Fanø Island
Fanø Costumes Overview
Fanø is one of the few places in Denmark where folk clothing was still worn as daily clothing through the 1960s, if only by a few women. The fishing population on Fanø wore costumes that displayed more of a North Frisian influence than the Fanø farmers, particularly through their headcloths. Maritime trade brought wealth to the island, which included silk from Asia. Interestingly, Fanø traded with Siam (Thailand) and Indonesia, while Åbenrå traded with China. Learn more at the Fanø Ship and Costume Museum.
Modern Day Fanø Festivals
In modern times, there are two annual festivals on Fanø where harvest costumes, party costumes and bridal costumes are worn by about 200 people:
a. Fanniker Days in Nordby (2nd weekend in July), and
b. Sønderho Day in Sønderho (3rd Sunday in July). Learn more at the Old Sønderho Foundation, and even rent a costume!
The popular traditional folk dance of Fanø, the Sønderhoning, is danced at these festivals.
Fanø Costume Varieties - Women
a. Christian Bag - used for infants (both male and female). It is splendidly decorated with metal lace and silk ribbons, while the child wears a hat.
b. Children's Suit -
i. Until Age 7 - Red skirt only. Cotton neck scarf. No headscarf; instead a velvet hat with a colored silk ribbon.
ii. Between age 7 and confirmation (typically age 15) - Green or red skirt. At age 7 the girls start to wear the North Frisian headscarves (cotton or silk) for which the island is so famous.
c. Confirmation Suit - Confirmation occurs around age 15.
i. Black blouse (silk or velvet) with silver buttons
ii. Apron - black silk or wool
iii. Belt - black velvet with silver buckle
iv. Hat - black velvet with black embossed velvet ribbons and a lace border underneath
v. Ribbons on blouse - star pattern, often purple
vi. Neck scarf - black and white silk
d. Wedding Dress and Bridesmaid Costumes - unique headgear. See description below.
e. Baptism Costume - the mother baptising a baby wears her wedding blouse with a brocade inserted in the front of the chest. She also wears the same neck scarf and velvet hat from her confirmation. The child being baptised wears a Christian Bag.
f. Harvest Costume - See detailed description in Harvest Costume section, below. A mask was sometimes worn over the face to protect from sunburn. A strap (kiltebånd) wrapped around the apron just below the hips. Its purpose was to keep the apron from dragging in the sand or soil when the woman was bending over. She often wore fingerless gloves.
Despite the name "Harvest Costume," in olden times it was also worn by the ocean digging up worms for use as bait. In this context, two skirts (green over red) were typically used to protect from the cold ocean breezes. In contrast, when worn for harvest work in the fields, typically only one skirt (red) was worn.
g. Party Costume - See detailed description in Party Costume section, below.
Fanø Costume - Men
Difference Between Nordby and Sønderho Costumes
There is even a significant difference between Fanø costumes from Nordby and those from Sønderho. Only the Sønderho costume has a pleated apron.
Christian Bag
Children's Suit
Confirmation Suit
Wedding Dress and Bridesmaid Costumes
The lovely Fanø Wedding Dress has the following elements:
a. Headgear: The most unusual feature of the Fanø wedding costume is the headgear, called a "boer." It is elaborate and difficult to put on, with the back being flat and stiff as a board. First, the hair must be tightened firmly in the middle of the head. Then the headgear is sewn into the hair. On the front and edges are artificial flowers. The flat back of the headgear is covered with decorations, such as colored pearls, silver and gold threads, sequins, and a mirror. In medieval times, it was believed that Satan aimed to abduct the bride on her wedding day. Thus, the glitter was intended to scare him away. While the bridesmaids also wear this headgear, only the bride's has a mirror, as she is the one needing protection.
The task of removing the headgear in the evening fell to the groomsmen who had been chosen by the bridesmaids. Groomsmen were entitled to a kiss from a bridesmaid for each hair pin they removed from the "boer" headgear.
b. Shirt: black shirt.
c. Blouse: a black wool blouse, edged with black velvet ribbons, is open at the front, and is hooked only at the top and the bottom.
d. Brocade: Since the front of the black blouse is open, a white or colored piece of brocade fabric is inserted in the front of the chest.
e. Scarf: a white neck scarf is worn.
f. Skirt: black wool edged at the bottom with velvet ribbons.
g. Belt: velvet ribbon with silver tips
h. Apron: white cotton edged with lace
Bridesmaid Costume:
It is basically a Fanø party costume with a "boer" headdress. However, unlike the bride's bore, the bridesmaids headgear does not have a mirror.
Wedding Dress from Sønderho, Fanø
from "Danske Folke Dragter" by Nanna Gandil, 1972
Bridesmaid (left) and Wedding Dress (right) from Sønderho, Fanø
Image credit: Fonden Gamle Sønderho
Bridesmaid headgear from Sønderho, Fanø
Image credit: Fonden Gamle Sønderho
Only the bride gets a mirror
Image credit: Fonden Gamle Sønderho
Baptism Costume
Baptism Costume
Image credit: Fonden Gamle Sønderho
Harvest Costume
Harvest Costume
The Harvest Costume was work clothing and was worn either while raking hay in the meadows or while digging for worms by the ocean. Thus, inexpensive material (cotton or wool) was used for the blouse, skirt and apron. As the west coast of Jutland is one of the places on earth where amber is most commonly found, amber buttons were used instead of silver.
