Browsing by Author "Inkiläinen, Jaana"

In the recent years, the focus of studying folk costumes have mainly been practicality and selection criteria. The aim of this study is to look further into how they are viewed today, and what thoughts are associated with them. In the recent years, folk costumes have not been studied from this point of view in the context of modern era. This study has been structured into three research questions: What are the meanings associated to folk costumes today? What kinds of hopes and goals is towards folk costumes? How the position of folk costumes is experienced in 2017? The objective of this study is to better understand the approaches and thoughts that are associated with folk costumes today. Answers to the former questions of study were sought by interviewing four people in the midst of the folk costume industry and building on an understanding of their experiences with folk costumes. Two of the subjects are artisans in the folk costume industry, one is a handicrafts teacher, and one an active wearer of folk costumes. The interviews were constructed as theme interviews, and the material was analyzed using narrative analysis, focusing on each subject’s experiences. The main components that rose in the interviews were both tradition and maintenance of heritage and ancestresses; aesthetic and ecological values; the relevance of the studied costume as a whole; the significance of knowledge related to the attitudes towards the costumes; and the subjects’ enthusiasm to folk costumes and sharing their knowledge and appreciation. The analysis uncovered that the subjects’ experiences were quite similar to one another. Some possible reasons for this might be a “bubble” of folk costume enthusiasts, and the tight community that has been formed around the topic. Both aspects came up in the interviews several times. The study uncovered folk costume enthusiasts’ values, thoughts and knowledge, that the mainstream might not be aware of. These sources may be useful in the objective of this study in furthering the appreciation and bettering the position of folk costumes.