3 and 4 from what research I've found. I've often thought about making a style of bunad for my family--something that reflects the places our ancestors were from, and also acknowledges the way they had to adapt to living in Texas. I'm sure the purists wouldn't like it, but it's the American way to modify everything we touch. 😅 Diaspora is always needs to change from the 'older ways' in order to adapt, and I think it's something that can be acknowledged without fully abandoning tradition.

[@pezlover1974]

Nissedal would be the “Vest Telemark bunad”

[@MuhammadSabzwari-z9w]

It's interesting how you know where your ancestors came from

[@_maia_m]

I think that's a great idea! When moving to the US your ancestors wouldn't have access to certain things that they had in Norway, but they would have access to other things, and surely a lot of things that the people at home would have absolutely loved 😊

[@jamesclarkmaxwell-v2n]

wear it proudly wherever you go

[@Tinycadancer]

@@MuhammadSabzwari-z9w most Norwegians in the US do! I have found a lot of times I know more of my family and their traditions from Norway than those living in Norway now… EVEN THOUGH my grandparents wanted more than anything for their kids and so on to become “American” and be proud to be here. They worked hard to get here and worked hard after getting here to build a life! Usually in places similar to where they came from so similar weather and climate. This I believe kept us the way we are with traditions and some clothing even continuing on because it was what they knew and made perfect sense for the places they chose to settle down in the Northern US. We never forgot where we came from and that is the culture. Norwegian-Americans love their history.

[@emmamartin6719]

This is absolutely wonderful! I am American, with Norwegian ancestors from Telemark, and I am making a Beltestakk for Norway's Constitution Day and as a way to better connect with my grandmother and grandfather's families. I am basing my bunad off the older style of Beltestakk, but I am adding in my own embroidery motifs and looking at "non-traditional" colors. I am glad I found your video, since there is not much regarding the history of the bunad in English, so I've been going off Google translations and museum archives (which has worked so far!) but I didn't know about the unbroken, almost unbroken, reconstructed, etc. categories, which is absolutely fascinating! Your video has also given me more confidence to play around with the bunad I am making, and kind of given me permission to scale back my planned embroidery (and saved my poor hands from all that stitching!). Thank you so much for doing the research and sharing it with us!

[@FantasticalFolliesCostuming]

YES to more Norwegian dress history! Learning about other cultures and traditions is my favorite. Loved this! I'm interested to see what you end up making. There's little that annoys me more than gatekeepy purism around clothing. Great that you addressed (and challenged) that concept 🥰

[@KristineVike]

Thank you! I hope I do the topic justice. 😊

[@Babanyul1]

Thank you for this! I am Hungarian married to a Norwegian and I am going to Norway for my first 17th of May there. I am planning to make a "bunad" but taking inspiration from Hungarian folk costumes for the embroidery and motifs. I watched your video to get more context of what to look out for when designing my dress but your take on experimenting with the designs really made me even more excited to create my Norwegian-Hungarian version of it. Thank you for it!

[@gatoniebla4900]

That was very interesting. I totally agree with you. I am from Galicia in Spain and in the past people adapted their clothing to their financial possibility, their body shapes and also to the influences of fashion. Nowadays young people are discouraged about wearing traditional costumes because of puristic restrictions which makes it very difficult and unaffordable. " You can't wear this with short hair, a bun is required" Sure, if in the past a woman looses her long hair for some reason, she runs around naked! Historical correctness is a good thing but as a guideline not as a shackle.

[@KristineVike]

Exactly! I find it fascinating how many similarities there are across nations.

