Lögberg-Heimskringla - 28.07.2000, Blaðsíða 22

22 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • Special Issue« Friday 28 July 2000
National Dress
Continued from page 3
century girls wore upphlutur when they
were confirmed. People wore their best
clothing when photographs were taken
and this is supposedly the explanation
that all old pictures show women wear-
ing the sweater ensemble. At the tum of
the nineteenth century the upphlutur
began changing and became more
widespread in the 30s. It is therefore
rightly called a twentieth-century cos-
tume. After the older type of the
upphlutur became more commonly
used it became everyday clothing, but
the sweater ensemble continued to be
wom to church as dress-up.
Originally the shirts were under-
shirts and sewn from homespun wool
fabric or cotton. The shirts with the
twentieth-century upphlutur are made
from lighter material. The upphlutur
has remained little changed. Belts are
used with the modem upphlutur. It is
easy to divide the costumes into nine-
teenth- and twentieth-century wear. In
recent years there has been a growing
interest in the older costumes.
Sigurður Guðmundsson’s costumes
In 1858 Sigurður Guðmundsson,
painter, retumed home from Denmark.
He assisted Icelandic women in creat-
ing a skautbúningur (with veiled head-
wear), which became the most festive
dress for women for half a century. The
older clothing and their use had become
quite varied through changes taking
place with changed living conditions
and foreign influences. The skaut-
búningur and kyrtill (hooded-wear and
gown) have remained unchanged; the
skautbúningur is a remaking of the
older faldbúningur. The skautbúningur
is always black, made from cloth or
silk. Skirt and apron are joined together
as it was on the faldbúningur.
Decorations on the older skirts and
aprons were most often embroidered
Icelandic flower pattems, but on the
skautbúningur it is most commonly
wool or silk decorations. A broach is
used at the neckline. Sigurður encour-
aged the use of the old jewellery belts
which had come to an end in the eigh-
teenth century. The greatest change in
the remaking of the old hooded wear
was the headwear. Sigurður sketched
many patterns for the skautbúningur
and those with Icelandic flowers
became the most popular.
Kyrtill
Sigurður also sketched another
lighter costume, called kyrtill (gown).
He intended the gown to be used for
dances, weddings, and as confirmation
dress. The gown is most often white or
black, but sometimes dark blue or dark
Left: examles o/kyrtill,- right: three girls
green. The headwear from the skaut-
búningur accompanies it. A broach is
also used at the neckline, and a jew-
ellery belt. The gown is either embroi-
dered or decorative ribbons are used.
Sigurður planned to design men’s
wear but he did not live long enough to
do so. Men did not seem as interested in
wearing traditional clothing as women
were. The men’s national wear and their
use had come to an end in the nine-
teenth century.
in twentieth-century upphlutur.
CLEARLY THESE COSTUMES COME OUt
of Icelandic traditions and they can
be grouped according to time periods
when they were used. Therefore they
are all rightly called national costumes.
It is important for every nation to
know and protect their national cloth-
ing. This varies from one nation to
another. As time marches on and people
and traditions move closer, it is even
more important for nations to think
about their own values and not lose
contact with their origin.
Translated from Morgunblaðið

Celebrating 85
years of
continuous care
within the
community
Gleðilega Hátíð
Best wishes for a successful
Islendingadagurinn
From the Residents,
Staff, and the Board of
Directors
BETEL HOME
FOUNDATION
GIMLI
SELKIRK
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