Text and photo Laila Duran ©
Passionate folk costume collector Britt Eklund and her husband Knapp Lennart Petterson have a yearly tradition of inviting people to see the great variety of folk costumes from Boda, Dalecarlia. With friends and family they arrange a folk costume fashion show. In July this year they gathered at Boda Gammelgård and drew quite a crowd. The weather was lovely and more than 30 children and adults showed garments from the extensive collection, starting with babies less than a year old.
I was invited to take some photos for the next book, Scandinavian Folklore II, and hope you will enjoy some of the extra photos from the shoot. All these costumes are from the area of Boda and show the way children were dressed in the 19th century.
This young girl is dressed in a summer frock.
The hanging pockets from Boda are a feast to the eye. Many different fabrics, in a variety of colors, are used and they are decorated with buttons and embroidery yarn. This “liduväska” was made in 2001.
The girl is dressed for Sunday afternoon in a frock with sleeves.
These boys are dressed in “adult” clothes from Boda.
Big sister is wearing clothes for everyday use, while her little brother is dressed for church. Somewhere along the way his cap fell off. All children were wearing headdresses when going to church.
A child´s shoe from the 19th Century.
The girl is wearing adult clothes used for everyday wear. Young girls wore their hair loose under the bonnet until they reached the age of seven when they started school. After that the hair was tied up and covered.
This young boy is dressed in a long dark blue frock with sleeves and a red handwoven apron with a calico bib. This would have been worn to church.
Britt Eklund is explaining the way children used to be dressed in Boda. There is a “costume almanac” and every Sunday and holiday of the year has a rule on how to dress when visiting the church. She is dressed for work on weekdays.
The printed cotton headdress was used only between the age when girls were wearing a frock (kolt) until the time of confirmation. After confirmation she will wear the headdress of the unmarried woman.
A sheepskin frock and knitted mittens and stockings keeps the baby warm during winter.
In the book Scandinavian Folklore II, Britt Eklund will write on the use of children´s clothing in Boda. The extensive collection includes old garments from the 19th century as well as newly made reconstructions.
This is Tordis Gjevre. After more than 30 years of field work at “The Norwegian Institute of Bunads and Folk Costumes” she is the person we turn to whenever the costumes has to be fitted and the models properly dressed. She is also a very good sport and often comes to the locations to make sure we do things right.
Last but not least is Torkel Henriksson, who is doing all the original artwork on the books. Here he is riding his horse Nirvana, dressed in a costume from Nås in Western Dalecarlia which will be presented in the next book, Scandinavian Folklore vol 2.
