vintage history Archives

If you happen to be one of my regular followers you might have picked up that my dad was born in Germany, making me officially half German. My mom’s background is Scottish/English but growing up my parents raised me in a German household learning German traditions and the German language (a big “sort of” on that one lol). One of those traditions we participated in every year was Oktoberfest.

Lets take a peek into the event I enjoy so very much ever year by checking out some great vintage Oktoberfest photos and also the dirndls (sorry Lederhosen) that make the party (mainly the adorable and gorgeous dirndl).

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NOTE: If you click on any of the items featured below and they are not available, don’t fret! Hit the search button and see what else is on the websites. There are 1000’s and 1000’s of items being listed daily.

Fact: Did you know that Oktoberfest in Germany use to start in October but was moved to in and around Sept 20th to accommodate better weather? And even though it is celebrated all over the world now, Oktoberfest is originally a Southern Germany (Bavarian) Tradition. Interesting huh!

Vintage Oktoberfest Photos

1920s vintage photo of Oktoberfest in NYC!! WOW What an incredible photo of showgirls and beer.

I’m thinking this image is from the 1970s at the Cinncinnati Germania Society Oktoberfest. Everyone is holding up special steins for the photo.

Big giant tent at Oktoberfest filled with party goers in Germany. This is a normal sight if you were to visit even to this day.

Mmmm pretzels, a Oktoberfest staple. Tastes so good with beer 🙂

Vintage image of a person selling pretzels at Oktoberfest. — Image courtesy of Owen Franken / CORBIS

1960s / 1970s vintage image of a woman either singing, yawning or yelling but whatever she is doing from the looks of everyone around her she is probably having a very good time at the fest.

1960s or 1970s vintage image of a woman having a good time at Oktoberfest. — Photo Courtesy of Mark Susina

Adorable matching dirndls on the Schwabn Dancers.

Vintage photo of the Schwabn dancers in their matching dirndls.

1928 Oktoberfest “Beer Maids”. You have to have strong arms to carry those steins.

1920s vintage photo of 1928 Oktoberfest "Beer Maids" women who brought the giant beer steins to your table. — (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

Video time!

Here is a great video I found of Oktoberfest in the 1950’s. Other then the clothes and hairstyles, not much has changed 🙂

Oktoberfest – a short story

Now onto the Dirndls portion….

Vintage Dirndls

To start, a wonderful fellow blogger Jessica from “Chronically Vintage” did a post on her truly gorgeous vintage dirndl that you really must see to believe.

My dirndl is not as old as the 1950’s but it was my mothers from the 1970’s and I just adore it. The blouse is actually new from a beautiful designer called “Rare“.

1970s vintage Dirndl with a Rare Dirndl Blouse as seen on the vintage inn blogger.

I also recently while travelling thru Munich purchased my first official “Made in Germany Dirndl”. Here it is (with same blouse from above).

P.S. Sorry for blurry image this is the only full head to toe shot I have.

German Dirndl purchased from Munich with a Rare Dirndl blouse.

Here is the beautiful design on the bottom of the dress.

September 2022 Update: This past July I attended in German Fest in Milwaukee with my husband, parents and I met up with loads of friends at the 3 days party. I wore two of the dirndls above and one new / vintage dirndl I picked up in Toronto.

What to wear at Germanfest in Milwaukee...Drindls! Vintage or New!

Never thought of pairing a dirndl with an adorable vintage hat but the pattern below just makes it look so lovely.

1940s vintage pattern for a women's dirndl style dress.

Pattern for sale on Etsy from “BluetreeSewingStudio“

These dirndl skirts are so very cute from the 1950s.

Dirndl skirt vintage sewing pattern fashion illustration

Pattern for sale on etsy from “CynicalGirl“

1950s sewing pattern for women’s 1950s dirndl dresses. The black and red dirndl in the back sort of reminds me of mine. The flowered on in the front is very pretty.

Vintage sewing pattern for dirndl dresses - 1950s fashion

Image above from etsy seller “Historically Patterns”

Drindls for Sale (avail at time of posting)

Dirndls sold? Please visit my ETSY Favourites Dirndl page for more dresses (updated September 2023)

Beautiful 1950s / 1960s Blue Dirndl with bronze embroidery.

1950s Fashion / 1960s Fashion: Vintage 50/60s countrycore dark blue dirndl dress. Features: pleated skirt, bronze embroidery

Source: Etsy

This dress is so gorgeous and not your “typical” dirndl style. Love 🙂

Vintage Red and Blue Dirndl perfect for Oktoberfest

Dress above for sale on etsy from “VintageFrocksOfFancy”

Pair this red dirndl with a white blouse and you will have a stunner of a dress.

Vitnage Red Drindl perfect for Oktoberfest.

Source: Etsy

I hope you enjoyed a little vintage look into Oktoberfest and if you are planning on celebrating this year..ENJOY! and Prost!

toronto Oktoberfest — Toronto Vintage Society at 2014 Toronto Oktoberfest.

Further Reading:

Liz 🙂

Brief Cheerleading History

Cheerleading was originally an all male sports in the late 1800’s. Characterized by gymnastics, stunts, and crowd leadership, cheerleading was considered equivalent in prestige to an American flagship of masculinity, football. As the editors of Nation saw it in 1911:

…the reputation of having been a valiant “cheer-leader” is one of the most valuable things a boy can take away from college. As a title to promotion in professional or public life, it ranks hardly second to that of having been a quarterback.*

Indeed, cheerleading helped launch the political careers of three U.S. Presidents. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Franklin Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan were cheerleaders. Actor Jimmy Stewart was head cheerleader at Princeton (“The Manly Origins of Cheerleading” by Lisa Wade, PHD).

It wasn’t until 1923 that the University of Minnesota introduced the first women cheerleaders at their sporting games. Although women continued to participate as cheerleaders in various parts of the USA after 1923, it wasn’t until the 1940s that women became the majority of cheerleading’s athletes during an era when the university men students left the country to fight in World War II. Today, women consist of more than 90% of the world’s cheerleaders (“History of Cheerleading” International Cheer Union”).