Hello! First of all, apologies if this isn’t the right subreddit to ask. I don’t really use reddit, but I’m a lover of research on historical fashion and costuming, and recently I’ve come across the beautiful national costume of Iceland, and I’d love to ask some questions about it that I haven’t been able to find the answer by myself, and thought this would be the best place to ask, if that is alright!
I’ve visited multiple blogs, the [annriki.is](https://www.annriki.is/) website and even what I believe to be some online museum catalogues? But I’ve noticed that most, if not all images of the national costumes only show the entire outfit put together, but rarely the separate layers and pieces, and so I’m having a difficult time figuring out how the pieces are made and placed. My questions are:
1. **Regarding the nærskyrta/undershirt:** is there any difference between the ones from the faldbúningur, peysuföt and upphlutur, or are they essentially the same thing? Also, how long were they (waist lenght/hip lenght/knee lenght)? Were they like chemises that would be worn as nightgowns, or exclusively used for daytime wear? I’ve seen that the traditional icelandic costume was a “two piece”, so I can’t quite figure out if the first layer of the undergarment would also only cover the top of the body, of reach at least below the knees (for women) as it was usual in most western countries at the time.
2. **About the faldbúningur and upphlutur:** is the bodice an entirely separate piece, or is it connected to one of the skirts? And does it sit right at the waist? os a bit below/above it? It’s a bit hard to tell from the pictures, because the skirts are usually on the way.
If anyone happens to have visual references of the separate layers of the costume, I would owe you everything!! I’ve fallen in love with the uniqueness and history of the Icelandic national costume, and would love to be able to study it more in depth! Thank you so much for your time!
by layzeal