Trends in 2014: Printed shirts

After taking a look at the role of denim in 2014 last week, we’re continuing our series on Bavarian fashion trends this week with a look at another Big Thing for this year’s Oktoberfest style: printed shirts.

In a way, this has been bubbling away for a few years now: last time round, there were already quite a few t-shirts and longsleeves out there with Bavarian-style prints on them – even the odd checked shirt had been spiced up with printed designs. But this year, this bubbling has turned to a boil: prints are now officially hot. Whether it’s a cute tee for girls or a proper shirt for the boys, anything that can be worn with lederhosen is getting printed. No print? You’re out!

We think that part of the reason why print is suddenly so popular is that this year is also seeing a move to more casual, less labour-intensive pieces that designers and Oktoberfest-goers are happier to start experimenting with. After all, no-one is going to stick prints on a 300-Euro-Lederhosn or a 100-Euro-shirt just to see how it looks. But if we’re talking t-shirts, all of a sudden, there’s room for manoeuver.

Hunting, fire, deer: manly stuff

In terms of guys Oktoberfest shirts, a lot has happened in recent years. Until recently, it was either check pattern, white collarless, or – if you really wanted to be adventurous, a granddad undershirt with a few buttons at the top. These latter are now at the centre of the print-pattern trend, as are short-armed t-shirts: both can be worn with lederhosen, or with the new rash of love-‘em-or-loathe-‘em jeans-style lederhosen out there. Given the fact that they lack collars, cuffs, and a full row of buttons, prints are important to break the monotony on this kind of piece, so you’ll see lots with impressive-sounding German words like “BERGFEUER” and “HIRSCHBLUT” – that’s “mountain fire” and “deer blood” to those of us with no Deutsch – nice and butch, then. There are long-sleeve shirts, too, which tend to work more with patches, stitching, and feature buttons made of horn as well as just plain prints. You’ll find plenty of traditional motifs like stag heads here.

Another big trend in 2014 is going to be prints on more traditional dress shirts. In recent years, slogans and emblems have already been spotted here and there – shoulders, sleeves, top-left pocket – but now, they’ve invaded the entire shirt: back, chest, even the collar and the cuffs are covered with German phrases, deer heads, and hunting knives. And that’s just the checked shirts! By the time we get to plain white shirts – both the more formal models with stiff collars and the more relaxed linen numbers – you’ll find all-over printed shirts is the big thing for this Wiesn.

Flowers, hearts, dogs: girly pics

For the ladies, relaxed t-shirts have been an Oktoberfest trend for a while now. What’s new in 2014 are larger prints on thin material with muted colours: it’s essentially what has happened to fashion t-shirts generally with the whole trashy-look of recent years, but now with a Bavarian twist. What’s really surprising is the comeback of country-style, too, with lace-up bodices and long, heavy skirts. You’ll find print here too, just below the neck-line, for example: it might be a heart in this year’s big trending colour, red. And on the t-shirts, as well as the traditional Edelweiss white flowers, this year brings unexpected prints to Bavarian fashion, from pop-starlets to cute dogs.

That’s right: in 2014, printed t-shirts can even be used to display your personal preferences.