Went to the exhibit at the Museum with a young friend, not knowing what to expect. The exhibit describes communities in the middle of the Netherlands that are conservative. The exhibit intended to illustrate the physical location are and their life-style. What was most interesting to me- the visual was the way most of Holland was decades ago. Now it is an exhibit of something unique. There are parallels here for sure, just not certain where to draw the lines. Decades ago a conservative community wore specific clothes including black stockings, which was the name they were given: Black Stocking Communities. Now those communities are no longer decked out in this extreme dress; on an occasional Sunday will you perhaps see an older person so turned out. The young person with me commented that she found the pictures of interest because the women in their Sunday-go-to-meeting-clothes looked the happiest. Their everyday clothes were just that, house dresses, skirts and blouses of ordinary styles. The dress up clothes reminded me of the congregation of the African American church I attended for four years in Virginia. The important of hats!
