Ladies: You can’t go wrong with a traditional dirndl dress. Be careful on how you wear them though. German convention tells us if you place a bow on the right you are indicating to the bachelors out there you are spoken for; a bow on the left side means you are single; and a bow on the front is somewhat suggestive. Apparently. Maybe save the bows for your braids and avoid the potential social judgment.
Don’t feel like donning a dirndl? There’s no reason you can’t rock some ladies lederhosen – there’s plenty of options out there. Be it a beer maid, alpine attire or the traditional option, wear what you feel comfortable in.
Gents: Wearing traditional lederhosen to Oktoberfest is perfect, but don’t make the mistake of pairing it with your dirty white sport socks and a plain old t-shirt. Go for nice shoes (not necessarily dress shoes… you can get away with something suede or your Dr. Martens), and be sure to have the right socks. Shirt wise, a nice plaid trachten shirt or one-colour button up is your best bet. You can even get all fancy and match your shirt colour to your lederhosen trim.
It also doesn’t have to cost the earth – search your wardrobe for a check shirt you might have stashed away and forgotten about. Pair it with some fresh lederhosen and boom, Bavarian beer man accomplished.
Oktoberfest celebrations kick off at the Uni Bar on Saturday 10 October from 1pm. Entry (from $40 for Griffith University Gold Coast students) includes a stein (for you to keep), a five hour beverage package, a German lunch and giant pretzel as well as live music and lots of great Oktoberfest activities.
To help you get frocked up in style, Costume Collection are offering Griffith Gold Coast students 15% off of any costume on their website (with no minimum spend). Costume Collection has you covered; from Bavarian beer hall attire for Oktoberfest and ghosts, witches and monsters galore for Halloween. Just visit Costume Collection at costumecollection.com.au and enter the promo code GUGC15 to take advantage of this offer. The code is valid right up until the Uni Bar’s spooky Halloween Party shindig on Friday 30 October.
We’d love to hear if you have any other helpful tips for getting Oktoberfest or Halloween ready. Maybe you’ve learned your lesson from a previous costume blunder? Leave a comment below!
