Costume of Volendam, North Holland, The Netherlands

 Hello All,


I want to cover all of Europe eventually, and i thought i would talk about the Netherlands today. Many people think of the Volendam costume when they think about Holland or the Netherlands. This is the costume which is replicated on all kinds of labels under 'Dutch Maid', with the peaked and winged cap. In fact, the costume is only worn in the one village of Volendam, and is not representative or typical of the Netherlands as a whole. Nonetheless, it is very famous, for reasons which are unknown to me, and so i will adress it first.

 

Volendam is in the province of North Holland, on the west coast of the [former?] Zuidersee. It is one of a handful of towns and villages in the Netherlands where the folk costume is still a living tradition with some people. You can see it here on this map.

 There are three variants of the costume, which is why you may have wondered why different images did not look the same. There is the everyday costume, and the young girl's costume which resembles it, the Sunday go to Market costume, and the costume for special occasions, which is the one you most often see these days. I will start with a description of the last one, which is called the 'Bruiloftsgast' or 'Wedding Guest' costume. The foundation is a chemise, which has no sleeves, and a petticoat. The traditional costume is about ankle length. The chemise does not show when the costume is completed. Over the chemise is worn a 'kraplap', also called 'koplap' ' kralap' or 'kroplap', a type of double bib, similar to the overcollar found in some German costumes. It fastens at the neck and is secured on the bottom by ribbons on the front panel which thread through loops attached to the back panel. The kraplap is found in many Dutch costumes, and is often decorated. Mevrouw Kil will be showing us how to put on the costume.

Here are a couple of kraplaps from the early 1900's. These are made from printed cloth. I suspect that earlier they were embroidered, but i have no actual confirmation of that. An equivalant piece of the costume is still embroidered in Walcheren and Urk, and covered in beadwork in Axel, but made of a simple piece of printed cloth in Marken and elsewhere.

They are made in two pieces, front and back, one shoulder is sewn closed, and the other has a fastening. There is a piece of ribbon or lace around the neck opening. Today, the kraplap usually has a design of machine-embroidered satin stitch flowers, usually roses. Here is an example of a contemporary kraplap.

Around 1930 a family named Tol developed a way to mechanically spray paint Rose designs on a silk background using a series of templates This appears to be the precourser to the machine embroidered ones of today.

Here is an old photo of a girl with a nice smile, and no roses on her kraplap, but what look like embroidered flowers.

Here are some examples of the more common contemporary kraplaps. 

Kraplaps made of printed material are also still worn.

When dressing up, an 'Edelkraal' is placed around the neck, made of several strands of coral beads and an ornamental buckle. You can see this on several of the images.

 The skirt is then put on, the white and red striped skirt for the 'Wedding Guest' costume, otherwise a long full skirt in a plain dark color, most commonly black or navy. The women in Marken, just a few kilometers away, wear a very similar striped skirt, but always under the topskirt. They make fun of Volendamers for walking around in their 'underwear'. Over this is put on the 'kletje', a blouse or jacket of black wool with a bit of a peplum in back, and a couple of wide lappets in front. It has a square-cut neckline both front and back, which are edged with trim. The front closes with hooks. Here is Mevrouw Kil again.

Here is a back view of the kletje being worn, showing the embroidery on the kraplap.

Then the apron is put on over the kletje.The apron should be long and full. You can see cheap versions which are sometimes not made long or full enough. The apron has a tie which is usually made of an ornamentally woven band. For the 'Wedding Guest' costume, the apron is black, or perhaps another dark color, and the top part of the apron matches the kraplap. whether embroidered as here,

Or made of printed material.

When worn properly, the 'Wedding Guest' costume incudes a white kerchief worn over the shoulders and tucked into the front neckline of the kletje. Mevrouw Kil shows us how it should look.

For the Sunday and Market-day costumes, they wear a dark or black skirt, a striped apron, and a scarf woven or knitted from colorful yarn instead of the white kerchief.

The Market day apron is often decorated over the gathers at the top with colorful smocking.

The every day costume consists of a shirt made of printed cloth, consisting of small motifs set in lines, and a simple apron. The high lace cap is not worn, but the black undercap is.

