Friday, October 4, 2013

DIY Oktoberfest Garb | Dirndl & Lederhosen


Greg, myself, and a friend are all attending Oktoberfest in the Amana Colonies this weekend. And we couldn't be more excited! We've been looking forward to the bier fest for months... and thinking about our costumes just as long. A few searches over the internet showed just how expensive real lederhosen and dirndls can be. So while if we ever make it to the real Oktoberfest in Munich, we'll definitely invest in the good stuff in all its traditional Bavarian glory... we decided to stay cheap and take on the challenge of do-it-yourself Oktoberfest garb.  (Image above via: Wired)



For my DIY dirndl, I started with an old strapless dress I'd had for years. Cutting off the top and doing a little hand stitching, I turned it into a gingham skirt. At Goodwill, I found a German beer wench Halloween costume for only $13. While the skirt shorter than I desire, the bodice and sleeves are perfect. So I simply wear the gingham skirt over the Halloween costume. (The poofy costume skirt helps fill out the gingham skirt.)  All I have left to find is an apron, but my costume will still come in at about $20. Gimme a stein and I'm good to go!



For Greg's costume, we had a ton of luck at Goodwill. We snagged up a pair of men's corduroy pants, a gingham button-down shirt, and suspenders all for around $7. Greg cut the pants off to a shorts length and hemmed them. Using a 60-cent piece of felt from a craft store, we'll cut out and decorate a piece to connect the suspenders. Rolling up his sleeves, pulling on some long socks, and lacing up some work boots... he'll look mighty fine in his DIY lederhosen! With some ribbon we bought for decoration, his costume comes out to about $15.

Thrifting and DIYing our Oktoberfest costumes was a ton of fun.  Plus, the money we saved will ultimately be put toward more bier. We'll be sure to post photos of us in our finished outfits.  Prost!

Do you have lederhosen or a dirndl? Have you gone (or are you going) to any Oktoberfest events this year?

Note: The first photo in this post is from Wired. They have a great article on How to Dress for Oktoberfest, highlighting the basic pieces of the lederhosen and dirndl as well as the history. Check it out if you'll be hunting down and crafting up your own Oktoberfest garb!

**Update** Read about our Oktoberfest experience and see our finished lederhosen and dirndl here!



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