Widely held, the
traditional cloth of Bavarians are often reduced to the two keywords
"Dirndl" and "Lederhosen", but there is much more to say about that. First,
you can not say that there exists a traditional Dirndl or Lederhosen . Both
do exist in a great variety and differ from region to region or even by
occasions. So there are the winter and summer Dirndls, the Dirndl for
everyday or the special ones for sundays or festivals like Christmas. They
also differ regarding how many pieces you put on. You can have Dirndls which
are complete in one piece or which come with a blouse and the typical
aprons. And finally the biggest difference - the specific characteristics in
every region, which comes through certain colours, hats and embroideries on
the apron.
Historically the Dirndl was the
typical dress of the female peasantry, like the peasant's wives, the farm
girls and the dairymaids as work clothes. The apron of the Dirndl was
designed mostly practical and suitable for everyday life. Formerly, the
Dirndl was called "G'wand" (donīt try to pronounce it, sometimes itīs even
hard for natives).
During the last century the so-called "high
society" and thus the industry discovered the Dirndl is fashionable. Now
people were able to wear it for fashion, have not to be anxious getting
promptly stamped as poors. This circumstance was responsible that this major
topic of the Bavarian history managed to survive until today and has even
developed since.
Nowadays dirndls are quite popular in Germany and
Austria because they are pretty, fun, and not expensive as the native
dress!
