“I thought everyone thinks I’m crazy for wanting to get married in a traditional costume”
Photography: Judith Anna Pronk
Simone Kwakman (31) is married to Marco and mother of Lieke (2) and Crelis (9 months). She has a great love for the Volendam traditional costume.
“As a family we regularly go to a traditional costume festival. At such an event, people from different regions show their traditional clothes. For example, traditional clothing is not something dusty that you see in books or museums, but it comes to life. I consider it an honor to contribute to this, because I love our Volendam costumes. Love too. ‘Can I wear my dress to school too?’ she asked enthusiastically after a traditional costume festival.
Volendam traditional costume
Nowadays people only wear the traditional costume on special days such as Volendammerdag, but in the time of her great-grandmother, my grandmother, it was the daily fashion. My grandmother also made the clothes herself. For example, she made my costume for the children’s choir in which I sang. That handmade makes the costume so special. No mass production, but sturdy fabrics that last for years and are beautifully finished. Artistic, almost.
“That handmade makes the costume so special”
Because the profession is dying out, I started learning it myself. I first had to take a basic course in sewing, because I barely knew how a sewing machine works, but in the end I took a lesson with a dressmaker. My first ‘project’ was a suit for Marco. It took me nine months, but after that it fit like a glove. He married me in that suit.
Read also – Dressed in traditional costume: ‘I am a down-to-earth Dutchman, but my jewelery gives me strength’ >
Wedding
When I expressed my wish to get married in traditional costume, I thought: everyone is going to think I’m crazy. That had not been done in Volendam for forty years. Marco surprised me at the official proposal with a red skirt – the color you only wear to your wedding, so he agreed. Family and friends also thought it was special. They even gave us parts for our wedding suits. For example, Marco’s shoe buckles come from neighbors of his parents and my kraplap, the embroidered silk at my neck, was made by someone from my opera choir.
“Because there was a story behind every part, it meant so much more than a white wedding dress”
The day of our wedding I felt completely at home in the suit. Because there was a story behind every part, it meant so much more than a white wedding dress. For the party I did switch to such a standard dress, with a view to possible wine stains. Traditional clothing is difficult to wash. Children’s costumes are also specially adapted to this. For example, I made an overdress for Lieke’s fragile dress that can simply be washed in the washing machine. At least she could move freely on Volendammerdag and I didn’t get a heart attack when she dropped her ice cream.”
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