May 17, 2017

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Lederhosen and dirndls for children

Lederhosen and dirndls for children

Lederhosen and dirndls for children? What might sound like a description of the costume department shopping list during filming work on The Sound of Music is, as a matter of fact, nothing unusual in Bavaria. Sure, it went out of fashion for a few decades – ten-year-olds and teens wouldn’t have been caught dead in traditional Bavarian gear in the 90s, that’s for sure. Now, however, in these retro-times, the youngsters are queuing up for their first lederhosen and dirndls. And why not? After all, for centuries, children everywhere wore the clothes of their parents – hard-wearing items meant for hard work (School? Farm, more like!) and which could be adapted to fit growing bodies.

Nowhere was this truer than in Bavaria, either. The region’s long-impoverished farmers couldn’t afford take their children to the tailor year in, year out, and their wives had just about enough time to keep the homestead clean and food on the table, while their evenings were taken up with sewing tears and darning socks. Therefore, clothes for whipper-snappers had to be easy – and that meant lederhosen for children and dirndls for children.

Lederhosen and dirndls for children

It’s not just mum who needs a handbag!

In much the same way as boys in Britain were given shorts that could be let down as their legs got longer, Bavarian lads got lederhosen with those typical H-shaped braces as we know them now. The straps could be rebuckled higher up the straps as they grew and, along with buttons on the knee hem and the option of loosening the lace at the back of the waist, made these pieces long-lasting, allowing them to expand upwards and outwards as their owners did. If you’ve ever wondered where details like that – or the expandable lace-up corset of a dirndl, for that matter – came from, there’s your answer.

Nowadays, children wear their traditional Bavarian clothes for completely different reasons, of course. Parents like to dress them up in lederhosen and dirndls for children for special events such as weddings and christenings, as well as for outings to popular fairgrounds – the latter being perhaps another reason why today’s kids love the sight of their lederhosen and dirndls. An added thrill is that they get to wear the same grown-up clothes as mum and dad – and get extra treats from grandma and grandpa: after all, there’s nothing cuter than kids dressed up as like adults, is there?

Convinced that your children need Bavarian fashion in their lives? Lots of people are. But if you’re new to Germany or Bavaria, you might have trouble finding authentic gear made for the little-uns. We’ve certainly been asked a few times if we know where to look – and, since we do, we decided to post on it.

Overall, the manufacturer who has made the most consistent efforts in lederhosen and dirndls for children is Stockerpoint. We’d recommend buying here as the full range is available. For the little lads, that means lederhosen with matching shirts (check or formal white) or cool tees and even tiny little waistcoats. Proper leather shoes to go with? You bet. Hard to get cuter than that, really.

But cuter you can get, actually: the Stockerpoint girls’ dirndls are simply adorable! How about a classic three-piece with vintage floral patterning? Or a more typically girly look in pink and baby-blue? Add a pink cardigan and, yes, that’s right, that little old lady at the bus-stop has gone all misty-eyed. What if your little girl isn’t a girly girl, though? No worries: the range includes denim dirndls and even Bavarian-style shorts that are just perfect for climbing trees and all sorts of other fun that isn’t just for the boys!

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