Saturday 30 May 2009

Not exactly sportswear...

I would say wearing your national costume is a sort of fashion statement. It takes guts... Or maybe I'm just trying to defend the fact that I look like an old lady in this picture. Anyways, I'm wearing my bunad, which is the Norwegian national costume that we wear at 17th of May (the national day) and at other various occasions. This picture has been requested...by Alison.

From Wikipedia: "A bunad is a traditional Norwegian costume, typically of rural origin. Bunads are local to Norway'straditional districts, and the result both of traditional evolution and organized efforts to discover and modernize traditional designs. The designs are typically elaborate, with embroidery, scarves, shawls and hand-made silver or gold jewellery. There are bunads both for men and women, although women's bunads are more diverse and popular. (...) Although bunads are based on traditions in various areas, these designs are embellished by additions such as embroidery. The overarching sense of bunad design is to preserve the way people dressed for festive occasions in one particular era. This has led local and national councils to impose official constraints on various details in the bunad, including colors, fabric, embroidery, jewellery, cut, and allowable headwear."

(Pic from Wikipedia)

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