American Reacts to Traditional Norwegian Bunad

Fun fact about bunad: it is always considered correct attire. You may feel overdressed in an everyday situation, but you will never be underdressed - even attending a gala at the Royal Palace. Weddings, absolutely. And there are bridal crowns if you choose to wear one on your wedding day.

Bunad is very popular in Norway, but they are very expensive to have made, so many cannot afford to buy one! Today, a bunad costs from about 3,000 dollars to 5,000 dollars, + the silver you often have on the bunads. A "Sølje" can quickly cost upwards of 600 to 900 dollars, and there are often several "søljes" on several bunads, The knife that the guys often have, quickly costs 120-180 dollars alone.

Some bunads are inherited from grandparents or parents. Some gets their bunad when they have the "confirmation", a church celebration of a teenager who's about to be adult. Then there's people all over the country that are sewing and embrodering them. It's as expensive as $2k and up. If you have a bunad, then you have your suit for special ocations. Like May17th, a wedding, at the castle if the King invites you etc....

What you call a "modern" type bunad, is a cape draping over the shoulders. And by that, covering the upper part of the bunad, but keeping the girl warm. In Norway the weather can be cold on may 17 😉🇧🇻 some places it even snows. Most dresses are made of wool, but the shirts are mostly made of linen.

As a person that made my own bunad, I get why they are so expensive. I spent almost two years making it. I made the Rogalandsbunad with the løland pattern.

Can I just say how much I appreciate your positive attitude towards our little country. I am so glad that I randomly found this channel. I hope you one day get the chance to visit. Greetings from a proud and grateful Norwegian :)

The jewellery for the Bunad is called Sølje, and there are so many versions, each specific for the region and the type of bunad it is to be worn with. The Sølje is often inherited from parents to children or given as a gift when someone is baptized or at the confirmation later in life. There are often several versions of Bunad, one for special occassions, one for daily use or even work, as bunads originally were what people wore everyday. These days you wouldnt use your bunad for work, only for special occassions since they are very expensive, even the simpler versions. The bunad police is more of a joke really, it just shows that there are unwritten rules, like mentioned, no sunglasses, no heavy makeup or jewellery not made for the bunad. Do not mix elements from different bunads, that is a great no-no! These days we even have umbrellas with the pattern of different bunads on it. There are also special shoes made for the bunads, complete with silver and most people take great pride in their bunads. They show where your family comes from. Some inherit their bunad from family which has outgrown them or gifted them away but many do also buy one or have family members who are capable of making one. But the rules are strict, not everyone is capable of doing it right. We have a shop called husfliden (home craft) which sells bunads and other hand made things. A bunad is something meant to last for a lifetime and yes, many do get married wearing their bunad. There are also so called "fest drakter" which looks like bunads but arent real ones, they just look very pretty but have no connection to any specific part of the country and the designs can be based on very non traditional cloth and patterns. They can be an alternative for people who either doesnt want to spend lots of money on a dress or simply doesnt want follow tradition. Many kids wear fest drakter since they usually get a bunad later in life and kids being kids there are bound to be some dirt involved, which a real bunad wouldnt really be made to endure.

Bunad seamstress here 👋 I mostly do the assembly and fittings. One very important and fascinating part of bunad culture, is that in the different bunader there are several traditional and sometimes endangered hand craft techniques that are passed on and kept alive largely through bunad production! Embroidery, knitting, fabric and ribbon weaving, lacemaking, beadwork, braiding, silversmithing leatherwork and so on. We often encourage crafty customers to do parts of this themselves, or for a loved one, for a personal touch. Traditionally, some accessories may even be given as lover's gifts by suitors 🥰

It's really cool that all around Europe we have different but similar-looking traditional outfits like these!

My mum made and embroidered her bunad herself. She wore it for her wedding day, I've borrowed it for a few occasions and it was then gifted to her grand child.

Folk costumes, both in Norway and Sweden, signal from which part of the country, even which village, one comes from. Same with the Scottish kilts; they show which Scottish family one belongs to. Dear Tyler. It is always a pleasure to listen to you. Greetings from Gothenburg, Sweden. :)

I would like to add that Norway has an indiginous people, the Sami, that have their own dress called the Gakti in Sami. The Gakti is also very expensive to make, and it takes a long time for a skilled person to make one. The jewlery that goes with it are similar to that of the Bunad. I have two different Gakti's that my mother made for me. They are both typical of different regions of the northernmost part of Norway where I live. The Gakti is, as the Bunad, used only on special occations.

So, the Budnad existed before the romanticism and has been around for a long time. It's essentially just the "Sunday cloths"/nice cloths that existed at the time. It's just that during the romanticism we started thinking about it as uniquely ours.

We have tailors that make them. They make them personalised, measure your body and all. Most families pass them on to their sons, daughters, and eventually they end up with the grandchildren and down the line. They are insanely expensive, they can range anywhere from 2,5k-5k (and probably more), so they are considered valuable assets as well.

Bunads are very expensive with handmade embroidery, gold and silver jewelry, and so forth. They are also usually tailor-made from the best quality materials. But you have a garment for life. If you have a bunad, you never need to worry about what to wear for important days. And yes, some people even get married in bunads.

When it get's closer to christmas, you should check out norwegian christmas tradiotions and maybe some christmas songs! :D If you're interested

So the Bunad is a pretty interesting concept, and one that is deeply tied to our own history and to the history of Europe as a whole. As after "Napoleonic wars"(1803-1815) there was a blossoming of interest and focus in the concept of "Volksgeist"(or "spirit of the people"), that was a philosophy that every country, and region of Europe had its own cultural "spirit/energy/identity". This in turn lead into the "Romantic nationalism", wich was an influential cultural movement across most of Europe. And because of our own growing independence movement and Norway having to redefine itself as its own nation after hundreds of years under either Danish and/or Swedish rule, became very influential here. And in most ways, lay the groundwork for our modern cultural view of ourselves. So from the then "folk costumes" of various vallyes, towns and villages, we created the proto-bunads. Clothes that took inspiration from local custom dress/folk dress and made it into a festive and more ceremonial dress instead. This has continued into modern day, were new bunad patterns are created even today. So for the average Norwegian, the Bunad is a celebration and symbol of our own distinct cultural identity and our sovereignty/independence as a nation. *It is interesting to note that we today see a budding new revival of some kind of "Romantic nationalism" in Europe, as a counter cultural force to American cultural influence and the EU's globalist and "universal citizen" ideology. And that this push and pull between "forced unification/homogenuity" vs "cultural/political (national)individuality" is something that has defined European history for thousands of years. And likely will for hundreds if not thousands more.

Norwegians only use "bunad" on certain occasions like "17-mai", certain parties, some weddings, and special events. A bunad is very expensive. It depends on the quality of the bunad, if its handmade or factory made. A good bunad can cost between 3-8 thousand us dollars. I don't have a bunad. Farmers usually have a bunad.

Hi Tyler, my wife is making and selling bunads (Norway have shops that sells these, but a lot of them I created by “amateurs”), where she uses several friends to make parts, some make the belt, some embroider one piece, some another, and then my wife collects everything, an mount the whole bunad. This usually takes several months before it’s done, and when it’s done, the person comes to try it, and after a few adjustments, it gets collected. It’s very expensive as well, you must pay around 20000-30000 NOK 😊

My grandmother made my Hardanger bunad. She made them all that I wore as a child to grownup. A lot of work. 🇳🇴🙂