Costume og Holland
From the original painting  by Racinet
A beautiful print with brilliant colors, depicting various Holland costumes ... in excellent condition.

THERE ARE SEVERAL DISTINCT GROUPINGS among the working people of Holland, so far as costumes are concerned. First, there are fishing folk, often from coastal islands, whose isolation from centers of population and simple lifestyle mean that styles of dress change very slowly. Then there are the Friesians, Scandinavian by influence, whose relative isolation leads to a general conservatism. Third, there are the Batavians, from the two islands of Zeeland. These lack the originality that Friesians display in their costume, but they wear clothes of a considerably more modern vintage. Among the men, for example, one sees jackets, waistcoats, narrow trousers and buckled shoes: certainly not part of any traditional costume. The women, too, wear clothes of a modern cut, and adopt fashionable hairstyles.

The illustration on top shows (From LEFT):
1 & 2. A servant and a milkmaid from Rotterdam. As is customary, the milkmaid is wearing a large straw hat with a turned-up brim, large earrings and a pearl necklace. 3 & 4. Zeelanders from Walcheren, dressed for an important occasion. Zeelanders are noted for the elegance of their clothes. Here the man is wearing a fine beaver- skin hat, and a blue and red chamois leather waistcoat over a shirt, which is closed at the collar by a gold button. 5. A fish-seller, from the town of Scheveningen.

  The illustration at the bottom show (From LEFT):
1 & 2. Two Zeelanders from the Island of Zuid-Beveland. If Walcheren is considered the garden of Zeeland, then Zuid-Beveland is its vegetable patch, its granary and its orchard. This is because the land is so rich in natural fertilizer, having been reclaimed from the sea. Here the man is shown carrying a spade, as a symbol of the region's abundance. He is wearing a yellow damask waistcoat with a floral pattern and a row of silver buttons. Two gold buttons close his collar, and on the belt of his trousers are two large convex silver buttons, with matching smaller ones, to close his fob. Above the knees, his trousers are held in place with black straps, clipped tight with silver buckles, and there are also silver buckles on his shoes. In addition to this impressive collection of silverware, he is sporting a silver watch and watch-chain. In the country regions, peasants wear their hair long over the nape of their necks to form a semicircle over the collar. At the front, it falls low over the forehead. The peas- ants are very attached to this hairstyle, which they consider a symbol of their freedom. The lady is dressed for making social calls in her village. Her youth and unmarried status are indicated by the fact that her hoofdnaald - a flat piece of metal - is worn diagonally across her forehead, slanting down from left to right. If she was married, it would slant in the opposite direction: from right to left. Her straw hat is attached over a bonnet that holds her hair in, with only the iron jewelry won in her hair allowed to show. Her costume consists of a large piece of painted calico, which veils her body from beneath her chin to below her bust. Two more pieces of calico serve as covers for the sleeves of her bodice; they are held above the elbow by gold buttons. The bodice is made of black damask with a design of white flowers, and is crossed by a silken ribbon, embroidered with silk and floral patterns. Below, a silver clip holds up a wide apron of red check cloth.

3 & 4. Two fishermen's wivesfrom the north of Holland, dressed in their best clothes. The lady on the left wears a headdress made from a fine piece of gauze, em- broidered with flowers and held in place with a ribbon knotted at the back of the head. The gauze sits on a black skullcap, and is attached by a broad gold clip that ends in two buttons over the ears. The front of the bonnet is attached to each of the buttons by a gold, pearl-headed pin. The lady on the right wears a much simpler costume, with basic jewelry. Her linen bonnet is turned down over her head and edged at the front with lace. her necklace is made of red coral, and her shoes are simply decorated with a knotted ribbon.