The Fanø harvest costume consists of the following elements:
a. Skirt: skirt of red or dark green wadmal wool, with deep pleats and a green silk ribbon around the bottom.
b. Headcloths: The typical neck scarves and head scarves (collectively, headcloths) were North Frisian-influenced, and bought by Fanø men during sailing trips to Germany or beyond. The folds in the neck scarf and headcloth had to be placed precisely when worn, and it was worn differently in Fanø's two main towns (Nordby and Sønderho). The harsh climate made it necessary for the women to be able to use the headcloths to cover their faces to protect from blown sand. The headcloths typically match each other, but don't have to. Historically, red headcloths were worn for celebratory occasions, blue for mourning, and purple or green for semi-mourning. A widow would wear mourning clothes for the rest of her life, unless she remarried.
c. Blouse and apron: They were generally matching and made of cotton or wool in dark colors (the Fanø party costume instead used velvet or silk in brighter colors). On the final days of the harvest, a white apron was worn.
d. Mask: Lastly, women wore a black mask for field work to prevent their faces from becoming tanned or weather-beaten, as that was far from the beauty ideal of that era.
e. Buttons: The blouse typically has buttons made of amber (the Fanø party costume uses silver ones).
As seen in an image below, a mask was sometimes worn over the face to protect from sunburn. A strap (kiltebånd) wrapped around the apron just below the hips. Its purpose was to keep the apron from dragging in the sand or soil when the woman was bending over. She often wore fingerless gloves.
Harvest Costume from Fanø
from "Danske Folke Dragter" by Nanna Gandil, 1972
Fanø Harvest Costume 1890-1900
from "Folkedragter i Danmark" by Ellen Andersen, 1952
Harvest Costume from Nordby, Fanø
Photo taken during Fanniker Days Festival
Image credit: Fannikerdagen.dk
Harvest Costume from Sønderho, Fanø
Above you can see the face mask to protect from the sun, as well as the "kiltebånd" which holds the apron in place when bending over.
Image credit: Fonden Gamle Sønderho
Harvest Costumes from Nordby, Fanø
Photo taken during Fanniker Days Festival
Image credit: Fannikerdagen.dk
Photo taken during Fanniker Days Festival
Image credit: Berit Christensen
As discussed above, from age 7 onward, females typically wear a green skirt. When they are at the beach digging for worms where it is cold and windy, they typically wear a red skirt under the green skirt for warmth. In inclement weather (not uncommon on Fanø), the green skirt can then be pulled up over the head for protection against the elements.
Party Costume
The Fanø Party Costume differs from the Harvest Costume in the following ways:
a. buttons made of silver (not amber)
b. blouse of velvet or silk (not cotton or wool)
c. apron of silk (not cotton or wool)
d. belt: There are two types
i. silver buckle - By far the more common. A black velvet belt with silver buckle.
ii. silver tips - For extra fancy occasions, a velvet ribbon with silver tips at the end, as seen on a wedding costume.
Image Credit: Fanø Ship and Costume Museum
Party costumes from Nordby, Fanø.
These costumes can be identified as from Nordby, rather than from Sønderho, because they lack pleats in the aprons.
Photo taken during Fanniker Days Festival.
Image Credit: Fannikerdagen.dk
Lovely party costumes.
The costume on the left is a beautiful and rare style. The costume in the center is velvet with amber buttons. On the right is one with silver buttons.
Image Credit: Old Sonderho Foundation
Party costumes (festdragt) from Sønderho, Fanø
The presence of pleats on the apron identifies these costumes as being from Sønderho, not Nordby.
Image credit: Fonden Gamle Sønderho
Photo taken in Sønderho in 1931 of a woman who wore the Fano costume as everyday clothing.
Image Credit: Per Hofman Hansen
Fanø married woman in party costume
from "Danske Nationaldragter," 3rd Ed. (1915)
by F.C. Lund with illustrations by Luplau Janssen
Image Credit: Mikael Bjerregaard
Image Credit: Mikael Bjerregaard
Widow's Costume
The Fanø widow's costume consisted of:
a. black fabric
b. black buttons
c. black embossed velvet ribbons
d. headcloths: Always dark blue. Cotton, typically. Could be silk if going to a party.
Widow's Costume
Image credit: Fonden Gamle Sønderho
Men's Skipper Costume
Very little is written about the Fanø mens costume!
According to the authoritative mitfanoe.dk website, it consists of:
a. coat: black, "very long"
b. trousers: brown velvet, which went slightly below the knees, with silver buttons
c. waistcoat: made of silk, yellow or yellow-brown; double-breasted; silver buttons
d. stockings: white; wool for everyday; silk for Sundays and parties. Held up by multicolored woven ribbons.
e. shoes: made of alder wood with decorative brass or silver bands on top
f. hat: tall, silk
g. shirt: white
f. scarf: brown, tied with the bows out to sides
According to the Fonden Gamle Sønderho website, it consists of:
a. long wool coat with silver buttons
b. brown corduroy trousers
c. vest of yellow silk
d. white wool stockings with tasseled garters
e. shoes with silver buckles
f. tall hat
According to Charles Rasmussen's 1942 book, it consists of:
a. long wool coat with silver buttons
b. velvet trousers
c. vest of yellow-striped silk fabric
Fanø Mens Skipper Costume
Image credit: Fonden Gamle Sønderho
Fanø Mens Skipper Costume
Image credit: Fonden Gamle Sønderho
Fanø Mens Skipper Costume
Image credit: Fonden Gamle Sønderho
Fanø Skipper Costume with yellow-striped silk vest
Town of Sønderho, 1806
Image credit: mitfanoe.dk
Fanø Skipper Costume from the town of Sønderho, 1932
Image credit: mitfanoe.dk
Seen at Fanniker Days
Image credit: Fannikerdagen.dk
