Gingham und Lederhosen und Dirndl, Oh My!

Coming to Austria, we knew we weren't leaving before we bought some traditional clothes, and earlier this week, we made good on our promise.

The first time I saw Trachten (traditional clothing) was on a Sunday in September.  After visiting the Haus der Natur, we walked around the Alt Stadt where so many men, women, and children were dressed in Trachten.  Ben explained that people from villages surrounding Salzburg come into town to go to the markets on Sundays.  I was blown away that people actually wear Lederhosen and Dirndl in real life, not just in movies and in what I presumed were stereotypical advertisements and images of the German-speaking world. 

During this time of year, one doesn't see Dirndl and Lederhosen in town, but many older men and women in Salzburg wear traditional hats and jackets.  I have to say that I love it.  I love that people are proud to be Austrian, and, on a side note, I also love that 95.2% of people here dress nicely when they go out in public.  It's not that they all wear suits and dresses on the bus, but their clothing is more fitted.  Whereas some Americans drown in clothing two sizes too big, or squeeze into jeans and tops two sizes too small, Austrian men and women just wear more body-conscious clothing.  I've noticed that my style has shifted to be a bit more formal and I'm trying to do new things with my hair.  Sometimes it looks like I styled it with two chopsticks, but at least I'm trying. I'm a firm believer that when you dress up, you feel better and are more productive, so yeah, go put on some slacks.  Yes, slacks.

So, before I babble some more, I should start with a picture of Trachten, ja?

These felons are all wearing some form of traditional clothing.  Just kidding - these are Ben's students graciously accepting our applause at the holiday concert last month.  This is a little one-sided, yes, but the males generally tend to sit farther in the back and to play different instruments.

Well, we received recommendations from a few different sources to buy our Trachten at H. Moser in Eugendorf.  We caught the 8AM bus so we could be there when it opened, and away we went! 

It was absolutely miserable outside.  We arrived 30 minutes early, because as the saying goes, if you're early, then you're on time.  We shouldn't have listened that day.   

We took refuge in a cafe.

To say that we were disheveled would be an understatement.

A sound, healthy breakfast.  We ate a real breakfast probably an hour and a half before we left home, so that flaky, chocolate-filled wunder-pastry was just to smooth my hair.   

Finally, it was 9AM and we were ready to get suited up!

First, a very friendly saleslady helped Ben find his Lederhose.  He told her that he didn't quite know what size he needed, so she patted his hips a few times, asked me (not him) two quick questions about what I wanted to see him in, handed him two pairs, and promptly sent him to the dressing room.  I waited patiently, and no sooner had he opened the curtain to show me when the lady popped in and started patting him all over!  He looked pretty uncomfortable, but I just had to smile and nod that they looked sehr gut.  Needless to say, she got the fit dead-on and he was done after trying on one pair.  Go, efficiency!  

This left plenty of time for me to try on Dirndl.  So, you buy the dress and the blouse separately.  The blouses were kind of like 2002 music video wear: belly shirts, but with sleeves.  The Dirndl were all different color combinations, and one even had a rhinestone upside-down pretzel that Ben tried to make me try on.  Without saying too much, I tried on my first blouse and Dirndl; it felt good, but the consumer in me had to try on different combinations of blouses and Dirndl.  But, when the first is utter perfection, why bother? Just like Ben, I bought the first pieces I tried on.  

Sadly, there are no photos of the women's section of the store because I'm the resident family photographer and I was busy trying to mess with Dirndl perfection. 

The Gingham Sea.

Our bag filled with goodies!

I can't wait until we wear our Trachten!  Stay tuned for the debut!