Norwegian Headdress

Norwegian headdress and vest, c. 1913
Gift of Grace Lucille Nelson (1971.195.18-.19)

Thea Johanna (Stondahl) Nelson made this costume in Wisconsin and wore it at a suffrage parade held in 1913 in Washington, DC to show that Norwegian women already had the right to vote. The traditional, nineteenth-century Norwegian appearance contrasted sharply with the distinctive yellow worn by American suffragists.

Suffragists branded their movement with a distinctive yellow color as seen in this tunic used by members of the Wisconsin Woman Suffrage Association at parades in Milwaukee and Chicago in the summer of 1916.