(Leder)hosed

I went to Oktoberfest this year and wore a Dirndl. Aside from drinking a lot of beer, eating sausage, and singing the Flieger song, nothing gets you into the spirit of things quite like it. Except maybe for wearing Lederhosen, which I didn't do, but which struck my friend Janice as a fashion inspiration that I should write about.

So I started to think a bit more about Lederhosen for women. The traditional outfit for women, the Dirndl, embodies a girl-woman sweetness with its cleavage-y little white blouse, flowery full skirt, and apron. Lederhosen have more of a tough sweetness. I'm sure my German male friends would get mad at my calling Lederhosen sweet. I know they're cut out of manly, thick, durable leather and I'm sure they're great for mountain climbing and log hauling and even have that expansion tie in back in case you drink too much beer, but they're also embroidered and the little straps are (admit it) aw shucks kind of cute. Nothing wrong with being tough and cute - nothing at all! And when women wear them, there's an androgynous edge that recalls Marlene Dietrich in a tux, or Sally Bowles (Cabaret) in a .. um.. hat.

I like this idea of a little sweetness in clothes - on its own or (as I prefer) mixed with a little toughness. Sweetness makes people smile. Actually, I think I may have subconsciously absorbed the influence without really thinking about it. I've worn a few things that my friends have said were sort of Dirndl-like and the other night, I realized that both my friend Anne and I were both wearing outfits that were versions of Lederhosen, interpreted in our own ways. Mine was literally "leather pants" (actually shorts) which I wore with boots; hers was sweeter, I think, and had the shorts/overalls idea. For now, I've only got the photo of me in my version (it's Anne's camera, so I'm hoping she'll send the photo of her as well!) I'll add it to this post as soon as she does.

Anyhow, for the sake of full disclosure, I was given a reason for why Lederhosen weren't for women. Actually two. The first, according to one of my German male friends, is that Lederhosen make women's butts look big. (Depends on the cut, I'd say, but that is a risk when leather stretches out). The second is that they're sexy on men and women shouldn't take that away from them. Well, again I'd say that depends. If the guy wearing them is sexy, then sure. But a girl in Lederhosen won't make a hot guy any less so. And if a guy wants to give the Dirndl a whirl - go to it! ..and send me a photo, please! ;)