Dirndls and bows

As a child I had an image of the Swiss alps and German culture.

It always involved national dress and mountains.

Maybe I watched too much Heidi or the Sound of Music, but I did and still do, find the German “Dirndl”s and “Lederhosen” quite lovely.

For those who don't know, a dirndl consists of a bodice, a blouse, a full skirt and an apron. Fully embroidered in beautiful colours.

Last year, my husband and I decided to invest in a family kit.

It was inspired by two things

1. At our wedding (nigh on 15 years ago) my husbands wonderful friends, put on a show which included them all wearing leather trousers and thigh slapping their way through their self created German polka. As a result all my husbands friends invested in lederhosen, side buckled shoes and checked shirts. However the groom, who was not part of the plan, was the only who didn’t own an outfit.

2. We attended the Stuttgart Bierfest last May, and it was a glorious day, the girls had so much fun.  Many of the people were dressed up in beautiful German national outfits. Our girls were so impressed.  As were we.  We then and there decided we had to buy some.

So a few weeks later, following a debate with our friends on where to buy them, we headed out to the shops.

The choice was really good and it took us a fair few hours to pick the colours and styles. We loved them all. After, honestly hours of trying on various different styles, we made our choices.  All four matching.

However the story of the blog today is around the bows and not just the purchase. Each of the girls outfits has a long ribbon round the waist and gets tied in a bow. However how you tie it is very relevant.

The placement of the knot on the apron is an indicator of the woman's marital status. A knot tied on the left side indicates that she is single, a knot tied on the right means that she is married, engaged or otherwise "taken", a knot tied in the front centre means that she is a virgin and a knot tied at the back indicates that the woman is widowed

I am glad I knew this before I made a show of myself.

Don't you love culture?