© Text and photo Laila Duran.

Last week I visited a privat collector of folk costumes in Malung, Dalecarlia. They had three different bridal headdresses and two of them were old ones from the beginning of the 20th Century.

At a time when folk costumes was used in rural areas all over Scandinavia and before the bridal crown came in use, a headdress named “Lad” crowned the bride on her wedding day. The “lad” is still used in traditional wedding both in Sweden and Norway and is found in a varity of different shapes with colourful decorations.

The back of the Lad is lined with printed cotton, kattun, and the silk ribbons are fastened at the neck.

The young model is taking a rest before changing in to the next costume. The bodice is made of printed cotton fabric. A black wool damask skirt and the red festive apron are parts of the Malung folk costume.

The back of the bodice-skirt. Her hair is tied up with red ribbons and covered with a white hat, trimmed with lace. To fasten the hat a silk ribbon is tied around the hairdo.

A modern Lad worn with a wool neckershief and strings of glass beads.

The Lad is trimmed with every colorful glass bead, pearl, lace, ribbon and silver (or metal sheet leaves) that were available. More about the traditions of bridal costumes and headdresses will be shown in the book KRONBRUDEN, “The Crowned Bride” and in “Scandinavian Folklore Vol III”.

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© Text and photo Laila Duran.

Every book in the series Scandinavian Folklore (Drakt og Prakt, Norwegian edition) starts in spring. The books takes you around Scandinavia during one year. Now, as I am taking the last photos for volume III, I went back to Scania and rural heritage tailor Gillis Jimheden in Ranarp. Apart from making up folk costumes from many of Scania hundreds he is also a passionate collector of costumes. For this shoot he picked an old “skinnklocka” (leather bell) a name that might have something to do with the cut of the leather skirt.

Anemones,”vitsippor” are what we wait for in Scandinavia. When they bloom spring is here!

The girl is dressed for a festive occation wearing her inherited silver pendants.

The bell shaped skirt is made in three sections. The sections width may wary but there are always three. The bodice is made of green homespun and to add to the festive look she wears long silk ribbons hanging from her head dress. This type of hed dress is called a “pigelock” and is worn around her pleated hair.

To keep warm she wears a black jacket of broadcloth trimmed with floral ribbons and strips of silk.

The cuffs on the sleeves are trimmed with gold lace, silk ribbons and fine black velvet. Her apron is an old hand woven apron in bright shades of colours.

In the book, Scandinavian Folklore Vol III, there will be plenty of photos of both old and newly made garment fom Scania. For those of you who wants to know more about Bygdeskräddaren Gillis Jimheden please visit  www.bygdeskraddaren.se
There is also a lage article about his and his wife Monica Jimheden´s work in the Swedish magazine: “VÄV” Scandinavian Weaving Magazine. This can be ordered from www.handweavers.co.uk

All text and photos are protected by Copyright.

Please respect the property of my photos and do not put them om yours or any other web-site. Please use links.