Foreigners wearing Tracht - Munich

No! I will get them fixed.

(though it may actually end up being 4, ahem)

I said smiles, not smirks.

I was told by my boss that under the Third Reich, the Nazis required Bavarians to dress in Tracht, so the tradition sort of died down a bit after the war. The resurgence seems to be led by the younger generations. Perhaps it is connected to their overall attitude toward the war and the fact they were never forced to wear their tracht.

http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/histor...1317789,00.html

Are you sure? I thought the kilt was originally Irish?

http://www.albanach.org/kilt.html

Its a skirt on a man for God's sake!

Actually I think that the http://www.utilikilts.com/ are pretty damn cool, but not something I could ever pull off I think basically.

but tempted...

No, non Bavarian men should not wear Bavarian Tracht. It should be compulsory for all women to wear dirndl. Sorry, but that's just a fact.

And can anyone explain to me why black women in particular look so good in them? I've only seen one or two, but I had to stop walking for fear of tripping over my tongue. (Sorry if anyone finds this racist or otherwise offensive, it isn't meant that way.)

I think it is just the "novelty" value that is making your head turn.

That would explain a lot now that enough time has passed...

@JE, that book review was good.

It was more a sort *pant* *pant* reaction, actually, J_E

the belted plaid is both Irish and Scottish in that it is Celtic style of dress that is entirely ancient. However, the philibeag, which is the style of kilt with the massed pleats at the back which is traditional in Scotland, was invented at the Carron Ireonworks in Scotland by an English Quaker foreman who was worried that there were too many accidents from plaids getting caught in machinery.

absolutely right BTC, amd the tartan designs are also very modern. Belted plaid could be found amongst Celtic peoples from Ireland and Britain, as well as mainland Europe. Even the Scandanavians had a very similar style of clothing. In fact, the word "Kilt" comes from old western Norse iirc.

Well with the foreigners wearing tracht and the like, it means the manufacturers of those shirts with all that writing all over them actually do some business. It seems the only people who wear those shirts are non-German..

And I seriously doubt the theory regarding young people wearing tracht. They wear them because the dirndl has been very well marketed as being extremely sexy. They see it as a fashion statement nowadays at bierfests.

I know a guy who has one of these - the leather version. He loves it. The fact that he's young, fit and fast and wears it while running over hill and dale only adds to the appeal.

I feel faint . ...