Norwegian Wedding Dresses

My Grandma's family comes from Storebo, a small fishing town in NW Norway. My Mom has recently been emailing me photos of our Norwegian relatives and I am totally floored by the clothes, many, if not all, which were lovingly made by hand, including these highly-detailed wedding dresses.

Andrew and Christi

This is my favorite of the dresses. I love the rumpled look of the silk which I can almost feel in my hand. The wide lapels are amazing too--very simple, almost austere for a wedding dress.

Ole, Andrew, Nettie, and Josefine

Isn't that crown-shaped headdress amazing? Crowns were traditional Scandinavian headware for brides and this looks to me to be a "modern" interpretation of that shape. And look closely at the wicker chair. Those were the golden days of wicker.

Gustav & Bertina

It seems to me that dressmaking was more akin to cake decorating in the Victorian age. Look at the horizontal layers of knife pleats and scallops of lace. Yum.

Peder and Brita

That wicker! That headdress! Again.

Sometime in the 1940's, Uncle Hans Living Room
Spokane, WA

I've included one last photo in lieu of an update showing my relatives after immigrating to the US. Little boys in suspenders and short pants: check. Lace curtains: check. Girls in braids: check. Piano piled high with sheet music: check.