 

I do not have the cut of this shirt , but the pictures seem to show the cloth set in horizontally around the waist, and gathers or tucks on the front. 

Rules, are of course, made to be broken. Some women like the everyday shirt so much they wear it with their market day costume, sometimes with the full lace cap. When it starts to show signs of wear, then it becomes an everyday shirt.

This woman is obviously on her way to market.

 

She is wearing a fancy purse hanging from her apron strings. I have not seen this anywhere else. More commonly, Dutch women wear a cloth pocket under the apron, very similar to the ones i describe in the Provencal costume. In Dutch they are called zijzak. Here is one nicely embroidered zijzak from Volendam.

 

The famous peaked lace caps are supported by the black undercaps.

The caps themselves are made of two symmetrical pieces for the body of the cap, derived from the round back of the standard bonnet, and two wings, derived from the rectangular piece that makes up the top and sides of a bonnet. I do not have an exact cut, but the good ones are made of very fine and beautifully made lace, and the wings are gathered and pleated to shape. There are some spectacular examples above, as well.

This high peaked cap is a relatively modern innovation, from around the turn of the 20th cent, in much the same way as the lace cap of Bigouden, in Brittany. Here is a famous painting of the Volendam costume made in 1865, showing a much more modest cap, albeit with similar wings. No other Dutch costume has a similar cap, although some are just as impressive.

You can see that she is wearing black leather shoes with silver buckles. The famous wooden shoes are indeed worn, but not to Church, and not inside the house. They are very practical in mud, sand, and doing dirty work outside. Also some dances rely on the clomp and clatter they make. If you wish to purchase some, get them one or two sizes too large, as you will need a couple pairs of thick socks and/or a sheepskin pad over the top of your instep and the top front edge to be able to wear them with any comfort.
One last variant is the girl's costume, which resembles the everyday costume, but has a matching rather plain blouse and skirt.

I hope that you have found this interesting. Maybe you will be able to get to Volendam and have your picture taken posing in this famous costume.

One more image of Volendam ladies with very impressive high lace caps and smocking on their aprons.

And two last saucy prints from Gardilanne and Moffat.

 

There are several sites online which make costumes.

Here is a website from which you can order Dutch costumes out of Orange city, Iowa. 
http://www.octulipfestival.com/history-heritage/dutch-costumes/ 


Here is another one, This one offers kits, patterns, and Dutch fabrics, but their costumes are simplified.
http://www.fieldsfabricsonline.com/Dutch_c_272.htmlhttp://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=5790425923241370525&postID=908598908426786324


Another website out of Holland, Michigan
http://www.tuliptime.com/dutch-dance-costumes/

And a very wonderful website from the fabulous OpenAir Museum in the Netherlands.
http://www.openluchtmuseum.nl/index.php?pid=372&sub=5 

Here is a video showing some Voledam girls and one Marken girl in a Bulgarian line dance at some festival.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m2PGlFKTj8 

Here is a Dutch dance showing several of the better known costumes, including a couple of ladies in the Volendam. Unfortunately, much of the Dutch dance tradition that was mentioned in historical records has disappeared due to the influence of Calvinism.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNmpkeY41xA&feature=related 

Feel free to contact me with requests for research. I hope to eventually cover all of Europe and the Former Russian Empire/Soviet Union. I also gratefully accept tips on source materials which i may not have. I also accept commissions to research/design, sew, and/or embroider costumes or other items for groups or individuals. I also choreograph and teach folk dance.

Roman K.

