The women that came before me

This project consists of a series of prints with portraits of elderly women in traditional Dutch clothing. Each portrait belongs to a different town and a different province of the Netherlands. 

The goals of this project is not only to highlight the beauty of the various pieces of clothing, but especially to highlight the beauty of these elderly women. 

My interest in traditional wear comes from the thought that even in uniformity, one is still able to show their own personality. Showing individuality in a uniform society might be easier than one might expect. Women differentiate from each other and stand out by using different lace or ‘stipwerk’ patterns or by choosing a unique fabric for ones ‘kraplap’.