What we commonly call “folk costumes” refers both to older, preserved local clothing traditions and to newer clothing compositions created by local actors to highlight regional identity. The folk costume is today one of Sweden’s official ceremonial costumes and can thus be worn at all of the country’s finer events.
The folk costume is one of many female art forms that has historically been classified as a craft, which does not necessarily reflect its full significance. In fact, it is far more than a utility item. Among its costly, pleated fabrics and time-consuming embroidery, a feminine creativity is glimpsed in line with the lavish pigments and time-consuming brushstrokes of male painting.
Swedish farmers have often lived in a borderland of famine and poverty, but despite this, the women of the parishes ensured – at least a few times a year – that the practical, coarse fabrics were exchanged for impractical brocades and tinkling jewellery. It is precisely this feeling of festivity that we at Formstad Auktioner would like to invite you to participate in as you browse through the 2026 folk costume auction!