[@Vanhatussari]

This is very interesting topic! As a Finn and a Finnish folk dress (kansallispuku) enthusiastic, I can totally see the similarities in the history: national romanticism, how some dresses were gathered together from here and there to form an entire outfit and how some elements were definitely cherry picked and altered to fit the fashion of the time in the process. I can also see similarities in the communities nowadays. We certainly have some gatekeeping and old "rules" how things should be worn, but it is definitely starting to wither away. It'd say it's a gap between generations, because usually the so called "dress police" are just some old grandmas who were themselves taught these rules when they were young, but as more young people are starting to get interested in these dresses, it is getting more relaxed and people are even mixing parts of the folk dress outfit to their casual wear, just to be able to wear them more and honor the dress in a modern way. As we see it, if you take the skirt or the vest away from the outfit and wear it separately with modern clothes, it is then just a normal skirt/vest. And of course, we've always had this habit of choosing whichever region's dress we feel like we want even by looks alone, and it is completely okay. It is common though that people tend to choose the dress from the region their family is from, for sentimental reasons. Though our approach to the folk dress is probably a bit more free(?), when we're wearing the folk dress as a whole, most agree that it needs to be as it is. So no mixing the parts of other region's dress to another and so on, and there are some recommendations about the headgear (children and young maidens use ribbons and +20 year old women wear a french hood in the western regions/scarf in the Karelian regions, as they did in the history), but there are no regulations about your hair length/color whatsoever. And as local communities, so called "home of the dress" (the region) get interested, many of the dresses are being "checked" and "corrected" according to the original museum pieces of the time to be more historically accurate. But the wonderful thing about this in my opinion is that usually the "checked" version has many pieces to choose from, for example Rautjärvi dress has two skirts and two aprons, because the original ones had such variations too (and possibly much more, but we do not have too many pieces left sadly). And also most of us acknowledge every single existing version of the dress as a "correct one" and okay to wear; the "unchecked" version and the "checked" version, the shorter skirts in the 60's, machine sown one's in the 80's, different fabrics used at the time, ect. We simply think such dress was the product of it's time and it has it's own story.

[@castincactus7339]

I don't know why this was recommended to my by KZbin, but I am glad. It was very interesting and calming, eventhough I know very little on the topic. You made it accessible and all the images of the Bunads were beautiful to look at :)

[@KristineVike]

I am glad. It is always a relief to hear a subject is approachable to everyone. :)

[@sidselh]

Solidly agree on the gatekeeping comments - which is why I loved Fæbrik's push to make more personalised fest-drakter. I do have a bunad (Stavanger), but I'm just as proud of my own self-made fest-drakt, putting in exactly the embroideries and embellishments that spoke to ME.

[@KristineVike]

I think that approach makes really meaningful garments! Definitely the method that speaks to me too.

[@Yracct]

Amazing 👏👏👏 thanks so much for this, I learned so much about my own history here. I really love your presentation style, your critical approach and the absolute wealth of knowledge you bring to the subject matter!

[@linr8260]

That last line haha. So real. Anyway I'm very interested in seeing what you make :D

[@KristineVike]

Haha, thanks! I am curious too. I have so many ideas, I don’t know where to start! :D

[@Olarvae]

