|
|
Nowadays, Dutch
people wear the same sort of clothes that other people in Europe
wear. However, like all older countries, people used to wear clothes
that were different from those worn in other countries. Today
these are called traditional costume, or sometimes national costume,
and are rarely worn regularly. Each area of The Netherlands had
its own costume, so that there are actually many traditional Dutch
costumes.
The most well known
part of the traditional Dutch costume is the wooden clogs. Long
ago, only very rich people could afford leather shoes, and so
ordinary people wore shoes made of wood. The shape of the clogs
was different according to what area of The Netherlands they came
from. Today, some people working in the countryside still wear
them occasionally, as they are cheaper and easier to wear than
gumboots. However, most of the thousands of wooden clogs made
today are sold to tourists wanting a souvenir of their trip to
The Netherlands.
A few people wear
traditional costume regularly, but they are people working in
places where tourists visit. Some old people can sometimes be
seen wearing the traditional costume. On special occasions in
country villages, such as weddings and fairs, some people wear
traditional costumes.
Basically, the traditional
costume for women consisted of a long skirt and a blouse with
an apron and perhaps a shawl or shoulder decorations. Hats varied
according to the area.
There were changes
to the costume for special days and Sundays, such as better fabric,
lace and jewellery. If a woman could afford leather shoes, then
she would wear them with the special costume, and she would wear
the wooden shoes for daily wear.
The costume would vary according to the area: in some places,
the women's skirts would be striped, and they would wear a jacket
with short sleeves and an embroidered scarf at the neck.
Men's
basic traditional costume is generally wide woollen pants with
silver buttons on the front square flap. They would wear a shirt,
jacket and a cap. Again, there were differences according to the
area that the man comes from, particularly in the shape of the
hat.
There is even
a museum of wooden shoes in Amsterdam
http://www.hvanrossum.com/indexen.html
Acknowledge
this source in your bibliography like this:
Sydenham & Thomas, The Netherlands
. [Online] www.kidcyber.com.au (2003)
Back to The Netherlands Index page
updated © [2008] kidcyber