Dirndls are a popular German ladies’ dress worn across Europe. Before the 1870s, they were worn by mostly housemaids and female servants. After the 1870’s though they found their way into the elites of German society, Bavarian to be particular. Since then, they have become quite common and are still easily available in offline shops and in online stores. Example of one such reliable and versatile clothes offering online store would be Floryday.

Traditional Dirndl Dress

Floryday offers a wide variety of clothing essentials from German Dirndls to French Corsets. They have everything you want to make choices from. Traditional Dirndl dresses consist of a blouse, a long and wide skirt, a body accenting top and an apron. However, the modern variations consist of smaller skirts and a bit revealing styles as well. The traditional Dirndls had particular blue and white color schemes, but today they are available in a lot of other color combinations as well.

Bow Of Dirndl

One interesting feature of Dirndls is the bow which is tied along the waistline. According to German culture, if the bow is tied on the left side, it meant that the woman is single and open to any dating possibilities. However, If the bow was tied on right, it meant she was in a relationship and did not need any advances. If the bow was tied in the center it meant either that the girl is a virgin and indecisive about her relationship choices or too young to be open for dating opportunities. Since, Dirndls were also very often worn by waitresses and beer supplying women in bars, if the bow was tied at the back it meant the lady wearing the Dirndl was either a waitress or a widow.

Dirndl In Television Adaptations

Dirndls have been around for a quite awhile now and have made it to famous movies as well. For example, the dress worn by the leading actress in The Wizard of Oz and Belle from Beauty and the Beast, both are similar to Dirndls. Apart from mainstream cinemas, the dress has also been used in the television adaptations of a lot of historical and Period Drama novels which include the characters of housemaids.

Uses of Dirndl

Dirndls can be worn on a variety of occasions from public gatherings to Halloween parties. They were mainly worn by women at the Oktoberfest festival held in Germany. They are the authentic Oktoberfest dress and they can accentuate all body types. It’s an all-purpose dress which can fit any size of women and give them a stylish outlook. Just like Sari’s are important for and a representative symbol of Indian culture, similarly Dirndls are also important for and a staple representative of German culture.

The traditional Dirndls worn by women go hand in hand with Lederhosen worn by German men. Simply put, Lederhosen are small pants or leather shorts worn with fancy shirts by the German men at the Oktoberfest.

Though Dirndls are commonly confused with Tracht, there are some basic differences among the two which can only be deciphered by people who are keen on incorporating German fashion into their wardrobes.