Dirndl
[5][19] The winter style dirndl has heavy, warm skirts, long sleeves and aprons made of thick cotton, linen, velvet or wool.
While appearing to be simple and plain, a properly made modern dirndl may be quite expensive as it is tailored, and sometimes cut from costly hand-printed or silk fabrics.
These include (1) its origins as rural clothing, (2) development as a recognized folk costume, (3) evolution as a fashion style, (4) appropriation by the Nazis, (5) decline in popularity after the Second World War, followed by (6) a resurgence from 1990.
The background to this development was the French government policy from the mid-17th century onwards of promoting and exporting luxury fashion, using expensive materials such as silk, lace, and gold and silver thread.
[45] As antithesis to the dominance of French fashion, in the early 19th century a movement to study and preserve the traditional costumes of the rural populations developed in many European countries.
A parade of traditional costumes took place in 1835 at Oktoberfest, to celebrate the silver wedding anniversary of King Ludwig I of Bavaria (reigned 1825–1848) and Queen Therese.
[52] Among the most prominent royal patrons of folk costume were the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph and Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria, the successor of Ludwig II; both often hunted wearing lederhosen.
[48] Around 1875, Elisabeth of Bavaria, the wife of Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph, promoted wearing a rustic dress called a 'Sisi', based on the peasant dirndl.
[57][58][59][55] They also designed a festive dirndl for Princess Marie-Auguste of Anhalt, which created a sensation at a ball in Paris; virtually overnight, the Wallach name became internationally famous in fashionable circles.
[57][59][55] In the hard economic times following the First World War, the dirndl became a big-seller; as a simple summer dress, it was an affordable alternative to the often expensive and elaborately worked historic women's costumes.
The romantic comedy presented an idyllic picture of the Austrian Alps and had long runs in cities including Berlin, Vienna, Munich, London, Paris and New York.
[5][57][59][63] This widespread adoption was helped along by a general 1930s trend to a silhouette which matched the folk costume: full skirts, higher hemlines, broader shoulders and tailored waists.
[66][33] An example is a propaganda photo released by the (Nazi Party) Office of Racial Politics, showing a young blonde girl wearing a dirndl, watching over small boys playing.
[57][58][59][70] Viktor von Geramb, who had promoted the dirndl in Austria, lost his position at the University of Vienna in 1938 because of his public opposition to Nazi racial theory.
[73][76][72] Pesendorfer described the new style as "de-catholicised" (entkatholisiert); she said her goal was to free the costume of "overburdening by church, industrialization and fashionable cries" and "foreign influences" and to let the "rogue sub-culture" back again.
[13][68][85] Dirndls and lederhosen have long been standard attire for staff at Volksfeste, but in the 1970s visitors at the festivals did not normally wear folk costume, even at Oktoberfest.
[82] Simone Egger concludes that the renewed popularity of traditional clothing is driven by desires for community and belonging, symbolized by folk costume.
From yoghurt to magazines with rural themes, one abandons oneself to the illusion of the good old times, in which the windowpanes can still keep out the cold wind of globalization.The dirndl is increasingly attracting attention apart from its area of origin.
In 2019, The Times of India ran an article featuring Bollywood actress Celina Jaitley wearing a dirndl; she urged other Indian women to add the dress to their wardrobe.
[94] In tourist settings, staff in offices, restaurants, wineries and shops often wear dirndls as a work uniform; this is also the case in the non-Alpine regions in the east of Austria.
[13] In Austria, and other parts of south central Europe, there are literally splashy events known as Dirndlspringen, in which attractive young women, are judged by how well they jump, or even just step, from a diving board into a lake or a swimming pool while wearing the dirndl, using it as a swimdress.
[13][27] In 2005, gossip magazine Bunte reported that at Munich Airport there was a place which was always important for fashion observers at Oktoberfest time: the women's toilets in Domestic Arrivals.
"There the ladies who have flown in wearing street clothes with shouldered clothes-bags vanish - and appear from Baggage Collection in full dirndl bloom.
"[1] Other evidence is the successful marketing of dirndls in the German national colours for wearing at football matches, noticeable at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
[33][84] In Italy the dirndl is part of the traditional clothing culture in the Alpine province of South Tyrol (German: Südtirol; Italian: Alto Adige).
Public events featuring folk costume include the Val Gardena folklore festival ("Gröden in Tracht") and the Country Wedding in Kastelruth.
The official national dress of Liechtenstein features a black skirt and a white blouse with crocheted and bobbin laced necklines and sleeves.
These are worn during festivities on Swiss National Day (August 1) or during seasonal celebrations which vary by canton, such as at harvest time or the end of winter.
Germans made a strong contribution to the gene pool of Montana, Minnesota, the Dakotas, Missouri, Texas, Wisconsin, New York City[111] and Chicago.
[112][18] Beginning in 1920 and especially after World War II, many Danube Swabians migrated to Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
