Witnesses to Roberta Skidmore’s creativity have learned to trust her process. Even the dressmaker’s husband, Kevin.
“You see this pile of material, and you go, ‘How are they going to do anything with this?’” Kevin told the Sun. “And then she finishes it, and you go, ‘Oh my God!’”
Many of those who wear Roberta’s creations are young women elected to be Danish maids, the faces of Solvang’s Danish Days parade. They’re usually in for a surprise, too.
“It’s fun to see their reactions from this pile of fabric and trim and everything to the finished product,” Roberta said. “Then, having it on. It can be very emotional.”
Sticking with tradition
To learn more about the Danish Days celebration, visit solvangdanishdays.org. Next year’s festival will be the 90th anniversary.
Despite having a regular presence at Danish Days as attendees, this was the first year the Skidmores were grand marshals of the parade during the celebration from Sept. 18 to 20. Roberta declined the offer when she was asked in years past, but not this time.
“It really is an honor to be recognized for something like that,” Roberta said. “I’m not a get out there and be in the middle of everything kind of a person. I kind of like being in the background.”
Kevin said he teared up when his wife was asked to be a grand marshal.
“This is all about her. I’m just the husband,” he said.
They planned to have two of their grandkids join them in the parade. Roberta made matching green dresses for her and their granddaughter, complete with a “very vintage pink and green print for the aprons,” she said.
Kevin’s outfit featured silver and gold, while their younger grandson requested neon yellow, which Roberta inserted into the lining of his costume to entice him to join them in the parade.
‘It’s engineering. It’s math. It’s the whole works. It’s the creativity, but with a lot of structure as well.’
—Roberta Skidmore, seamstress
The couple has lived in the same Solvang home for 47 years, and both grew up in the Santa Ynez Valley. They knew each other in high school through mutual friends but didn’t get together until after Kevin returned home from serving in the Navy.
Roberta always had an interest in fashion design. Her mom taught her sewing through 4-H and Roberta continued lessons in high school.
“It’s something that if I’d had patience and the money, I probably would have pursued more after high school. Just, I didn’t want to put the time into that. Went right to work instead,” Roberta remembered.
She never let go of her hobby. In 1985 Roberta made her first costume for Danish Days maid Jennifer Johnson, who’s now on the board for the festival. The two worked together at the time, and Johnson asked Roberta for a dress.
Then, another woman asked Roberta to start making dresses for her family, and by 1995, the seamstress was regularly making them for locals.
In 2002, she started creating the Danish Days maids’ dresses nearly every year. There have only been a handful of exceptions. The designer was excited about her new role but was worried about offending the dressmaker who’d previously done the work.
“It’s kind of a pride that you really take honor in being asked to do this, or at least I do,” Roberta said. “So, I would imagine she felt the same way, and I was hoping it didn’t offend her that someone else had been asked to do it.”
Roberta always asks each maid if she has a family member who she’d rather make the dress because it’s such a personal milestone.
“For these girls, it’s almost like their wedding dress at the time,” she said. “It’s their first really custom-made special dress.”
Roberta said she had the costume for this year’s maid, Ainsley Haws, completed by the Fourth of July.
Pops of red stand out from Haws’ white dress, with fine details throughout. Roberta used lace tablecloth for a shawl, added some trim lace, and cross-stitched needlework on the back of Haws’ hat.
“There were a lot of unique little pieces that I was able to incorporate into her costume. It’s awesome because without putting these onto her costume, they just sit in a drawer somewhere and never really get pulled out, so this way everybody can see. It’s real special,” Roberta explained.
Many young women want pieces of their family history and Danish heritage fastened into their dresses. Sewing in the materials that have been passed down preserves the history, Roberta said, rather than keeping it tucked away.
Before sewing anything, Roberta meets with the maid and discusses the design. She’ll sketch mock-ups, consult with a Danish historian, and look through any available old family photos for inspiration.
Roberta and the young woman will settle on a fabric and go shopping. Even amid the historic elements, this is where modern clothing must differ from Danish tradition.
“It’s much warmer here than it is in Denmark. Fabrics are getting harder and harder to find, so that becomes an issue,” Roberta said. “They used to use wool, and I can’t imagine how heavy those dresses were.”
When they strike out locally, they improvise.
“If they can’t find the material, then we’re in LA or San Francisco,” Kevin said.
Once everything is gathered and measured, Roberta will sit down to work her magic. The only payment she receives is happiness from practicing her craft.
“Just the process of the drawing to actual finished product is amazing to me,” Roberta described. “It’s engineering. It’s math. It’s the whole works. It’s the creativity, but with a lot of structure as well.”
Kevin has a front-row seat to his wife’s passion and drive, supporting her where he can. He has no doubt that she’s a fine artist.
“I just built a new sewing room for her that’s a 16-by-20, and she has everything now,” he said. “It was her dream her whole life, and so now she has heating, air conditioning, set lights, hardwood floors, power just for [an] iron and one for a sewing machine. She’s got everything that she can imagine.”
Reach Staff Writer Madison White at mwhite@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in September 24 – October 1, 2026.
