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The Norwegian National Costume- A Living Tradition
January 26, 2019 @ 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
FreeThe origins of bunad tradition in Norway are many. Some bunad designs have historical affiliations to what kind of fabrics and materials that were available at the time, while others are composed based on findings from ancient textiles. But before the bunad came the” folkdrakt” or folk dress worn by the people in the rural areas of Norway. The National Institute of Bunad and Folk Costume in Fagerness, Norway, defines the change from folk costume to bunad as the following: “the clothes worn by the rural farmer population in pre-industrial Norway are the folk costumes or folk dresses. These clothes were the results of tradition, external influence, local ethnicity and individual taste, and different from the habits in rural areas.”
This presentation will explore the evolution from folk dress to bunad and moving forward into what is considered to be a “bunad” as worn and cherished today by Norwegians in the home country and the United States.
Marg Listug, our presenter and manager at Livsreise, has a B.S. in Textiles and Clothing from the University of Wisconsin. She has been sewing since she was a small girl and after moving to Stoughton in 1973 she became interested in bunads and in learning more about all aspects of Norwegian culture and history. Both grandparents on her mother’s side came to American in the early 1900’s as immigrants from Norway. In 1986 with the help of Marion Keebaugh, who taught classes through Madison College, she finished her first bunad. She has been making bunads ever since and has taken several textile study tours to Norway to learn more about the history and specialized techniques needed to make and alter these garments. She also assists the Stoughton Norwegian Dancers to be sure all the ladies look great in the wide variety of bunads from all areas of Norway they wear for the performances.