Thursday, May 19, 2011

Small Town Charm: Holland III -- Wooden Shoes Go With Everything!









Today, we are going to "go Dutch"...

No, no, not as in ME buying YOU dinner.

I mean GO DUTCH!



If your only impression of a "Dutch Girl" is the little character on the container of Dutch Girl cleanser...look again!

This is absolutely beautiful authentic traditional Dutch clothing, most of which is hand-sewn in the area...  







This was my favorite outfit...look at all the details, and of course the bright and beautiful colors!  Gingham, plaid, embroidered vest, all of it, and the toppings, all those hats, so unique and beautiful.  

And check out the outfit to her left, just gorgeous!  









It was all showcased during a street dance, called "klompen" held several times daily in the beautiful vintage downtown area, dancers linked arms and danced in a line taking up a whole city block!  It was absolutely beautiful!







Once the dance was over, the outfits were showcased one by one and each was explained:  a history of the outfit and what type of person would be wearing it, for example a farmer's wife or a city dweller. 

There were girls showcasing all the outfits, but all the outfits with trousers were stand-ins for young men.

Here is a web page explaining the outfits and naming the provinces they hail from in the Netherlands.





























Another "young man"...






It all looks like part of a movie set!   And both sides of the street are filled with benches for visitors to sit and enjoy.






This would have been a boy's outfit and hat...I just loved it.








A 'fella'...











"He" wears it so well!  


















ANOTHER favorite...just beautiful!









The layering is so beautiful...






























(My niece, Katie...she's lovely too!)






















Yes, that's a trolley!  

Holland.  Such.  A.  Beautiful.  Town.  
So clean, pristine.  
Full of lovely old buildings well-cared for and maintained.

Many wonderful places to shop, you could spend days just shopping, plus there are so many, many attractions to see.  

We didn't even begin to scratch the surface.  

Perhaps next time we'll go for days instead of hours.  
(I'm ready to go back, I loved it there.)   

There really is no way that pictures even begin to do the place justice.  But I tried!

(And...yes, a couple of wooden shoes got "thrown" during the dance, and the dancers just finished as if they had both shoes on...!)







6 comments:

Meadowbrook Cabin Primitives said...

Joni,

Thank you for sharing these lovely colorful photos from Holland, Mich.

How do they dance in those shoes !

Hugs,
Linda

Hollace said...

What a fun outing! I was just in Pella, Iowa last week, another Dutch town. It was full of tulips just in bloom and had a clean-as-a-whistle downtown complete with windmill. I wish I could have stayed longer!

Kori Vincent "Painting Primitives" said...

Thanks for taking us all with you on your fun adventure in Holland, MI. It looks like it was a lot of fun! They really get into it don't they? Fabulous!
Blessings,
Kori

mary your sis said...

What fun that the Dutch culture is so full of color! I definately want to go back. And I think you should revisit this post when we are in the midst of February gloom!

Anonymous said...

I would probably laugh a little (or a lot) and say that it's cheesy, but in reality, I would LOVE to go there someday!

Connie in Hartwood said...

We lived in Europe when I was a kid (Army Brat), and I bought a pair of wooden shoes on a visit to Holland ... Netherlands, that is. Wooden shoes are surprisingly comfortable. Until recently, I used to keep my wooden shoes by the back door to use for quick trips outside. I put them away because my feet have gotten a bit longer than they once were, and the shoes don't fit as well now.

I love your photos of the various outfits! How much fun it must have been for the young people to dress up.