Austrian pretty women wearing lovely traditional costumes - Image by NinaIngenkamp
Austria is a mountainous country located in the central Europe and the modern history of which dates back to the ninth century A.D. Today’s Austria is the 12th richest country in the world in terms of GDP per capita,has a well-developed social market economy, and a high standard of living. The Austrians are historically Germans, they speak German language and their culture has largely been influenced by the marks of German, Italian, Polish and Eastern European civilizations. Austria is the center of musical innovations, creative art, folklore, literature and performing art.
The clothing culture of Austria is like the other German speaking countries of Europe. The traditional dress of Austria includes Lederhosen, dirndl and Tracht. Modern fashion wear is not a matter of discussion in this article although there is lot to be discussed about the achievements of the modern Austrian fashion designers.
Austrian traditional costumes are generally having many varieties and are as varied as the country itself, with each region having its own regional outfit. We’ll try to make you understand about the traditional way of clothing in Austria.
When it comes to the traditional male dress of Austria, the workwear or leisurewear for working-class men is Lederhosen that were formerly worn by the Austrian men in their hard physical work. Lederhosen were once widespread among men of the Alpine and surrounding regions, including Bavaria and Austria. Lederhosen have remained regionally popular and are commonly associated with virility and brawn. Typically, lederhosen are the leather shorts and usually those are having simpler cutting for the young boys. Men’s Lederhosen are more heavily ornamented, and the straps of the suspenders used to secure the shorts may also have embroidery and other ornaments. Different regions have different traditional decorations.
Tracht is another traditional dress of Austria like it is worn in other German-speaking countries. Literally the word “Tracht” may refer to the clothes which are worn. Tracht was mainly introduced by the peasants, farmers and the mountainous people of Germany and Austria. This costume is occasionally still worn at weddings and on other festive occasions. Costumes worn by professional guilds are also called “Tracht”. While many have fallen into disuse, carpenter journeymen can still be seen wearing their traditional costume while traveling throughout Europe.
Austrians feel so much pride in Tracht. Historically these costumes were made with wool, linen and leather fabrics. Before the eighteenth century, Tracht wearing had some restrictions. The colorful costume was only limited to the Austrian elite and wealthy people but with the passage of time certain bans were gradually abolished. Especially during the Age of Romanticism, Tracht along with other traditional clothing started becoming popular and fashionable. Today, Salzburg and the Salzkammergut are the main centres of Tracht manufacturing and trade.
The peasants of Austria also introduced Lodencape which is a coat of Tyrolean origin, made of a thick, water resistant woolen material.The fabric is derived from the course, oily wool of mountain sheep and has a traditional bluish-green color.
The Haferlschuh or Schützenschuh is the traditional shoe of Austria that was designed originally as working shoes for alpine terrain, but it developed into a timeless classic. Schützenschuh is still worn by the Austrians in their day to day affairs.The dirndl is the traditional dress especially for the women of Austria and Bavaria which is used as an everyday dress primarily by older women in rural areas. Other women may wear it at formal occasions and during certain traditional events. In Austria, the dirndl may often be seen on women working in tourism-related businesses, and sometimes waitresses in traditional-style restaurants or beer gardens. It is also seen in these regions on women in the Volksmusik business. A dirndl skirt generally describes a light circular cut dress, gathered at the waist that falls below the knee.
The winter style dirndl has heavy, warm skirts and aprons made of thick cotton, linen, velvet or wool, and long sleeves. The colors are usually rich and dark. The summer style is lighter and more frivolous, has short sleeves, and is often made of lightweight cotton. Accessories may include a long apron tied round the waist, a waistcoat or a wool shawl. As far as jewelry is concerned, women often sport necklaces, earrings and brooches made of silver, the antlers of deer or even animals’ teeth. For colder weather there are heavy dirndl coats in the same cut as the dresses, with a high neck and front buttons, thick mittens and wool hats.
The Tyrolean hat or Alpine hat is a type of headwear that was originally a crown tapering to a point and was made of green felt with a brim roughly the width of a hand, something that was especially common in the Zillertal. There are various forms of Tyrolean hat. Frequently the hats are decorated with a colored, corded hatband and a spray of flowers, feathers or “brush” at the side of the crown. The traditional “brush” is made of the tail of the chamois goat. It takes a variety of forms, and may often be combined with feathers. Tyrolean hat has become the image bearer of “Tyrolean culture” as a tourist symbol, influenced also by folk music bands who wore fanciful “local” costumes.
