Sunday Best and Everyday Dress @museum.de

F: A long dress without a collar, a coloured apron, an embroidered shawl, heavy, black leather shoes – the Ammerland's traditional costumes are quite striking.

The dress with its half-length sleeves may be made of red, green or blue fabric. The apron and shawl usually feature colourful embroidery. The apron ends in two or three dark pleats, which may differ in width and spacing.

The shawls are usually embroidered and fastened on the breast with a brooch. Only the black leather shoes required precision: women's shoes have an oval or round buckle; the buckle on the men's shoes is square.

M: All this applies to the Sunday costume worn to church or to celebrations.

Women's everyday costume was a cotton dress with an indigo print pattern. You'll find an example in the small room on the right. It wasn't a traditional costume in the modern sense, but simply the clothing people wore daily to work in the house, stable or field.

F: The women covered their heads on weekdays and Sundays. A cap of cotton velvet and brocade with ribbons tied in a bow on the left was reserved for high holidays. A white, coif-like cap, extending over the face and covering a large part of the neck, was worn on all other days. It offered protection from the sun at a time when people spent a lot of time outdoors, and being suntanned wasn't considered stylish.