Norwegian bunad (national costumes)

I've always had a strong interest in Norwegian bunads - in their different styles, origins, in the accompanying jewellery and it was a real treat some weeks ago to visit Norways' biggest travelling exhibition of private bunads. So many were exhibited... I spent a long time analyzing details and trying to remember various details :). Bunads are worn not only on May 17th, Norway's National Day, but also on all important occasions. In a way, I found it practical - you feel you've got nothing to wear for that cousin's wedding? You wear your bunad! At the beggining, I had to get accustomed to this habit - why would anyone want to wear a national costume for a family event? :) Norwegians have a very strong perception of their national identity and that's something I learned to love. Bunads represent the various regions, and you usually choose your own according to where your or your husband family comes from. In some families, teenagers get their first bunad at confirmation, sometimes one coming from their grand-parents, often in pieces that can be adjusted to size.

Oh see the details....

The two children costumes below represent Karasjok, a town in the extreme north of Norway, in Finnmark (Finnmark is a county in the extreme northeast of Norway. By land it borders Troms county to the west, Finland (Lapland) to the south and Russia (Murmansk Oblast) to the east, and by water, the Norwegian Sea (Atlantic Ocean) to the northwest, and the Barents Sea (Arctic Ocean) to the north and northeast - for more information and a map, click HERE).

These were a bit funny, they reminded me of our own Polish Zakopane style (prawda, Elu?)

That one was a bit out the ordinary (skirt)...

I love it...
But there were many, many more bunads...

Some from the world-famous Hardanger area... see the embroidery on the lowest two red bunads...

From some northern counties in Noway... (Troms etc.)

That would be one for Follo, the district we are in... (one of the three in Akershus county)...

Here's one from the Svalbard Islands...

Two from the Gudbrandsdal valley (I took that shot thinking of you, Tracy!) - one in the background. Some other regions...

See that beautiful handwork...
These were from Oslo...
More beauties...More bunads....

HERE is a short wiki article on this topic and I invite you to see more pictures I uploaded to a webshots album. I hope you enjoy looking at them!