Dutch Women in Traditional Dress Shopping At the Fair

Skinny Old Dutch Woman

The original Dutch caption reads “Een mager oudje” which Google Translate says means “A Skinny Old Woman”.   I am not sure if the picture is labeled correctly because this person does not look like a woman to me.  The sign on the building in the background translates as  Edek Music and Art Trade.

Young Dutch Peasant Girl

Above is a picture of a young peasant girl taken in 1906.   Although she is a member of the working class, the girl is well dressed in a traditional Dutch costume.  Her head is covered by a bonnet and she is carrying a large woven basket which is tied to what looks like a halter around her neck, presumably to help her carry the heavy load more easily.   The basket is empty so it is difficult to tell what she would normally have carried, but she likely would have used the basket to carry goods to market or to bring food home.

Draw Bridge - Holland, 1906

In this picture several Dutch men and women wait while a draw bridge is raised to allow a sailing ship to travel down a canal. It is interesting to note that the road appears to be made of cobblestone and that the people waiting are all pedestrians.  There are no cars or carriages waiting to cross the draw bridge.

Dutch Housewives Out Shopping

Dutch Housewives Buying from a Street Vendor

Chatting on a Wet Street in Holland, 1906

In this picture a married couple is chatting with an old man on a rain soaked cobblestone street. The original caption for this photograph reads “Conferentie over de dikte van de bieten.” which Google translates as “Conference over the thickness of the beat.”   I am assuming that this is some sort of Dutch figure of speech for gossiping.

Horse Drawn Cart

Two men are riding in a horse drawn cart down a cobblestone street in Holland.

A Train

I think that this picture is of a man and a woman standing next to a train carriage.

A Grandfather and His Grandson

A Dutch grandfather and his grandson walk down a cobblestone street. They look very stylish – the man is wearing a top hat and has a walking stick; the boy is wearing a suit.   I wonder where they were going that day in 1906.

The Bridge Master

A bridge master, whose job it was to raise and lower the draw bridge to let ships and traffic pass through the canal, keeps watch.

Gossip Girls

The innkeeper’s daughters gossiping with a neighbor girl over the fence.

A Load of Hay

A cart full of hay is being drawn by two strong work horses.   Note the extremely narrow lane.

Dutch Boy and Girl

Dutch Farm Children

Dutch Girls Doing Traditional Dutch Dance by the Seashore

Lost in Thought

A Dutch man stands by the seashore looking out to sea.  Note the traditional wooden clog shoes that he is wearing.

Holland - Sheep Grazing on a Canal

In this picture a Dutch shepherd and his sheepdog are grazing a flock of sheep on the banks of canal.  Notice the stereotypical Dutch windmill in the background.

Man With Horse

A pipe smoking man stands next to his horse.  The man is wearing clog shoes which probably are not the best suited for riding.

Windmill

A large windmill in Holland,  located on the Wemeldinge dike.

Two men look out to sea on the west coast of Holland. They are wearing Dutch clogs. The wooden stakes are to prevent erosion.

Dutch boys wearing clogs march down a quiet cobblestone street. Their clogs must have made quite the racket.

Traditional Dutch Dancing. Boys and Girls dance with clogs.

Dutch Girls Perform a Traditional Dance Around a Pole. Is this related to the May Pole?

Wash Day in Volendam, Holland (1906)

The Dutch Village of Volendam, in 1906.

Women Working and Caring for Children - Holland, 1906

A Young Mother

Fisherman Wearing Baggy Pants. Holland, 1906

Two Old Men Hanging Out

Two Dutch Children

A Washerwoman Putting the Clothes Out to Dry

Dutch Girls Skipping Along

A Shy Boy and Girl

This brings us to the end of our journey back in time to 1906 Holland.

Traditional Dutch Dress

Not long ago clothing was based on local traditions and customs. There were no national brands or fashions. The clothing that one wore reflected the culture of the place: their village, their region.

While there may have been less individuality within any given group, there was more diversity between nations and regions; each area had its own costume.

The following is a collection of traditional Dutch costumes, showing the regional differences between different parts of this small country. The photos were taken in 1916 and the photographer pointed out that

The individuals pictured are not dressed extras, but the actual and usual wearers of their costumes, so these images, therefore offer an authentic  impression of the national dress.

The first set of pictures document the national dress worn by the inhabitants of North Holland. There were three main areas of cultural dress. There were:  Marken and Volendam, West Friesland, and the Gooi.

A woman from Marken Island, North Holland, wearing traditional costume. The elaborate breast plate is called "construction".

Woman in Full Costume

Wedding Dress

The picture above is of a wedding procession on Marken Island. Everyone is wearing traditional dress. This in itself is a sharp contrast to the modern Western practice of the bride wearing a white wedding dress and the groom wearing a tuxedo.  It is hard to imagine but just over a hundred years ago,  what we consider tradition was anything but.

Child's Costume from Marken

Girl's Costume

Sunday Best Clothes: A Man and Woman from Voldam in their Sunday Clothes

Boy and girl of Volendam.

Young Dutch Woman

The picture above is of a young Duct woman from the Voldam area.  She is wearing her Sunday best.

West Friesian Costume: Young Woman Wearing aLace Cap

Older woman from West-Friesland in Holland Hull and boat hat.

The so called “boat hat” was named after its hull-like shape.  Made from very fine straw, this hat was typically worn by peasants. On Sundays the peasants would wear a hat with a white side edge, and if they were in mourning, they would put on a black border.

Two women from the island of Terschelling.

A young man and woman wearing traditional Dutch costume.

Around the House

Man and woman in Laren, (in the Gooi).

Dutch Woman With Square Cap

Two Children in Traditional Dress

Ducth Bride and Groom in Traditional Dress. The top hat seems to be a foreign influence.

Ducth Fisherman and His Wife

Young Ducth girl waring a hat.

Man and Woman

Two young women from Soest wearing square hats.

I hope that these pictures have provided you with a vivid look into the past and a way of life that has been lost to modern consumerism and the global economy: a culture were clothes were unique, prized objects, that confirmed the wearer’s identity and pride in their culture and roots. Think about that the next time you buy a mass produced t-shirt sewn in a sweat shop in some third world country.

For more images like these visit http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20665/20665-h/20665-h.htm