Blessed Shout Out, More Oktoberfest Excitement, and the History and Wear of the Bavarian Dirndl

I really appreciate all of the comments that I have been getting about my blog recently. Everyone keeps telling me how well I write and how much they love reading my posts. It’s really made me feel good! I appreciate your support and interest and I hope you’ll keep reading, even when I don’t have anything that exciting to write about. I figure that as long as I’m still here in Munich, living this crazy life, I’m going to have something to say so I hope you’ll stick with me through it all! Plus, Fio’s suggested that I write for my friend Laura’s new up and coming newspaper here in Munich. That would be cool! I’ll let you know what Laura thinks once she reads this. Ha.

Coming up soon… OKTOBERFEST!!!! I have a million and a half people to meet up with who are visiting or who live here already and I’m so excited to enjoy this massive bier fest with good company. And also… in style.

I am now the proud owner of an authentic, traditional Bavarian dirndl!

  Me and some random handsome fellow in his lederhosen

Basically, I’m doing this thing now where I look up the history of all these fun things I’m taking part in so you can understand why it’s so cool. Like the dirndl. It’s a Bavarian/Austrian dress that goes side by side with the lederhosen – which is much more popular and recognizable (e.g. yodeling). (Fun fact: Lederhosen were really popular among men in Bavarian and Austria but, ironically, a Bavarian named Levi Strauss came up with this crazy denim “jeans” idea and emigrated to California during the gold rush, taking his idea with him. Thus the birth of jeans!) Dirndls were originally worn by working women in the 18th century and were called dirndlgewand (maid’s dress) but the term is now shortened to just dirndl. Eventually, it was adopted as fashionable by the rich people in Austria and Germany after a Kaiser made it cool to wear. Now, the dirndl (and the lederhosen) are worn mostly for festivals (especially Oktoberfest) and in biergartens but it’s not uncommon to see them on many different people throughout Bavaria on random, unimportant nights. A lot of waitresses at Bavarian restaurants wear them too. Dirndl’s display national pride and can be worn in all kinds of colors and fashions complete with a dress, blouse, apron, and sometimes, a petty coat underneath. They’re actually designed to flatter the female figure with a tight bodice and low-cut front and they make any woman’s boobs look amazing. Of course, dirndls have gotten shorter, sexier, and flirtier (apparently that’s a word) and that’s okay because they work.

Fio and I went out in our dirndls last Saturday night and we had the best night ever. Both of us couldn’t stop laughing all night. Everyone stares at you but you know it’s for a good reason and people were actually taking pictures of us. We felt like celebrities or something. It was awesome. Plus, we got hit on significantly more than we ever do wearing normal clothes so that was, in and of itself, awesome. Except when a table of fat, balding middle aged men from the northwestern States were hitting on us at Sausalitos and wouldn’t go away. Maybe that had something to do with Fio feeding into it because, “they own oil companies!” Ha. Eventually we just befriended guys in lederhosen and went home, feeling successful as newbie Bavarians.

This week my girlfriends and I (and Eric in his lederhosen) fully intend to break out into the city in our dirndls. Kind of like a test run for Oktoberfest. And then the madness begins this weekend. Seven million extra people in Munich? Millions of liters of bier? Insanity? I think so! Pictures will be posted.