Ironing, linen and textiles in Katwijk
.svg)
Katwijk is one of the rare places in the Netherlands where regional dress was still genuinely worn well into the twentieth century — not as folklore, but as everyday clothing. Until the 1970s, the Katwijk woman wore a long black skirt, a white shirt with a blood-red clasp, a dark bodice, a large white lace kaper (Dutch lace cap), and on Sunday a gold oorijzer (gold ear-iron) beneath the cap. The Katwijk man wore a tall cap, a dark fisherman's suit, and a white shirt with a narrow collar.
That dress was only sustainable with a heavy maintenance infrastructure. In the 1930s, Katwijk had at least six independent ironers, each specialised in a particular part of the costume: one did only caps (technically the most demanding work, with special wooden cap-blocks), another only shirts, yet another only aprons and collars. A starched Katwijk cap that sat right — round, full, white, undamaged — was literally the pride of the woman wearing it.
The regional dress is now nearly all gone; what remains is in the Katwijks Museum. But Katwijk is still a fishing community and a seaside resort, with the old village, Katwijk aan Zee, Rijnsburg and Valkenburg. Many families go back generations; many young families now live in Hoornes and Zuid.
Since 2013 we have been driving from our laundry on the Henricuskade through Katwijk on fixed mornings. We collect your laundry, iron everything with the same care as the Katwijk cap-ironers — and deliver it back with the same driver.
How does Strijkservice Haaglanden work in Katwijk?
For residents of Katwijk our service works exactly as in the rest of Haaglanden: on a fixed day of the week our driver comes by, picks up your laundry bag and brings your laundry back clean and crisply ironed. No appointment needed — your routine is set.
You get one regular driver and a fixed pickup rhythm so you always know what to expect. No carrying, no full drying racks in the living room, no evenings at the ironing board.
Everything is handled in our own laundry on Henricuskade in The Hague. Shirts, blouses, table linen, bed and bath textiles — we iron it the way it should go back into the cupboard at home, neatly folded and ready to use.