Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula and includes a number of islands in the Arctic and Subantarctic regions.
History
The first inhabitants of Norway were the Ahrensburg culture (11th to 10th millennia BCE). From the eighth to the tenth century CE, the wider Scandinavian region was the source of the Vikings. These sea-faring folk brought various cultural influences back to Scandinavia in general and Norway in particular. However, the costumes worn as traditional clothing nowadays are based on traditional festive clothing dating from as far back as the Middle Ages, though most are from the 18th and 19th centuries or are pure 20th-century designs. These costumes are known collectively as bunad (plural: bunader/bunadar), a term invented in the 20th century.
There are records documenting the use of folk costumes from as far back as the Middle Ages. For example, Norwegians from Setesdal in Southern Norway, wear a bunad based on a folk costume tradition dating back to the 14th century that had remained relatively untouched until the middle of the 20th century. However, the bunad movement has its roots in 19th-century national romanticism, which also had a great effect on the traditional clothing of other neighbouring northern European countries such as Germany (see Germany: General Information). The idea of wearing traditional clothing was enhanced by the increasing interest in the folk-dance movement at the beginning of the 20th century in Norway.
In 1947, an official institution, the National Committee for Bunad-related Questions (Landsnemnda for Bunadspørsmål) was organised to act in an advisory capacity on all questions dealing with bunads in Norway. That function is presently assigned to the Norwegian Institute for Costume and Folk Costume (Norsk institutt for bunad og folkedrakt), which works in cooperation with the Valdres Folkemuseum (Valdresmusea). The Institute has established an archive of costume registrations, photographs, cut patterns and sketches, and writings of traditional material from various districts. Nowadays, there are from 200—400 different bunad costumes, depending on the source cited. The design of bunads is the subject of an on-going, often controversial, debate with the so-called bunad police keeping a watchful eye on what is to be worn or not worn, especially with respect to colours, fabric, embroidery, jewellery, cut, and allowable headwear.
In the field of Norwegian folk costumes it is common to differentiate between bunad and folk costume, the latter being the local dress in previous times with all its variations and use. Modern interpretations of these costumes often do away completely with parts of the traditional costumes to fit in with contemporary ideas of what is attractive. One important part of the traditional costume that was an important indicator of social and marital status — the headdress — is often no longer used. However, the predominant sense of bunad design is to preserve the way people dressed for festive occasions in one particular era.
Bunads can be rather expensive ($2,000−$10,000) and parents often give their children a bunad for their confirmation present. Most people with roots in a particular area will choose that area’s bunad or the one from their (grand)parents’ birthplace. However, there is no specific rule that states what a person has to choose, and Norwegians are free to pick whatever bunad they like to wear.
Women’s wear
The women’s bunad consist of dresses, skirts, blouses, waistcoat, aprons and other pieces of clothing consistent with northern European traditional clothing. The bunad designs are typically elaborate, with embroidery, scarves, shawls and hand-made silver or gold jewellery. All women’s bunads have sterling silver brooches (sølje) on their blouses. Silver is traditionally an important metal in Norway as it was used as a talisman to protect against storms, to heal illnesses, to consecrate water, etc. Silver was pinned to a baby’s clothing to prevent them being swapped for a troll changeling.
Men’s wear
Like the women’s bunad, the men’s bunad is also consistent with northern European traditional clothing; i.e. trousers, breeches, waistcoats, shirts, hats, etc.
References
http://www.norway-hei.com/norwegian-national-costumes.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunad
Pictures
1) Man and woman from the Telemark region – By Axel Lindahl – Galleri NOR, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=338407
2) Hardanger bunad with a bridal crown (brudekrone) – Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=460273
3) Brooch (sølje) – Av Foto: Anne-Lise Reinsfelt / Norsk Folkemuseum – http://digitaltmuseum.no/things/hornring/NF/NF.1906-1542, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31363296
4) Boy and girl in bunad from Fana (a borough of the city of Bergen in Hordaland county) – https://www.littlescandinavian.com/2013/11/03/bunad-norwegian-traditional-costumes-for-children/
Map: http://travelsmaps.com/map-of-norway.html
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National costume dolls 