Figure 1.--Here we see Austrian children wearing the folk costume of the Kitzbühel Alps, a mountain range in the Tyrol. There were seasonal differences. Here they are wearing the summer version. A reader writes, "This is a summer 2010 photo and the children are probably wearing the costumes for some folk event or simply to show the traditional clothing. However the bare feet are a correct element. In Tyrol (as well in Switzerland), it was common for children to go barefoot in mountain places during the summer. I think that this was both an economic and comfort matter. These mountain people were often very poor and so they could save the footwear during the summer. On the other hand, these children were forced to wear uncomfortable boots during many months, so they liked to go with free feet in warm weather.

There is no single Austrian national folk outfit, although there were some similarities. The basic garments seem to be Lecderhosen for the boys and drindles for the girls. That said there are many color and stylistic variations on these bnasic garments. We note regional differences within Austria. These regional differences were notable in the 19th and even 20th century. We are not sure to what extent modern Austrians have maintained these regional styles. There are of course similarities with German folk costumes, especially areas of southern Germany such as Bavaria. There are also similarities with Switzerland, another Alpine area. We do not know much about these regional differences and are hopeful that our Austrian readers will be able to provide some information on the topic.

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Created: 8:19 PM 9/7/2010
Last updated: 8:19 PM 9/7/2010