The Icelandic national costume, known collectively as Þjóðbúningurinn in Icelandic, represents an enduring symbol of national identity. Its forms have shifted over generations, drawing inspiration from both the everyday attire of past centuries and the imaginative statecraft of the 19th-century independence era. Today, Þjóðbúningurinn continues to bridge Iceland’s past and present at festivals, weddings and national occasions.
Layers of women’s national dress
For Icelandic women, five main costume types are officially recognized as national dress. These reflect both creative historical reconstructions and the practical wear of earlier times. The oldest among them, faldbúningur, has been worn since at least the 17th century and is distinguished by its signature hat, often decorated with a pronounced curved ornament. This traditional headdress comes in two variants, the krókfaldur and the spaðafaldur. In earlier periods, a large hat with gold-wire bands or a ruff, supporting a broad collar, added to the ensemble’s complexity. By the late 18th century, a simpler tail cap replaced the elaborate headpiece.
Seeking greater practicality, women adopted peysuföt in the 18th and 19th centuries. Peysuföt consists of black wool garments, a twill skirt paired with a fine, knitted jacket, and a tail cap. Its emergence is credited to women drawing from men’s clothing for simpler workwear, trading the faldbúningur’s ornate style for ease of movement.
The upphlutur also has roots in daily life, originating as the undergarment of the faldbúningur before becoming a standalone outfit. Characterised by its bodice, which is sometimes vibrantly coloured but often black, it is topped with a tail cap.
Two other costumes, the kyrtill and the skautbúningur, reflect 19th-century attempts to reclaim or reinterpret Icelandic heritage. The kyrtill, designed by artist Sigurður Guðmundsson, channels interpretations of Viking Age styles and adapts the iconic headdress. Skautbúningur was similarly designed as a more modern echo of the faldbúningur, employing yet another intricate hat inspired by older custom.
Men’s costumes and ceremonial dress
Men’s national attire, called búningur karla, exists in several forms. The most traditional is the þjóðbúningur karla, consisting of woolen breeches or trousers, a double-breasted vest, a double-breasted jacket (treyja) or sometimes a buttoned jumper (peysa), and a tail cap. Although typically black, navy blue or dark green, some regions favoured white wool. This style descended directly from Icelandic daily dress between the 17th and 19th centuries.
During the 19th century, as continental European clothing styles took hold, Sigurður Guðmundsson sought to revive older Nordic fashions for men with the fornmannaklæði, a costume modelled after 10th-century dress. Its popularity faded, but echoes of Viking culture remain.
The hátíðarbúningur is a late 20th-century creation, conceived after a design competition in 1994 marking the republic’s 50th anniversary. Although its resemblance to Faroese dress sparked debate, it is frequently worn at formal occasions as an Icelandic alternative to the tuxedo.
Children’s costumes historically matched those of adults, with only minor alterations such as shorter skirts for girls in the 20th century.
Shoes historically ranged from practical designs crafted from fish or sheepskin (roðskór and sauðskinsskór) to 18th- and 19th-century-style leather shoes with buckles. Today, modern footwear is often substituted for these traditional options.
While the faldbúningur, peysuföt, upphlutur and the traditional men’s costume were once everyday Icelandic wear, most now appear at special events. Since 2001, Þjóðbúningaráð, the National Costume Authority, oversees their preservation and the teaching of traditional crafting methods, ensuring that the threads of history remain tightly woven in Icelandic culture.
Sources
- Wikipedia
- Wikipedia (Icelandic) in Icelandic
