The Rømø everyday costume contains the following elements:

a. Pi: The red skirt and red bodice, both made of scarlet wadmal wool, are sewn together. The combined garment is called a "pi." Occasionally, the bodice would be made of a finer red fabric than the skirt [Dahl, MC, Journal of the Ass'n of Folklore, 1906]. The pleating of the skirt at the rear where it is joined with the bodice is notable for two lumps of pleats.

b. Bodice: The bodice is red, is edged with narrow light green silk ribbons, and is further adorned with large round silver buttons. Arguably, the asymmetrical positioning of these buttons is the costume's most distinctive element. The use of buttons on bodices was common throughout Denmark in the 1600s and early 1700s. Over times, most Danish folk costumes replaced their buttons with hooks or pins (and rarely laces, as in Lolland), while Rømø kept the old tradition of buttons. Per the National Museum's Esther Grølsted, there should be 12 buttons, with only the bottom four buttoned [Thade Petersen, The Costume on Rømø, 1903]. The buttonholes should be green. According to another source, the silver buttons should be on the right side and "usually 6 or 9, rarely 12" and 2cm in diameter. It was fastened with 3 or 4 buttons. [Dahl, 1906].

c. Blouse: A double-breasted, collar-less blouse (ærmer) is worn under the bodice instead of a knitted sweater (nattrøje). The sleeves were fastened at the wrist by two silver buttons smaller than the ones on the bodice. It was made of striped wool or floral calico cotton. For parties, colored silk was used [Dahl, 1906].

d. Scarves: North Frisian-influenced scarves similar to those worn on the nearby island of Fanø. Some scholars write that, unlike Fanø, the head and neck scarves had to be different (Ellen Andersen, Danske Bønders Klædedragt, p.428) while others write that they "do not have to be the same" (Caroline Vester Villumsen). The headscarf was made of cotton while the neckscarf was made of silk or semi-silk (Villumsen). Scarves could be red, green or black and are often striped, checkered or floral. Daily use scarves were made of wool or calico cotton, while silk was used for Sundays. [Dahl, 1906].

     i. Headscarf: Scholar M.C. Dahl's 1906 journal article provides the following detailed description.

          At Home: the headdress (the entire assemblage) consists of two items:

          (a) small cap: covers only the back of the head and the ears, and is held together under the chin with a thin band. Worn together with (b), below, the back of this cap was exposed. Thus, the exposed portion of the cap was often decorated with embroidery or made of brocade.

          (b) forehead piece (pande stykke): dark calico [cotton] or silk is wrapped twice around the head from dop to back and tied at the top. This cloth completely covers the hair and ears, and presses them flat against the head.

          Outside the Home: one of two possible items was worn on top of the "at home" headdress:

          (c) headscarf: triangularly folded, made of either cotton or a silk blend (silk on Sundays). The headscarf is folded to form a wide band with pointed ends. Placed in the middle of the forehead, it was brought behind the neck and then back to the front where it was tied with a double knot. It could be tied so that the hair was visible or instead hidden.

               Colors:

               (i) red-and-blue

               (ii) red-and-white, or

               (iii) light blue-and-dark blue checkered (for mourning)

          (d) flagerhat (or its waxed version, the skog): For working in the fields, homemade hat of cotton-covered cardboard, shaped like a horizontal cylinder. It was slightly wider at the front and had an extension at the back. The skog was for use in rain.

     ii. Neckscarf: The neckscarf was folded into a triangle, then "wound twice around the neck from behind, with the corners tied at the nape of the neck and one triangle of the scarf pinned to the back." [Dahl, 1906].

e. Apron with silver hooks: A variety of apron patterns can be worn (striped or checked). It was made of wool or cotton twill, and the base color was brown or blue. The apron was wide and covered both the front and sides of the skirt. The silver hooks in the rear are characteristic of Rømø. It has two soldered "silver buttons" on the back, which fit into a buttonhole on each side of the apron waistband (essentially, each piece of metal buttons onto the apron waistband).

f. Fick: Optional. A loose pocket tied around the waist and hidden under the apron. Similar to a Swedish or Norwegian veska.

g. Shirt: Underneath the "pi" was a long cotton shirt.

h. Underskirt: Underneath the 'pi,' a 2nd skirt (green) could be worn in cold weather.

i. Stockings: Long stockings were held up with garters.

j. Outerwear: Jacket (formak) of dark green wool.

k. Mourning: In mourning, a dark blue skirt is worn over the "pi," with the red waistline remaining exposed. The apron, blouse and headscarf are then dark blue with light blue stripes. At funerals, the women who had been closest to the deceased wore a mourning cloak. It was a skirt of black wool with many small pleats, and was pulled over their heads.