Browsing by Subject "työvaatteet"

The object of this study was the Finnish folk costumes used as work clothes at the Seurasaari Open-Air Museum. The museum's wardrobe had many shortcomings so there was a clear need for a study analyzing and enhancing the situation. The purpose of this study is to find out what kind of outfits should be designed for the staff of the open-air museum in order to meet requirements both for work clothes and folk dresses. Since the open-air museum is simultaneously a cultural history museum and a place of work, the dresses should be not only as historically authentic as possible but also practical as work clothes as far as comfort and maintenance are concerned. Due to the practical nature of the subject, the chosen method of study was design research, in which the design process moves forward in stages based on empirical knowledge. At the first stage of the study, the situation was outlined by making an inventory of museum's wardrobe and interviewing the keeper of the museum. At the second stage, the insights of the staff on their work clothes were reviewed through a survey. In the third stage the objective was to take into consideration both aesthetic and technical viewpoints of possible design solutions. Finally, a practical effort was made to combine these viewpoints regarding the folk dresses and work clothes by sewing the prototypes of two pieces of clothing that are a part of the work outfits. As a result of the study, the proposals for two outfits for two different museum houses were created. In addition to the results of the stages presented earlier, literature and pictures of folk dresses were used as support in the design process. Due to economical reasons, one of the outfits is also usable in two other museum houses. Since there is plenty of information available on both folk dresses and work clothes, it is possible to design outfits that meet the needs of the museum even though it sometimes requires compromises between authenticity and comfort. In addition, the results of this study can be used for rearranging and restocking the museum's wardrobe.