Rkozakand@aol.com

Source Material:

A. Groen, 'Dutch Costumes', Elmar, B V, the Netherlands

Constance Neuwhoff, 'Klederdrachten', Amsterdam, 1976

Jackie Craver and Phyllis Zylstra, 'Dutch Costumes, a Look into the Past', Pella, Iowa, 2007

 Elsa M Valeton, 'Niederlandischer Trachten', Amsterdam, after 1959

E. Van der Ven-Ten  Bensel, 'Dances of the Netherlands', New York, 1949

Gardilanne and Moffat, 'National Costumes of Holland',  year unknown

Costume of Pont-Aven and vicinity, Bro-Gernev or Cornouialle, Brittany

 Hello all,


Today I will talk about another costume which was acquired by my friend Joan. The costume is commonly known as Giz-Foen [or Giz-Fouen]. It is also known as the costume of the regions of Fouesnant, Rosporden, Concarneau, or Pont-Aven. In fact, it is found in all of these, and over a relatively large area along the coast of the southeast corner of the province of Bro-Gernev, or Cornouialle, Brittany, as far north as Elliant. [But is not found in the communities of Moelan on the sea or Clohars Carnoet, in the extreme southeast corner.] Here is a map of Lower Brittany with the subject area shown in red. Below is a map showing the province of Cornouialle in the context of all Brittany.

 
 Brittany, or Little Britain, was settled by people from the southwest of the Island of Great Britain, who were driven out of their homeland by the invading English, [Anglo-Saxons]. The province of Kernev [in Breton] or Cornouialle [in French] is named after their homeland in Britain, Kornog or Cornwall, just as the next province to the east, Bro-Wened, or Vannes, is named after Gwynedd.They brought their language with them, and it is still spoken in Brittany today, being closely related to both Cornish and Welsh. On the map above, you can see the black and white flag of Brittany, and the flag of Kernev (Gernev)or Cornouaille with the white ram on blue.
For more information on Brittany, see this article.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brittany

Brittany, especially the western part, has a very rich history of folk costumes. This is one of the better known ones, with its elaborate coif. I found the costume on auction from an Estate Sale, among a lot of stage costumes, and i was able to buy it quite cheaply, as noone knew what it was. My Friend Joan, for whom i more recently made a Provencal costume, was very happy to acquire it.  Here is the costume as we received it. Below that is a photo of Joan  wearing it, along with myself in an Indian Kurta, Jennifer in her Hungarian, from the Great Plain, and Rita in her Goral.

Since Pont-Aven, one of the villages where this costume is worn, has a long history of hosting famous artists, this costume has been well documented in art. Here is a painting by Gaugin from his time there of the innkeeper where he stayed, Madame Angele Satre, followed by a sketch from François-Hippolyte Lalaisse

Here is a photo showing a more contemporary version of this costume.

The base of the garment is a chemise, which does not show, except for some lace on the ends of the sleeves. Over this is a full petticoat, or more than one. Then there is the famous collerette, which you can see in the above images. This is attached to a sort of dickey, which hangs over the torso front and back, I think it was originally secured by ribbons, as similar garments in Dutch and German costumes are, we pinned it to the waistband of the petticoat.. The collar itself is very wide, and has lace attached to the front edges. The top edge of the front overlapping pieces is also decorated with lace.
The rest of the collar is goffered, like the ruffed collars in Elizabethan costume, but each curl is much smaller. These are made by gathering the collar material into a neckband. Then for each curve, a straw is placed either on the top or bottom, the cloth is wrapped around it, and then the whole thing is starched and ironed to keep the ruffle. [Needless to say, she has not washed it since she acquired it.] 

 

The effect is quite  stunning, especially when considers the amount of work it takes to make and set.

In some variants of the costume, the collarette has quite a curve to it. I do not understand how this is achieved, but it is impressive.

 Over the collarette, a 'jacket' of heavy wool is worn, called blouse or gilet. It opens down the front, the two sides overlap, and the neckline is cut square and edged with ribbon, trim, and/or rows of embroidery. This is pinned closed. It also has matching rows of ornament on the ends of the sleeves. Lace may be added, or the lace may be attached to the ends of the sleeves of the chemise. 

Over the blouse, or gilet, a vest or bodice is worn. It is made of the same heavy wool. It has armholes  cut large in back, and it is laced tightly in front. It is again decorated with matching ornament around the armholes, the neck, and the front edge. 

Here is a woman wearing an older form of the costume. You can see rows of embroidery between the rows of sewn on trim and ribbon.

