Wonderful Bavarian winter clothing

Bavarians know a thing or two about winter. With the Alps in the south of the region, they have more snow and for much longer than the rest of Germany and many other places in Europe, too. Then there are the icy gusts and chilly nights that can go on well into spring. So it’s not much of a surprise that, for true Bavarians who aren’t just into it for Oktoberfest kicks, lederhosen and dirndls for winter are just as important as traditional wear for summer.
Yet what is surprising this year is the sheer creativity and the imaginative design approaches we are seeing in classic areas such as loden jackets or knitted cardigans. In fact, it’s no exaggeration to say this winter, there’s more going on in Bavarian winter clothing than ever before. So rather than trying – and failing – to take you through it all piece by piece before spring comes, we thought we’d do a quick round up of the new things going on with greatcoats, jackets, cardigans, and vests.

Bavarian winter coats – now for her, too

Lets start with that most traditional of Bavarian winter coats: the Janker. You’ll recognise it as a suit-jacket-style men’s piece made of loden (thick, pressed wool) and generally worn in dark grey or dark brown, either as an overcoat or as a blazer. This season, though, this classic has attracted wildly creative new looks: there’s a broader variety of fabrics, colours, and cuts available than ever before, including leather or linen coats. This extends the range of colours into warm browns such as ochre and camel and light grey or blue shades, too.

What is more: this isn’t just something for they boys: ladies’ coats, too, are experiencing a new lease of life. Rather than being limited to shorter, more tailored versions of men’s loden coats, Bavarian winter clothing for women is moving into all kinds of jackets made of all sorts of material: whether its suede, silky polyester mixes, or even sweat materials; whether it’s full-length greatcoats or chichi blazers. After all, girls don’t like to freeze any more than boys, and not every lady has a fur coat she can slip on over traditional wear when the mercury goes a-plunging, so really, it was about time.

Sleeveless cardigans – girls muscling in here, too

Another bastion of Bavarian winter clothing for men is set to fall to the ladies too: sleeveless, collarless knitted cardigans. Now that women have been wearing lederhosen for a few years, they’re starting to look at other typically male pieces of Bavarian clothing and, after the Haferschuhe and thick woolly socks, after the checked shirts and even the silken waistcoats, now, they’re coming for the bodywarmers in die Sortimente, that men like to wear as an extra layer between shirt and coat.

Not that the boys are about to abandon their knitted waistcoats . Here, the traditional “my granny knitted this” look with lots of chunky cable-stitching is giving way to something altogether finer purls in colours such as golden brown and light anthracite grey, often featuring subtle dark green stitching around the edges and along the pockets. Also, keep an eye out for the super-trendy versions with sew-on badges, stag, etc..

Sweaters and cardigans – new stuff for both boys and girls

In cardigans and sweaters, too, classics are giving way to creative new pieces.For the boys, that means an increased interest in functional elements: look out for hoods and zips which make the pieces more wearable on an everyday basis, while some have even become stand-alone jackets capable of being worn instead of, not just under a coat. Then there are more traditional cardigan-style pieces, but with more colours (nut brown, gentian blue) and stylish finishing.

For the girls, it’s not just colour which is making Bavarian winter clothing so exciting in 2017, but whole new ways of working with materials. So look out for woolly cardigans with trendy, t-shirt style prints. If you want to keep things more traditional, though, then details such as floral embroidery or finishing in different colours along hems and pockets give cardigans a smarter, dressier feel this season.

Bavarian winter clothing: never a better year

So whether you’re a lederhosen lad or a dirndl girl, whether you like it formal or relaxed, whether you need to survive a snow-storm or just keep cosy: there really never was a better time to look at Bavarian winter fashion than now. This kind of variety is something we’re really excited about.