For more interesting posts with the same subject on the Lovely Planet Website, please click the following links;
1- Algerian Traditional Dress 2- Traditional Dress Of Serbia 3- Traditional Dress Of Kosovo 4- Traditional Dress Of Libya 5- Traditional Dress Of Morocco 6- Traditional Dress Of Albania 7- Traditional Dress Of Tunisia 8- Traditional Dress Of Lebanon 9- Traditional Dress Of Bosnia And Herzegovina 10- Traditional Dress Of Azerbaijan 11- Traditional Dress Of Turkmenistan 12- Traditional Dress Of Kazakhstan 13- Traditional Dress Of Kyrgyzstan 14- Traditional Dress Of Uzbekistan 15- Traditional Dress Of Tajikistan 16- The Traditional Dress Of Laos 17- The Traditional Dress Of Vietnam 18- Traditional Dresses Of The World – 1 19- Traditional Dress Of Jammu & Kashmir 20- Ottoman Dresses From Turkey 21- Colors Of Cholistan 22- Cultural Dresses Of Balochistan 23- Lehenga Choli Or Ghagra Choli 24- Sari Or Saree : Traditional Dress Of Women In South Asia 25- Ajrak , The Traditional Attire From Sindh , Pakistan 26- The Traditional Tais Of East Timor 27- Shalwar Kameez: The Popular Dress Of South Asia 28- Churidar Pajama: The Favorite South Asian Attire 29- Pakistani Bridal Dress 30- Rilli, Sindhi Quilt Art 31- Fantastic, Alluring Khussa Shoes 32- Customs And Traditions Of Kalash Tribe 33- Hanfu, The Classical Chinese Dress 34- London Fashion Week 35- Fashion Week Milan: The Glamorous Event Of Italy 36- New York Fashion Week 37- Paris Fashion Week 38- Traditional Dress Of Jordan 39- Traditional Dress Of Syria 40- Traditional Dress Of Afghanistan 41- Traditional Dress Of Palestine 42- Traditional Dress Of Oman 43-Traditional Dress Of Nigeria 44- Traditional Dress Of Hungary 45-Traditional Dress Of Ukraine 46- Malaysian Traditional Dress 47- Traditional Dress Of Kenya 48- Traditional Eastern Brides 49- Traditional Dress Of Bulgaria 50- Traditional dress of Uganda 51- Traditional Dress of Iceland 52- Traditional Dress of Croatia 53- traditional dress of Norway 54- Traditional dress of Finland 55- Traditional Dress of Philippines 56- Traditional dress of Denmark 57- Traditional dress of Belarus 58- Traditional Dress of Puerto Rico 59- Traditional Dress of Nicaragua: Marvelous and colorful 60 – Traditional Dress of Nepal: Whimsical but charming 61- Brilliant Colors of Dagestan: Really fanciful and imaginative 62- Kabuki: A classical and traditional Japanese theater 63- Boogie-woogie: A famous Swing Dance 64- Colors of Samba Dance from Brazil: So lively so amazing 65- Ho Jamalo: The favorite folk dance of Sindh 66- Odissi from the Eastern India: A historic ritual dance 67- Sattriya from Assam: A classical Indian dance 68- Fandango: A famous couple dance from Spain 69- Maypole from Europe: A fabulous circle folk dance 70- Cueca: The national dance of Chile 71- Traditional dress of Belgium: A charming European attire 72- Traditional dress of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 73- Colors of Kalash: 5 lovely images of beautiful Kalash girls 74- Traditional dress of Georgia: The fantastic Chokha 75- Traditional dress of Argentina: The warrior Gaucho costume 76- Traditional dress of Venezuela: Not complicated but decorated 77- Traditional dress of Latvia: Made with the Linen fabric 78- Traditional dress of Romania: So captivating and graceful 79- Traditional dress of Estonia: So classy and versatile 80- Traditional dress of Armenia: So colorful and diversified 81- Traditional dress of Angola: A symbol of the ethnic culture
Dear Sir/Madam,
We are feeling happy to introduce our self as the manufacturer of traditional German garments and wears, our field of expertise covers following items
Lederhosen / leather Pants
Dirndl / Costumes
Men’s and Ladies Shirts
Blouse and other accessories
Also we will welcome your own design and instructions