The Bunad — Norway’s Traditional Folk Costume — The Spur Trail

What Is A Norwegian Bunad?

Simply put, the Norwegian Bunad is a folk costume based on traditional rural clothing and 20th-century folk costumes.

But what makes the bunad so special? How come you don’t see them every day on the streets of Oslo? Are only women allowed to wear a bunad? Where can I get one for myself? How do you put one on?!?

These are the questions I will hope to answer for you, along with photographs and stories from my travels to southern Norway in 2019 where I was fortunate enough to witness some of the dress in the wild. I learned about the process of putting one on, found them at a small family gathering, and witnessed them in full form on the 17th of May, Norway’s Constitution Day.

Not An Ancient Tradition

The roots for this traditional dress stem back to Norwegian national romanticism, a time when Norwegians were making a concerted effort to remember and unify their own identity. It was a time of finding the everyday items, the stories, the buildings, and eventually the clothing that made them unique. These pieces…