Faroese national dress was created at the beginning of the 20th century as an adaptation of the Norwegian national costume. Before this local people used to distinguish between Danish clothes and Faroese; Faroese clothes were domestically-made of wool and leather, Danish of imported fabrics. In 1907, when the Danish King Frederik VIII paid an official visit, his servants were dressed in Faroese clothes. Later in the 20th century the Faroese national costume was used by the middle classes and became a symbol of Faroese identity; knitting patterns had crystallized into a recognizable Faroese style by that time.

Previously, there had been other, earlier variants of the national costume. One of these is the sjóstúka (“sea coat”) used among fishermen. As “national” costumes tend to adopt a rural, farmer-derived style, even in seafaring nations as Denmark, Norway and the Faroe Islands, the sjóstúka, after some cultivation, fell into disuse from the late 19th century onwards. The women’s national costume has another variant in the stakkur, a dress made of silk in an 19th-century international style; it is still in use.