Thanks for your contribution to this topic, and your accurate summary of the history of bunads. I have studied folk culture in the University of South Eastern Norway, and there is some things I do agree on and others, not so much. While it is true that Hulda Garborg did what she thought was best, it is also important to note that, if not for her we might not have the bunad as a culture today. Her work inspired a movement that attempted to carry on the rural traditions, which they did, but also as you said, picked out what they deemed "norwegian enough" to carry on, like replacing imported silks, cottons, and velvet with wool, linen and embroidery. Ethnology, and the methodology for studying culture and history today was not yet a field of scientific study (not until 1940s), and the point of the work was not to reconstruct the folk dresses. Today, however this is a scientific field, and we've got a different approach to folk dress. It is true as you said, that the category 1,2,and 3 bunads are frozen in time, and have stopped developing. What happened from late 1800s was that european culture and fashion started impacting the culture more, to the point that the folk dress traditions started going out of use. People all over Norway transitioned into wearing european fashion. And that means the natural development also stopped. And the cultural bubbles which these garment existed and changed in also died out. That's why this is frozen today and does not continue developing. And why it makes sense to leave it as is. That said, you did not mention that work is still ongoing in the reconstruction of old garments today. Where there is enough source material, there is also choices in colours and designs. For example Rekonstruert rødtrøyebunad fra Vest-Telemark (Reconstructed red-jacket bunad from Vest-Telemark). People are studying and researching extant garments that are in the museums and reconstructing them today. I feel like the whole situation we have today is divided in two, with very blurred lines: On one side there is the scholars, researchers, bunadmakers and scientists arguing for the preservation of the culture, and growth within the context of the original cultural bubbles. On the other side is everyday people, wearing and loving their bunads, and their culture around using and having the bunad. The people often feel like they are being gatekept, because they cannot change their own garment, or make changes to the outfit without feeling like it is wrong to do so. It is simply two different ways, where one is the peoples culture of wear today, and the other is a scholarly approach to the bunad in through the lens past culture and reconstruction. I, for one feel like I'm standing in between, as a bunad tailor apprentice that grew up with a view of the bunad as mine, as a garment I was proud of owning and with a frustration around all the rules. With knowledge I understand better why it has all the rules and the format it has. And why we need to protect that as a national treasure.

[@infamoussphere7228]

I'd be very interested in more Norwegian dress history! My partner is Finnish and I have the feeling that while Finnish folk dress is expensive, it's not as expensive as Bunad. But I think it tends to be plainer, and less strict in regards to the region. My partner has two folk costumes from, I believe, random regions of Finland. On the other hand there's dirndls, which are a) a 19th century cottagecore interpretation of what rural people in German speaking regions wore by city elites, and b) extremely varied and modernised. I got my German citizenship confirmed literally about 3 days ago and look forward to making my own dirndl soon. I'll probably just have people happy that I made one rather than trying to arrest me for desecrating Dirndl Purism.

[@KristineVike]

That is so cool! I feel like I know more about Finnish Iron age dress than anything more recent, thanks to some amazing reenactors/educators. 😊

[@ParkrosePermaculture]

Watching this for a second time because I really appreciate your dive into the history of your traditional dress, and thoughtful consideration of playfulness and innovation of national or traditional cultural dress.

[@KristineVike]

Thank you!

[@Шарлотта84]

Thank you! Your video was SO in time! I'm a first year student and i write my work about bunad with information by your video, it was so helpful! There is no any info about bunad in the internet idk why :(

[@KristineVike]

There is some, but most of it is in Norwegian and hasn't been translated. There are A LOT of books (again, in Norwegian) and people with tons of knowledge, but it's difficult to access if you don't speak the language, so I sympathize. :/

[@ParkrosePermaculture]

Really enjoy your channel, I always learn so much! And you have such a soothing voice and cadence as you teach us something new.

[@KristineVike]

Thank you. 🥰

[@sitron7224]

How did I not discover your channel sooner? You're a dress history youtuber in the same genre as channels like Bernadette Banner, and you have videos on Norwegian and Saami(!!) dress history? It's like it was tailor made (pun intended) for my interests! Thank you for sharing your research in this format.

[@EmelieWaldken]

Same here ! Love Bernadette and Co but it's always so many American creators, or at least based on English-speaking regions. The rest of the world gets overlooked so much !

[@bdavis7801]

Yes I would like more Norwegian dress history! I find it fascinating. My mother's people where from Bergen.

[@sArnoldsdotter]

There are similar discussions about Swedish folk costumes, from the documented ones to the more recently designed. Being a dress history nerd, I try to recreate a documented outfit from my area, as it might have looked in 1840, but I've also played with making more relaxed, historybounding versions for everyday.

