Norwegian Bride Close-up of 1883 Bodice

This 1883 antique photo shows a close-up of the bride Malene wearing what looks like a European style of jacket. The skirt appears to flow dirndl fashion rather than bustle panelled. However, her costume has styling elements suggestive of the Scandinavian region.

The decorative elements on the jacket remind me of similar pattern grids used by peasants throughout Europe. Norway, Shetland, Fair Isle, the Balkans, Ukraine and Finland all have traditional knitwear and embroidery featuring related motifs.

My lack of expertise in the field of Norwegian folk dress means I cannot tell if the ornamentation is part of the jacket or a separate ornament.

I suspect it is a huge ornamental detachable metal collar much like mayoral neckwear, or a small detachable shawl collar cape embedded with disc like metal brooches, since it does appear that Malene is wearing a traditional bunad blouse visible at the neckline beneath her jacket. After all, this was a winter wedding in January, and the weather at this latitude may well have demanded a heavy jacket, so it would be natural to cover up a thinner blouse.

A similar Bergen styled outfit immediate right was shown at the International Exhibition/Great London Exposition of 1862. The exposition featured over 28,000 exhibitors from 36 countries and was held just a decade after the very successful Great Exhibition of 1851, also at Kensington, London.

The Norwegian court sent on the jacket remind mea they wanted to show the splendour of wedding attire of their peoples. This drawing is of the peasant bride representation from the exhibition, and shows how a Bergen bride might look when dressed for her nuptials.

Notice how the bodice decoration of the 1862 image right is more in line with the bodice of the costume in the old photograph shown above, than the drawing of 50 years later shown below. Similar bridal decorations are on display in a Copenhagen museum.