Skovshoved, Zealand
Of all of Denmark's regional costumes, the one that survived the longest in ordinary everyday use was the woodland costume from the small fishing village of Skovshoved on Zealand. Remarkably, it was still worn into the 1960s by women who sold fish at the Copenhagen fishmarket on Gammelstrand.
Woodland Costume of Skovshoved
This enduring costume consisted of:
a. Skirt: a moss-green cotton skirt over a woolen petticoat.
b. Skirt Edge: The bottom edge of the skirt displayed whether a woman was married or not. If unmarried, it would have a plain red edge. If married, the red edge would have embroidery on it of small white and green triangles (see above). Alternatively, according to the National Museum's Esther Grølsted, married women had a dark blue edge instead of red.
c. Blouse: made of blue cotton with white dots.
d. Apron: blue-and-white checked apron with long ties that crossed at the back and tied at the stomach.
e. Scarf: white shoulder scarf with small flowers on it.
f. Headdress: white canvas headdress with a lace edge over a piece of stiff cardboard.
g. Basket: wicker basket, woven from Spanish cane, in which she carried her husband's nightly catch of fish to sell around the neighborhood of Skovshoved or at the Copenhagen fishmarket. The basket was supported by a short stick she held under her arm.
h. Stockings: footless stockings (they carried their shoes to save from having to replace expensive footwear).
Skovshoved Costume 1890-1900
from "Folkedragter i Danmark" by Ellen Andersen, 1952
Image Credit: Getty Images
(for non-commercial use)
1946: Copenhagen Outdoor Fish Market on Gammel Strand, Copenhagen. Visible here is the distinctive and enduring costume of the Skovshoved "fishwife" with characteristic moss-green cotton skirt and distinctive white headgear. Note that they are standing in front of the Fishwife Statue. This outdoor fish market endured until 1958.
In 1979, the predecessor organization to the Danish Folk Costume Society put on an exhibition, displaying the finest example of the Skovshoved costume.
Image credit: Folkedragt.dk
Image Credit: Sæby Folkedanserforening
Image Credit: Sæby Folkedanserforening
Skovshoved costume at National Museum
Machine colorized photo from the Henry Hutchinson book "The Living Races of Mankind, Vol.2," 1901
Image Credit: Alamy
Skovshoved costume
from "Danske Nationaldragter," 3rd Ed. (1915)
by F.C. Lund with illustrations by Luplau Janssen
Skovshoved's woodland costume is the only one in which the wearer is occasionally depicted barefoot. This appears to originate from the women being rather poor, and they would reportedly take off their shoes to save them from wear and tear.
Skovshoved costume
from "Danske Nationaldragter," 3rd Ed. (1915)
by F.C. Lund with illustrations by Luplau Janssen
Skovshoved costume 1920
Image credit: Nationalmuseet