[@sonipitts]

I gotta say, as I was watching this it felt a lot like some historical gatekeepers deciding that "traditional American costume" meant 19th century American garb, but based on costumes from a modern historical drama. So, like, Little House on the Prairie or something. 😆

[@KristineVike]

Those are such fun projects! I wish I could do an in-depth one, but I’m from an area with very few extant garments. Another reason I might have to play around with what I can find. 😅 But I do love digging into the garments catalogued at our digital museum!

[@dorteweber3682]

Yes! and I agree with you on the purity issue.

[@HiNinqi]

I have to find more examples of the outfits from 1:18 their skirts(cycling shorts?) are amazing!

[@KristineVike]

They are a still-in-use bunad from Setesdalen. It’s a skirt, but from a really stiff wool cloth.

[@HiNinqi]

@@KristineVike thank you! I was able to find so many examples on flickr

[@ariverdreaming]

This was so in depth and interesting! Thank you!

[@KristineVike]

Glad you enjoyed it! 😊

[@refoliation]

I loved this thank you!

[@EmelieWaldken]

Love your take on this complex topic. I love traditional garb from many regions, Norway included, but the bunad police mentality makes it indeed very hard to approach. Here in Sweden there are the folkdräkt purists, but also everybody in-between the modern clothing and pure reconstructed folkdräkter, people who create new dräkter, change colours, wear only some parts or mix and match different regions (although that one is quite rare). It's quite playful and makes me especially happy when it's done by people who are at the same time extremely nerdy and well-informed about the historical aspects, just choose to not limit themselves to these.

[@KarenLynnLHC]

Utrolig fin video, og et effektivt sammendrag. Videoene dine er alltid veldig behagelige - rolig tempo, rolig visuelt. Koselige, men samtidig så informative.

[@KristineVike]

Mange takk! Jeg er veldig glad for å kunne bidra til informativt og litt roligere innhold! 😊

[@annaselbdritt7916]

really informative, thank you so much! I'm currently looking into the creation and subsequent 'mythologising' of the Danish regional folk costumes (egnsdragter). Seeing it in a broader political and European context really is eye-opening.

[@KristineVike]

I agree, there is so much interesting and historical sub-text going on that most peopleI know are simply not aware of.

[@sonipitts]

Yes please on more Norwegian dress history!

[@KristineVike]

I was hoping someone would say that! :D

[@annalisasteinnes]

This reminds me of the evolution of kimono in Japan. Today it is very specific in how it is put on, the shape of the garment, and what is appropriate based on your age. But in the past it was worn with more individual styling, as a lot of Japanese art shows. Actually, the word "kimono" just used to mean "clothes"! It was after western dress became the norm that kimono became symbolic of national Japanese culture. I think there are some newer designers who are expanding what kimono means and how it can be worn, but it seems even more strictly defined than bunad. Was hoping to see something from Stavanger, where my grandpa was from. But I'm guessing that might be an area where not much information about traditional bunad can be found.

[@KristineVike]

That does sound very familiar, and sadly not surprising as ‘modern clothes’ became the norm. And there are so many bunads I couldn’t include just because the video would be far too long. There are so many!

[@wendydreadful3902]

I work for a shop that makes bunad and they are pretty rigid on how something should be sewn or not sewn, what part of it is sewn by hand, and what is allowed to be sewn on a machine. I prefer that bunad that is traditionally not sewn the way the bunad police think it should be sewn. I am all for keeping the tradition alive, which is why I work for a bunad shop.

[@willychrispin1093]

Jeg elsker videoene dine ! Jeg er enig med deg. Det er veldig viktig at vi snakker om hva bunader kan bli hvis vi har ikke så mange regler og folk kan bare gjøre hva de ønsker. Also sorry if my norwegian is not the best. I am learning.

[@KristineVike]

Tusen takk! 😊

[@katimperial3016]

So interesting!

[@lolajl]

I'm really interested in how immigrants adapt to wearing the bunad - would love see you interview some of them about this!

