The male Bunad from Romerike was designed by Åsmund Svinndal in cooperation with Heimen Husflid in Oslo. The production began in 1952, and it is based on a vest and shirt found in Nannestad Municipality along with a painting found in Aurskog from around 1810. The remaining pieces are composed from traditional clothing customs in the Romerike area.

The jacket, also known as kjole or råkk, is based on the rococo fashion called ‘just au corpus’. The painting from Aurskog creates the basis of the jacket, along with custom clothing descriptions from the early 1800s. The jacket is made of white wadmal and is cut exactly ten centimeters above the knee. It is a single-breasted with five buttons in silver or pewter, and has five blind buttonholes on the opposite side. These are sewn with red thread. According to traditional costumes from Romerike, one could recognize the geographical affiliation through the colors in the buttonholes.

The vest is based on a traditional man vest in late Empire style from the Elton area in Nannestad. It originates from a younger clothing custom, from when the jackets were shorter and had long joints at the back. The original vest is made from cotton with vertical silk stripes. Today it is woven in dark blue wool with stripes of mercerized cotton. The stripes are yellow, burgundy, white and gray. In front there are two pockets and five buttons in silver or pewter.

The male Bunad from Romerike consists of black knee-length pants. In front, it has a wide flap with buttons. Alongside the knee, a slit is closed with buttons and a buckle.

A shirt from Nannestad was among the textiles that were discovered and registered in the 1930s. Today’s shirt is an exact copy of this made from woven linen with white embroidery on the collar and cuffs.

There is no traditional headgear to this Bunad, but the painting from 1810 shows a man in a red hat with a blue border. Today, most men wear a black, wide-brimmed hat.

Originally, the Bunad was launched with blue stockings, like the man in the painting, but eventually they changed into white stockings. They are knitted in a pattern called ‘havskum’ (sea-foam), a traditional knitting pattern from Eidsvoll. On top, the stockings are decorated with braided ribbons in different colors.

Compared to the documented textile traditions from Romerike, the silver traditions are much more documented. The buttons on the vest, pants and jacket comes in different styles: Some are exact copies from old buttons and has a floral motif on front. Others are based on elements from the female Bunad from Romerike so that today there are also buttons decorated with the King Christian VII monogram.

Oral sources have said that the male Bunad from Romerike was inspired by the National Assembly (Eidsvollmennene) who wrote and signed the Norwegian constitution in 1814 (See picture above). This is especially visible in the design of the jacket with its long cuts and stiff collar.

Text by: Anette Broteng Christiansen

Photos: On top: Bunadrosen, below: Eidsvoll 1814

Source: Norsk Bunadleksikon (Norwegian Bunad Encyclopedia)

Categories: Bunad, Culture