In the photo of the rear of the vest above, you will notice a sort of padded 'shelf' on the lower back. A full skirt of the same wool is worn over the bodice, and this helps hold it in place. The hem of the skirt is ornamented in the same way as the blouse and the bodice.  The length of the hem varies.

 Over all of this, an apron is worn. Occasionally you will see one that hangs from the waist.





But most commonly, there is a triangular bib attached to the top, which is pinned to the bodice. In England, this was called a 'pin-afore'. It is usually white, off white, or blue, and often trimmed with lace. The length of the apron also varies. It is unfortunately sometimes made of satin today.

Open-work gloves, 'mitaines', and black velvet ribbons around the neck elegantly accessorize the outfit. The ribbons sometimes have sequins attached, and often support crosses.

What truly sets this costume apart, as is so often the case, is the unique coif. While at first glance it may appear to be bizarre and rather inexplicable, consisting of a pillbox with one or two wide strips of lace attached, in fact it developed from the standard mob cap with long side lappets.

If you look at the painting by Sartre above, you will see an  early form of this cap. Here is a woman wearing the old-style cap of Pont-Aven that he painted.

And here is the cap as worn in Pont-Aven today.

The hair is gathered up into a bun on top of the head, or more likely, braided and then pinned up, as in Arles. The cap is then fitted on top of the hair. You may have noticed that there are variations on this basic coif. For example, in Pont-Aven, there is one strip of lace. In Concarneau and some other communities, they have two, like this.  Joan bought her coif seperately, on French Ebay, and it is closer to the Concarneau style.

In fact, because this basic coif is worn in so many communities, several variations have developed.

And that covers the Pont-Aven costume. However, there is in fact another variant, which reflects something that is often seen in the historical development of folk costume. In some communities where they wear this costume, the women at a certain point looked at it and muttered something under their breath probably best not recorded for history. They then decided to simplify. They took the blouse, vest, and skirt and made it all in one piece, thus creating a dress in the modern sense. This has become the costume of these communities, and is still worn with the collarette, coif and apron. It is often of velvet or a rich dark fabric, and an entirely different type of embroidery, often including beadwork has developed for this dress. 

Some of these communities include Quimperle,

Querrien,

Benodet,

and Tremeven. This is the same woman photographed in 1913 and 1915. One could wish to see her embroidery more clearly.

 Thank you for reading, i hope you have found this interesting and perhaps inspiring.
I will close with just a couple more images which i found on the internet, and one of Joan wearing her costume.

Just a couple of videos to show the costume, and let you experience Breton Music. The music is clearly of the Celtic Tradition. 

This is a group of people doing An Dro, one of the commonest dances of Brittany. Every town does it a little differently. This is how it should be done, in one long line with everybody. This is from a festival, a fest noz, in Riec The costumes are very visible. They are accompanied by a pipe and drum corps.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4D2BngPIS4&feature=related

This is a gavotte in the style of Fisel, extensively choreographed for the stage. The music is very good, being a form of Mouth-Music in call and response.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGF8IwhojRA&feature=related


 And another group doing An Dro.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdSIbI5QWJM&feature=related

Feel free to contact me with requests for research. I hope to eventually cover all of Europe and the Former Russian Empire/Soviet Union. I also gratefully accept tips on source materials which i may not have. I also accept commissions to research/design, sew, and/or embroider costumes or other items for groups or individuals. I also choreograph and teach folk dance.

Roman K.

Rkozakand@aol.com

Source Material:
Joseph Jigourel - Yanna Fournier, 'Costumes de Bretagne', Brest, 2000
Pierre Jakez Helias, 'Coiffes et Costumes de Bretagne', 1983
Bruno Helias, 'Breton Costumes', Florence, Italy, 1997
V. Hetet-Roudaut et al, 'La Broderie en Bretagne', Morlaix, 1989
Andre Sainsard, 'Costumes Folkloriques Provinces Françaises', Paris, 1972
Royere, Gardilanne, Moffat et al, 'Les Costumes Regionaux de la France', New York, 1929
Charles-Brun, 'Costumes des Provinces Françaises', Paris, 1937
P. Leroux, 'Costumes Regionaux', Paris, 1940