#3 Folk Culture

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                                                     Traditional Clothing in Salzburg

Traditional clothing is often one of the interesting aspects of a country's culture. it's often associated with region and represents cultural identity. In Salzburg, this clothing consists of Dirndlkleid which is a dress, Lederhosen which are breeches, and Joppe which is a jacket. They used to be worn mainly in rural areas for physical work. The dresses and breeches were plain without many decorations. On special occasions such as holidays, people wore more elaborate clothing. Dirndl, for example was made of silk, brocade or velvet. In the middle of 19th century, the clothing also became popular among the tourists. Now, many shops can be found in Salzburg selling the original traditional costumes. There are also souvenir shops which sell their cheaper versions or clothing similar/based on the traditional for the wider range of tourists.

The Dirndl consists of a blouse, bodice, full skirt falling below the knee, and apron.
Accessories include silk scarves and waistcoats.
Lederhosen are breeches made of leather and they usually are short or knee-lenght.
The Tyrolean hat is also sold in Salzburg and it comes from Tirol.


In Salzburg, I noticed people from all age groups wearing these clothes: from very young children to elders. Most of them I found during Rupertikirtag and on other special occasions like weddings and concerts, and holidays. I also noticed that people in small villages wear them quite often, also during usual Sundays.  People wearing these costumes mainly come from Austria or Germany, especially from the regions surrounding Salzburg. I think that people from all economic situations wear this because the clothes, even though they are often expensive, are very well made and can be worn for a long time. People also enjoy wearing them often, on many different occasions. For example, recently I found few women on an advent concert wearing the dresses and also an elderly couple wearing these clothes in town.



I visited few different shops on Getreidegasse and Goldgasse. I noticed that most of them are located in the center of Salzburg, especially in the old town. I think that the reason for this location is based on the amount of tourists visiting these areas. I also visited a souvenir shop to compare the original clothing with its cheap adaptations. This shop was located near Getreidegasse as well.

Getreidegasse

Goldgasse

I noticed a big difference between the quality of original Dirndl, Lederhosen, and Joppe and their cheaper version in souvenir shop. The original ones were made from silk, cotton, wool, leather, and felt. The ones from the souvenir shop were made of cheap materials, mostly from polyester. The original clothes are handmade in Austria and some of the materials, such as wool, are also coming from Austria. It is possible that many of these items are made in Salzburg or in the area. They have, therefore, high quality and are far more expensive than the adaptations of these clothes in souvenir shops. The clothes that I found in the souvenir shop were labeled as "made specially for Europe". There was nothing mentioned about their real origin but I think that most likely they were made in China, probably massively produced. This increases their availability for more tourists but you can see the difference between them and original pieces and they also have worse quality. Unlike the original clothes, they won't last that long. 

In the souvenir shop, the blouse part of the dress costed around 40 euros. Similar prize was for the adaptations of Lederhosen. The whole outfit wouldn't cost more than 100 euros.

The original clothes were expensive. The dresses costed around 300 euros and the breeches 600 euros. The cheapest dress I found costed 190 euros. Most of the coats costed around 400 euros. 

Souvenir shop

Scarves seen outside the shop.
They became later also a part of the traditional
clothing in Salzburg and are often bought by tourists.

Blouse based on Dirndl in the souvenir shop.

Blouse seen inside with the label "made specially for EU"

Adaptation of Lederhosen

Price of the adaptation of Lederhosen

Attire for children in souvenir shop

Original Dirndls

One of the shops seen outside

Vests and Joppe

Price of Lederhosen, 600 euros

Coats and Dirndls

          

Prices for the woman's attire

One of the displays

                                                                                  

One of the shops

Price of the coat

One of the shops from outside

material of coats and Joppe

The traditional clothes became again more popular throughout the years, especially since the beginning of tourism in 19th century. Many tourists come to Salzburg and they are often interested in them because they are one of the most characteristic parts of the culture of that regions. The musical "The Sound of Music"from 1959 also contributed to the popularity of these clothes. Many fashion designers, such as Vivienne Westwood got interested in this clothing and recommend people to wear it. They also create new pieces of clothing based of the traditional ones. 

Many people coming from Salzburg and region like to wear these clothes also because they are their unique cultural identity in their nation, a tradition that they shared for many years and still want to follow.