The long awaited dirndl!

and a brief history for those who are interested

A few days ago my personal photographer (ha!), Megan came over and snapped some photos of me frolicking in my new dirndl. I posted this photo on Facebook later.

The dirndl is the traditional trachten or clothing warn by women in Germany, but most commonly seen in the state of Bavaria where I happen to reside. They are also worn in Austria and Liechtenstein  As you can tell it is a far cry from what you see in Halloween costume stores every October.
The dirndl was once, simply what the common peasant wore in their day to day lives, but in 1870 the upper class adopted the tracht and made it their own to wear on summer holidays.

Today, the dirndl is worn at weddings, and other traditional ceremonies, but most often seen at the Volksfests held throughout the year.  Where you tie your bow also tells a lot about a girl.  As you can see my bow is tied on my right side to indicate that I am married or otherwise taken.  A bow on the left indicates you are single, a bow in the back means you are widowed.  A more recent development is the bow up front in the middle indicating a virgin, but on our beer tour in Munich our guide said it is more often considered that you are “easy”.

Megan and I also went to a Volksfest in Nuremberg; me in my dirndl and her in her husband’s lederhosen. (She wears them well, does she not?) We had quite a good time drinking our many mas bier.

So ladies, if you wear your dirndl out in Germany, be mindful of where you place that bow!  And if your friend wears her lederhosen, expect that people will assume you are a lesbian couple.  Until next time Tschüss!