Don’t toy with our national dress

Barbro Tronhuus Storlien

The same thing happens every year on Norway’s national day, said Barbro Tronhuus Storlien. On May 17, people put on their bunad—traditional folk costumes with details that pay homage to the wearer’s hometown or region—and I, as an expert in bunad history and manufacture, am asked by various newscasters to weigh in. I am happy to discuss the typical costume, consisting of a white shirt with a colorful embroidered vest, with skirts for women and breeches for men. But if I dare to point out that “jazzing it up with a red silk shirt” is not traditional, I’m predictably denounced as the “costume police.” An article headlined “Bunad

police say NO” might portray me as “humorless and antiquated.” This is unfair. The real “bunad police” were the old ladies who used to show up at village festivals to tell us that “we had put the wrong brooch on, forgotten the proper headgear, or that our sock color was wrong.” I am speaking only as a scholar, not as a scold. For example, I can tell you that after World War II, it was common in the Hallingdal valley to see bunad with Disney motifs, made with printed cloth donated from America. But to sport Disney in another region would be incorrect. In other words, wear what you want: Just don’t expect me to endorse it.