The History of the Dirndl in Austria and Germany

The dirndl is a female dress copied from the Trachten, consisting of a top - Austrian: Leibl - and blouse, wide skirt and a colorful apron.
Originally, the dirndl was the working dress of female servants = Austrian dirn: maid, maidservant; hence the term dirndl as an abbreviation of Dirndlgewand, maids dress.  to be used for work in the fields.
In these times there were strict rules who could wear which styles, colors and fabrics according to their status in society and every region had their own dresscode.

Around 1870/1880, after Kaiser Franz Joseph made it fashionable to wear Lederhosen and Tracht, the upper classes adopted the dirndl as a modern dress and wore it on their summer holidays.

Today the wearing of the dirndl is generally regarded as a sign of national pride; in material, color and shape it is increasingly subject to modern influences.
The word dirndl also describes a young woman in many regional dialects of Austria. So a dirndl could be wearing a dirndl :)

You can wear dirndl-dresses for festive occasions, summer-parties, holidays, oktoberfest, promotion, wedding ... and even as a very femin ine statement at office!

Dirndl-Dresses Flatter The Female Figure!

 Traditional German dirndls, in particular Bavarian and Austrian dirndl skirts and trachten clothes are designed to flatter the female figure, emphasizing its attractiveness by the tight waist and bodice, while adding comfort with the gathered, flowing skirt - which also conceals any flaws we may think we have! This silhouette is attractively sexy for almost every variation of the female form, from a slender size 4 to a bountiful size 18 or more; from girlish youth to womanly splendor.

Your dirndl-dress on ebay!

A Few Terms You Should Know

BSCHEISSERL - visible dessous in chest area (place for food stains
FLÖRL - choker to be worn with dirndl
FROSCHGOSCHERL - elaborate ornamentation on dirndl
HAFERLSCHUACH - right shoes for tracht - laces on the side!
HEMAD - shirt
HUBERTUSMANTEL - Loden coat, see picture
JANKER - broad term for alpine jacket
JOPPERL - a short Janker
KITTL - skirt
KITTLBLECH - seam or ornamentation sewn onto the skirt
LEDERNE - Lederhosen
LEIBL - blouse
LEIBLKITTL - Leibrock and Leibl in one piece
LEIBROCK - petticoat
LEINWAND - linen
LODEN - water repellent carded yarn cloth, made of wool
LOFERL - stockings to be used with lederhosen - consisting of two parts!
PFOADL or PFOAD - white shirt
SCHLADMINGER - jacket made of boiled Loden
SCHURZ - apron
STUTZ'N - stockings
ROCK - formal jacket for men - slightly confusing, since in high German it means skirt
WALKJANKER - jacket made of boiled knit wool
WETTERFLECK - cape, usually made of Loden or other water repellent material