Women’s Czech Folk Costume: Negotiating Ambivalence and White Ethnicity in the Midwest

Abstract

Folk costume is traditionally worn to represent and preserve ethnic heritage. Large numbers of Czechs emigrated to America from the 1870s to 1920s, but eventually, a generation was born that had little contact with their immigrant ancestors. The purpose of our research was to examine what role folk costume plays in the negotiation of Czech ethnic identity and how meaning is constructed and communicated through Czech folk costumes for modern-day wearers. We conducted 11 indepth, semi-structured interviews with descendants of Czech immigrants in a previously unexplored Czech population of the Midwest. We identified four major themes: feelings of connectedness; sense of pride and joy; importance of perceived authenticity; and variation, nuance, and meaning of costume construction and style. Through our work, we contribute to the preservation and documentation of modern-day Czech traditions, ongoing discussions surrounding defining cultural traditions, and business practices of retailers.