Expat Experiences: Essential Guide to Wearing a Dirndl

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Dear Alice,

Today I would like to make a summary concerning the essential guide to wearing a dirndl. So if you ever consider to buy a dirndl dress and you were not sure if this is something for you or not, then I hope that this summary will come in handy.

1. What is a dirndl? What are the basic things you should know about the dirndl?

  • A dirndl is a traditional dress originally worn by women in Austria, Bavaria and South Tirol. It is a traditional outfit, based on the outfits of the peasants living in mountainous regions, that has gained more and more popularity in the last years due to the popularity of several traditional fests such as Oktoberfest in Germany for instance. For men, the equivalent version are the traditional leather pants, that are normally short and that usually have an embroidery.
  • A dirndl is usually formed of a silk (or cotton, wool, i.e. natural fabrics) dress with hand-made embroidery, that comes with an apron on top. The dress is usually worn with a short blouse with puffy sleeves. Even if this might seem like an easy dress, the complete fabrication of a dirndl is quite complicated and its price can be quite high depending of the used fabrics and on the embroidery used for the specific dress.
  • The hand-made dirndl dresses are usually one of a kind, so if you acquire a high quality dirndl, you will not end up wearing the same dirndl as many other women out there. If you decide to acquire a dirndl, I would advise you to invest in a high quality one.

2. Where can you wear a dirndl?

  • You can basically wear a dirndl at any traditional Austrian or Bavarian traditional party (i.e. fest), such as Oktoberfest (this must be quite popular by now to everyone), Aufsteirern (in Graz) – https://www.aufsteirern.at/, Narzisenfest, etc.; to any traditional family party in Austria (such as baptism, wedding, etc.), or to any anniversary or celebration.

3. Where can you buy a dirndl?

  • Usually, every region has a specific dirndl dress, so basically you can acquire your dirndl based on the region you live in, or based on the celebration you will attend to. Anyway, nowadays the dirndl dresses are quite popular and you can decide to acquire the type that best suits you (exclusively of the specific region).
  • You can buy a dirndl dresses at any traditional dirndl shop in your neighborhood. I would recommend you the traditional shops that are exclusively dedicated to dirndl dresses. Even if the dirndl dresses here will be a bit more expensive, it is better practice to invest in a high quality dirndl dress, that you can use long-term. Every traditional shop where you buy your dirndl dress will modify the dress according to your sizes (and this for the whole duration of your dirndl) and most importantly it will advise you and guide you through the whole process of finding the right dirndl for you. Here is a list of the most well-known traditional shops were you can buy a dirndl dress (especially in Graz; these shops are to be found everywhere in Austria):

4. How can you wear your dirndl?

Here is a list of the most essential tips for wearing and accessorizing your dirndl dress, from my point of view:

  • Along with the dirndl dress, invest also in a good pair of leather pumps, that should fit the main color of your dirndl dress. Also do opt for a pair of comfortable pumps, you will get to spend a lot of time wearing them so they should be comfortable.
  • You can accessorize your dirndl dress with a lot of bags, I prefer the chain leather bags in a neutral color, such as black. You can also use a small clutch, still it is way more comfortable to have a hand bag, it is easier to wear it along the day.
  • Opt for silver earrings, necklaces and bracelets. In my case I do believe that less is more, but here you can opt for whatever accessorizes you find more appropriate. I also like to wear a watch in a neutral color like black. This is of course very general rule, you can opt for any watch that you like or you prefer.
  • For the hair you have a lot of options, but usually it is quite popular to have braided hair. If you did not have your hair braided already, then don’t worry there are a lot of free online tutorials nowadays that will help you create your favorite braided hairstyle.
  • If you wear your dirndl in the colder season (i.e. autumn or early spring), a leather jacket will come in handy, I prefer beige velours leather jackets for my dirndl (black leather jackets will also work). As alternatives, you can also have a cardigan or a sweater in a neutral color, i.e. black or beige. For leggings (in colder season only), choose a mat color, such as beige.

5. Dirndl around the globe and in fashion: is this a trend or it’s just me?

Nowadays dirndl dresses are quite popular, and are even worn by celebrities at the well-known international Oktoberfest in Bavaria, Germany. A lot of fashion trends also have influences of the well known dirndl dresses. So it is not to late for you to invest in your own dirndl dress 🙂 .

I choose to style my dirndl with “Blue Leather Pumps” – Humanic; “Leather Chain Bag” – Zara; “Arm Bracelet ” – Pandora; Certina Watch, and of course with the traditional braided hairstyle.

Note: My dirndl is from Ursnik Mode &Tracht, in Center West Murpark, Graz! Great service and great store! And my shoes are from humanic: Humanic Gabor Blue Leather Pumps.
Sincerely yours,
Madalina

 

 

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