[@resourcedragon]

For an Australian with Scottish ancestors, this is a really interesting topic. My rhetorical question is: why doesn't knitting get more love? There's really only Scottish "national dress" for men (kilt, plaid, jacket, sporran, argyle socks, etc). I'm not sure that a kilt counts as a good, practical form of daily attire in the 21st century. [Yes, there is some nuance but, nevertheless, it's not entirely practical.] The modern kilt was invented by an Englishman (this is really embarrassing to admit) in the late 18th century. It was based on earlier garments (and the earlier plaid mor was unisex, to the annoyance of puritanical ministers a century or so earlier) but, nevertheless, what we have now is not firmly rooted in ancient history and it's not accessible to everyone. What gets forgotten is the knitting. There is a number of knitting traditions in Scotland, perhaps the most famous being the Shetland Fair Isle and lace traditions. The Fair Isle in particular, along with the various regional ganseys, can be adapted for "guys, gals and non-binary pals". If people learn to knit their own, the cost is within reach of most people. And the end results are at least as Scottish as the kilt. These indigenous knitting styles can adapt to changing fashions, so that the wearer can be both fashionable while paying homage to their ancestral traditions. It seems to me that the same logic could be applied to Norwegian national dress. You also have a living knitting tradition, and knitters who combine the traditional with the contemporary.

[@eivor9097]

Might be very conjecture-y on my part, but the pocket embroidery from Søgne look remarkably similar to the design on a leather pouch from the Gokstad find xp

[@KristineVike]

Huh, that could be a very fun “coincidence”, indeed! The two places are not that far apart, after all.

[@eivor9097]

​@@KristineVike very true!

[@isfolketchild9323]

So much interesting i formation! I didn’t know the „bunad industry” was so purist and gatekeeping so what you said definitely surprised me! It’s a first video of yours that I’ve seen, and I’m definitely staying here! Do you own a bunad yourself? And are Norwegians ok with foreigners wearing bunads? Let’s say from a region that their native Norwegian husband/wife comes from? Or is it considered a cultural appropriation?

[@KristineVike]

I can’t really answer the cultural appropriation thing, as I am just one person and can’t speak for a whole country. As with so many things, it depends. But bunads are definitely a “family” thing. You wouldn’t find bunad rental shops to begin with, and would need some sort of connection with someone to access one. My family does not have a bunad tradition, and I do not own one, but my partner does. And I have access to a bunad from his family by “proxy”.

[@isfolketchild9323]

@@KristineVike I understand! Thank you so much :D

[@derrith1877]

Yes to more Scandinavian dress history. As the boundaries changed multiple times, why limit the discussion only to part of the area?

[@meancleangogreen4763]

How did they make what looks like pleats in the Sami gukti and the flute outward?

[@brendanhynes1252]

Can you do kilts next Irish Celtic fashion

[@KristineVike]

Thank you for your encouragement, but I am afraid not. The Scottish, the kilt and the history of the Celts are not my cultural heritage and not my story to tell. :)

[@brendanhynes1252]

@@KristineVike ok nice love your videos so cool. I realised lol. the vikings came the uk i no the celts were in eutope too. I thougth they may have been in norway to but they were not lol

[@hildegerdhaugen7864]

I love the bunad , but do not own one anymore. I was gifted Nordlandsbunad at confirmation (my dad is from there), and I giftet it to my niece who lives up north to her confirmation last year. I noticed I felt naked this years 17 may, so I know I will purchase a bunad in not too distant future. Not sure which one. I am a Trønder, so it has to be one from here.

[@allclairesbears]

Tradition: Peer pressure from dead people. 😂 I don't remember where I heard this

[@KristineVike]

Ahahaha, so true! 😂

[@brendanhynes1252]

Dose Anna from frozen were one

[@Thesamurai1999]

Her dress is certainly inspired by the bunad. But I don't think it's any specific bunad that exist.

[@lesana1191]

Norwegian national dress is beautiful!