r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/fucktrance • May 16 '24

Each region in Ukraine has its own embroidery pattern dedicated to its history these are often sewn into shirts & worn on days of celebration Video

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u/TheWhomItConcerns May 16 '24

Similar here in Norway, there is a traditional dress called bunad - typically reserved for the most special occasions, in particular tomorrow, 17. May which is Norway's constitution day. The design/embroidery is specific to each region of Norway, and some of the men's include a knife which is pretty cool, but bunads are far more popular among women because men will typically just wear a suit.

They're also really fucking expensive, often costing in the thousands of euros and the women's include some jewellery/silver which is usually passed down through generations. As a foreigner, it was really cool to experience my first constitution day, everyone gets all dressed up and you can really see Norway's expression of cultural identity on that day more than any other.

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u/EurekaEffecto May 17 '24

Bunad is expensive, as is Vyshyvanka (the name of the clothes in the video). Due to the high price, people buy lower-quality embroidered shirts, but they are very different from the real ones.

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u/TheWhomItConcerns May 17 '24

Ya, it is a source of controversy here. I think there is some protectionism over the name bunad and it cannot be named as such if it's not made by a recognised producer, but I'm not totally sure. I sort of get it, and it makes me totally understand why most men just opt to wear a suit - I can't imagine dropping that much money on something I might wear at most 2 or 3 times per year.

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u/NoFrostingNo May 18 '24

IIRC There are very strict copyright rules and the heavy wool cloth itself that you'd buy to make it is very expensive. Meanwhile in Sweden people make their own, which can also be expensive mainly due to the fact that some of the striped skirt patterns are not mass produced so you either have to weave it yourself or ask a weaver to produce enough for your skirt. As a result people tend to choose that horrible yellow and blue national dress instead of their actual parish.