Farmers found a way around the silk ban in Norway by quickly remaking wedding dresses.
In the past, children were dressed in colourful gowns and swaddling wraps when they were baptised. Left: A silk christening gown believed to have been remade from a wedding dress. Right: A silk baptism cape. Both from Ringsaker in Innlandet, Eastern Norway.(Photos: Christian André Strand / Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, and Roger Johansen / Anno Museum)
In the 18th century, it was common for wedding dresses to be remade into baptismal clothing. These garments were colourful and richly decorated, usually with a cape wrapped around the child.
The tradition emerged as a response to a royal ban.
In the 18th century, King Christian VII of Denmark-Norway decreed that silk was forbidden for ordinary people.
"The king wanted to reduce consumption among his subjects. The goal was to maintain the distinction between social classes," says Bjørn Sverre Hol Haugen.
He is a costume historian at the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History.
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Bjørn Sverre Hol Haugen at the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History studies the clothing of farmers in the 18th century.(Photo: Nina Kristiansen)
Forbidden to buy silk
In 1783, the law became even stricter, now with a new justification. Excessive spending on imported silk was considered harmful to the economy of Denmark–Norway.
'No one among the farming class in the countryside, young or old, married or unmarried, may wear any clothing other than that made from homespun fabric, such as wadmal, værken [a homespun fabric of linen and wool], and similar materials.'
The ban did not apply to the nobility, clergy, or civil servants – the educated elite of the state.
The law was called the sumptuary ordinance. It regulated not only the purchase of silk but also wedding celebrations. Large weddings lasting several days were no longer acceptable. One day would have to suffice.
At that time, there were many wealthy farmers. They had earned good money from timber exports across Europe. They did not appreciate being forbidden from buying silk.
They were allowed to use what they already had
"Farmers in eastern Norway joined forces with civil servants and wrote letters of protest to the king in Copenhagen. They argued that if the reason for the silk ban was economic, then it made no sense to ask people to stop using the clothes they already owned," Haugen explains.
The king granted them a three-year exemption.
The letters to and from the king have been preserved, and Haugen believes they reveal a great deal about people’s relationship with clothing in the 18th century. One letter stated: 'A silk coat can serve a wife throughout her entire lifetime.'
When the exemption expired, the farmers responded that their garments were still in good condition – and would last for the rest of their lives. The king upheld the ban on new purchases but allowed people to continue wearing the silk garments they already owned.
Even so, the law was difficult to enforce, Haugen explains. Local sheriffs had neither the time nor the inclination to inspect people’s wardrobes and weddings – especially since many of them believed the ban did not apply to them.
The king ordered inspections. Some sheriffs complied and made lists of the silk garments in their districts. Most did not.
Some baptismal garments were stamped with the king's monogram, the year 1786, and the words ‘for use.’ "That meant the silk garment was approved," says Bjørn Sverre Hol Haugen.(Photo: Christian André Strand / Norwegian Museum of Cultural History)
Silk banned in peasant christenings
Wealthy families had christening garments made of silk. This was now forbidden for farmers. They adopted different strategies.
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"Some obeyed the ban and used wool and linen in their christening garments. Others chose to pay the fines for using silk. That way they showed that they had enough money," says Haugen.
Others bought fabrics that resembled silk. In England, they produced textiles made of wool and linen that were thin and glossy. Norwegian farmers had strong trade connections there, and the silk-like wool fabrics became popular in Norway.
Baptismal garments were shared among family members. That meant they belonged to no one.
This is reflected in probate records. These detailed inventories were made when someone died and the inheritance was to be divided. Everything the deceased owned was listed – from sheep and furniture to socks and mittens.
"Baptismal garments are completely absent from the probate records. They belonged to the family as a whole and not to a single individual," says Haugen.
Many christening gowns from this period had been remade from the mother’s wedding dress.
"They could show off a silk dress at the wedding and then quickly transform it into a baptismal garment that belonged to no one. That allowed them to get around the ban," the researcher says.
Older silk dresses were also altered. Haugen notes that some baptismal capes were made from silk that had been produced fifty years earlier. One large dress could become three baptismal garments.
The king finally abandoned the silk ban in 1799.
Swaddling wraps, not dresses
Children were not baptised in dresses as they commonly are today.
Infants were tightly wrapped in cloth, a practice known as swaddling. The small bundle was then covered with a silk wrap, called a cape or cloak, with a bib laid over it. If the child’s arms were left free, it wore a small silk jacket.
These wraps were made from colourful, repurposed dresses.
Some baptismal garments were given extra decoration such as silk ribbons, lace, fringes, and metallic trim. "That made them even more colourful than the original dresses," says Bjørn Sverre Hol Haugen. This swaddling wrap has 13 resewn buttonholes, showing that it was once an adult garment.(Photo: Roger Johansen / Anno Museum)
Mothers were not allowed to attend the christening. According to the Mosaic law in the Bible, a mother was considered unclean and a heathen for 40 days after giving birth. Only after six weeks could she come to church, where she was forgiven for her sin in a separate ritual, historian Troels Troels-Lund wrote about christening traditions in the Nordic countries (link in Norwegian).
Wool and linen for ordinary people
Most clothing from the 18th century has long since disappeared. But christening capes and gowns have been preserved through the generations. At least in wealthy families.
Baptismal outfit from Ringerike made of silk lined with printed cotton. Bib, cap, and jacket in silk.(Photo: Christian André Strand / Norwegian Museum of Cultural History)
That's why the historian does not know as much about what ordinary people used for christenings. Haugen believes they may have borrowed silk garments from wealthy farming families or used local textiles such as wool and linen.
In some communities, traditional folk dress remained strong. There, people had their own local christening garments, primarily made from homespun textiles with small amounts of silk.
According to Haugen, the child was often wrapped in a blanket known as a christening blanket, which was also locally made.
The new dress fashion resembled underwear and shocked people around 1800. Nevertheless, the chemise dress inspired baptismal gowns, which gradually became white.(Photo: Bergen City Museum)
From colourful wraps to white gowns
Only around 1800 did christening gowns became more common. They also became white.
"The transition from colourful christening gowns and wraps to the white christening gown took a very long time. And it began with a new fashion trend," says Haugen.
Around 1800, the chemise dress became fashionable. It was a simple white cotton dress that was gathered beneath the bust.
"This fashionable garment caused quite a stir. People considered it scandalous that women appeared in what they associated with underwear," says Haugen.
Yet it was precisely this scandalous garment that inspired white christening gowns.
Tradition, not fashion, determines the colour
"Christening gowns became white because white became fashionable for women," says Haugen.
After that, fashion’s influence largely stopped. New colours and trends no longer shaped christening gowns.
"Why white baptismal gowns remain standard today is difficult to say. It may be because many families still use garments that are more than a century old. It may also be because white came to symbolise purity and innocence, making it especially appropriate for children," says Haugen.
