Althouse: "I do not understand you Austrians. If every woman wore a dirndl, there would not be any more ugliness."

October 21, 2012

"I do not understand you Austrians. If every woman wore a dirndl, there would not be any more ugliness."

Said the British designer Vivienne Westwood back in 2001, and the remark has had a big effect.

35 comments:

Petunia said...: Vivienne Westwood should NEVER comment on ugliness.; 10/21/12, 7:58 PM
Automatic_Wing said...: And lederhosen, let's not forget. A whole nation of men in shorts.; 10/21/12, 8:00 PM
chuck said...: What, no comment on the guys in lederhosen? I used to have a pair, they came down to the knee, but I lost them somewhere along the way.; 10/21/12, 8:03 PM
edutcher said...: The great thing about dirndls is they are found in nations where the women can happily expose their bountiful cleavage.

As for lederhosen, now we know why the Althousen left Germania.; 10/21/12, 8:06 PM
Anonymous said...: Ach, it's good to be Austrian, first Felix, now dirndls.; 10/21/12, 8:09 PM
Ctmom4 said...: Anne needs a new tag - men in lederhosen.; 10/21/12, 8:10 PM
bagoh20 said...: If you want to eliminate ugliness the Burka is your huckleberry.

http://youtu.be/bpH83Vi7b9E?t=20s; 10/21/12, 8:13 PM
laddy said...: Can't speak to dirndl, but lederhosen are very comfortable.; 10/21/12, 8:18 PM
Anonymous said...: Better yet, Felix in lederhosen.; 10/21/12, 8:21 PM
Sorun said...: Do Austrian women shave their legs? If I reach under her skirt, should I expect something furry? A leg, I mean.; 10/21/12, 8:29 PM
Joan said...: The dirndl outfit is cute and generally flattering. Dirndl skirts worn other ways give the appearance of huge hips -- the fabric has to be gathered in at the waist, and all those gathers lie right at the hip. It's not a good look.

Anyone know if Westwood put her money where her mouth was and used dirndls in her designs? I'm trying to envision it but can't.; 10/21/12, 8:36 PM
Bob Ellison said...: Part of the beauty of the dirndl is the way the word sounds coming from the mouth of a native German speaker.; 10/21/12, 8:37 PM
Synova said...: Large women who like to dress up for Renaissance fairs understand this truth quite well.; 10/21/12, 8:45 PM
madAsHell said...: I didn't know what steel grey eyes were, until I visited Salzburg.

The eyes are absolutely haunting.; 10/21/12, 9:04 PM
Anonymous said...: How many people had to input "dirndl" in their dictionary app?; 10/21/12, 9:08 PM
Anonymous said...: Many years ago, I waited tables at Mader's Restaurant in Milwaukee. I worked the lunch shift and I wore a dirndl as a uniform. I didn't own a car then. My brother, who also worked downtown, would drop me off and I'd bring a bag with jeans and a T-shirt to change into after work. I took the bus home.

One day, I forgot the bag with the change of clothing and nobody was available to pick me up. I felt like a prize ass standing at the bus stop in a dirndl.; 10/21/12, 9:13 PM
MadisonMan said...: Coincidentally, I was just watching the Sound of Music.; 10/21/12, 9:27 PM
FedkaTheConvict said...: Just in time for the 2012 Dirty Dirndl Contest at the Old German Beer Hall this Thursday.

Who is representing Althouse commenters?; 10/21/12, 9:35 PM
chickelit said...: From the article: 'It is quite normal to wear Tracht here,' one of the villagers told me. 'Perhaps not everyday - but it is part of who we are.'

"Tracht" is an old Germanic word which survives in English as "to drag" (cf. tractor).

It's amusing to back substitute our English word back into the Austrian villager's:
'It is quite normal to wear Drag here,' one of the villagers told me. 'Perhaps not everyday - but it is part of who we are.'; 10/21/12, 9:37 PM
Anonymous said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/21/12, 9:50 PM
Anonymous said...: I wore my dirndl to a Halloween party a couple years ago, everyone just assumed it was a beer maiden outfit. If you are ever in Milwaukee for German Fest, you'll see many different trachts, or dirndls. Look for the Donauschwaben fräulein.; 10/21/12, 9:55 PM
Balfegor said...: I've seen men wear tracht to the symphony here in DC. Germans or Austrians I suppose. A fun look, but the jackets always look maybe an inch too short. If they were normal jacket length I might look into getting one.; 10/21/12, 10:01 PM
Jeff Hall said...: @Sorun: Do Austrian women shave their legs? If I reach under her skirt, should I expect something furry? A leg, I mean.

Well, judging solely from your willingness to post comments like that online, I'd say that if you were to reach under her skirt she'd be likely to wake up and ask who you were.; 10/21/12, 10:02 PM
Emil Blatz said...: What's the deal with the zippers on the back of the lederhosen? That's not the way I remember them!; 10/21/12, 10:07 PM
Carnifex said...: @Inga

And a very fetching St. Pauli girl you were too, no doubt.

And Bagoh's comment is why you read before posting. I was gonna' go for the same theme.

@EBlatz.

Dyslexic lederhosen.

Lederhosen would make a great name for a rock band. So great I'll gues it prolly' is already. Lemme' go google...Nope. Can't find anything.; 10/21/12, 10:36 PM
chickelit said...: I'm disappointed by the German word for zipper--Reißverschluss--lit. "tearing closure." I expected something less figurative and more literal like teeth-track train closure: Zähnegleisverschluss.; 10/21/12, 10:36 PM
chickelit said...: Carnifex said...

And a very fetching St. Pauli girl you were too, no doubt.

Fetching beers, I hope.; 10/21/12, 10:38 PM
chickelit said...: Look for the Donauschwaben fräulein.

Translation: Swabian wench.

Swabian is an interesting dialect. I encountered it in living in Switzerland. It is a sort of Swiss German-sounding dialect.; 10/21/12, 10:42 PM
CWJ said...: AA, why no men in shorts tag for this post?; 10/21/12, 11:11 PM
LordSomber said...: Later, hosen.; 10/21/12, 11:32 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Parecen delantales.. para sirvientas.. parecen antifemenista..

I'm so confused.; 10/22/12, 12:54 AM
Kirk Parker said...: Chickelit,

My worst driving experience in Nairobi was one time when I borrowed my Austrian colleague's imported (and thus left-hand-drive) car, to do a big shopping trip around town. Lots of close encounters, especially in parking lots where there was no lane-divider stripe, and sitting on the left-hand side of the car my deep-seated American driving instincts would take over and I'd swerve the wrong way every time.

Ummm, oh, yeah, the point of this was the car was festooned with a great big "Ich schwach Schwäbisch" bumper sticker. Made me feel a bit conspicuous...; 10/22/12, 1:35 AM
Kirk Parker said...: Ach! I said "Austrian" because of word-interference from the article; my colleague was (of course) Swiss.; 10/22/12, 1:38 AM
TWM said...: I lived for six years in Southern Germany and visited Austria often. All women look good - or at least better - in those dresses.; 10/22/12, 7:45 AM
Strelnikov said...: Well, there might still be ugliness but we wouldn't notice it so much. As Homer Simpson responded when Carmen Electra used the classic "my face is up here" remark, "I've made my choice."; 10/22/12, 10:09 AM