Comments on: For the Love of Dirndls – A New Obsession

By: Jennifer Rosbrugh

Jennifer Rosbrugh — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 18:30:08 +0000

A lot has closed re: shipping from EU due to Covid – ugh. Hope it comes back soon! AND… maybe if they get enough inquiries they may consider shipping to USA again.

By: Ann Sterling

Ann Sterling — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 17:13:54 +0000

Sadly Stoffcity does not shiptousa anymore. Sad.

By: Jennifer Rosbrugh

Jennifer Rosbrugh — Tue, 28 Apr 2020 17:24:54 +0000

In reply to Outo. Thanks for your comment, Outo! Since most of my readers and students love Victorian fashion and the sewing of it, I wanted to compare that dirndl construction reflects 19th century sewing in a few aspects - a great way for someone to transition from sewing historical styles to the modern dirndl. :-)

By: Outo

Outo — Tue, 28 Apr 2020 15:29:34 +0000

I’m two years late for this post, but when you say people who love the dirndl do so because of a love for victorian fashion I have to protest 🙂
I love the dirndl. I would love to own one and have time to wear it. On the other hand I find victorian fashion off-putting. Fashion from the 1830s until the 1920s just do not spark joy in me. My joy for it can only be secondhand since I do find some joy in watching other people enjoy it, but for me personally it is just drab.

By: Sam B

Sam B — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 18:55:23 +0000

In reply to Sarah R. My petticoat is a thin cotton, maybe voile or batiste, and has only one ruffle of 5 inch eyelet at the hem. I wear it with my wool dirndl every June for an event in 90 degree heat, but this year it was over 100! and I was fine. The petti had an okay fullness under my wool skirt (which is flowy but a little heavy, as to be expected). However, it was way too long, about 4 inches showing below the wool, so I decided to put some tucks above the ruffle. This put the eyelet showing just a half-inch below my skirt (since it's black, I wanted some contrast), but it also gave the petticoat a lot more body, and now my skirt looks so much fuller. For dirndls, the silhouette is closer to 1950's than bell-shaped, so petti ruffles are typically kept close to the hem, although if you're thinking of a 1930's-40's look, you can skip the petti ruffles completely. Like Jen, nature gave me plenty of built-in shape in the hips, but for someone very slim-hipped, a yoke or a higher flounce can help.

By: For the Love of Dirndls – Fabric Options

For the Love of Dirndls – Fabric Options — Mon, 24 Sep 2018 00:16:13 +0000

[…] jumping into your fabric stash be sure to review my post on general elements of dirndl and Trachten wear, then also my post on dirndl patterns to use. I’ll give you recommendations for yardage needed […]

By: Sam B

Sam B — Sun, 15 Jul 2018 01:14:45 +0000

Funny thing, I finished putting my own dirndl together this spring, and just found this post today! For me, it’s a part of my heritage (and I actually lived there as a kid) and my community does a few German/Ethnic heritage things each year, so I’ve been piecing together my outfit from things brought over that hadn’t fit for years (or Mom hadn’t gotten around to sewing…it’s hereditary). I have a black wool skirt with deep red roses on it, a separate (working the historical angle) black bodice with red binding, and white blouse and apron, and keep getting asked if it’s Dutch. Oh, well; cotton might work better for summer here anyway, and who doesn’t love making another outfit, right? The moment when you’ve finished your hair and put on the last accessory, tug the bodice just a tad, and look in the mirror and feel RIGHT, is worth all the time spent on research and ripping out seams.
I’d never heard (or forgot) about the bow placement meaning anything, until starting my online research this year, but one website included a comment from a clerk in a dirndl store in Germany. She said it’s only been in recent years that the store owner told the staff to tell customers about the “meaning”, and that they should make it sound like their sharing a deep secret, so maybe it means nothing…The one time I got to Hawaii, the tour guide said something very similar about where a lady places the flower in her hair. I’m pretty sure my mom tied my apron in the back when I was small, so that I’d be less likely to untie it myself (and lose it somewhere).

By: Jennifer Rosbrugh

Jennifer Rosbrugh — Thu, 24 May 2018 15:59:17 +0000

In reply to Cozette.

Yay! I was recently gifted a vintage dirndl – beautiful embroidered purple linen – which I’ll be altering to wear. They are indeed quite comfy and beautiful. 🙂