Let’s face it, lederhosen are cool. And I’ll admit it, I’ve been coveting my neighbor’s lederhosen for years. I see the German guys in them and the Oktoberfest celebrants, but only the male ones. The girls, they get stuck in the beer girl or Alpine dresses. While those are cute and sexy and all that good stuff, they just aren’t lederhosen.
» Read more: Costume Countdown Day 8: Lovin’ My Lederhosen
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Costume Countdown Day 8: Lovin’ My Lederhosen
October 8th, 2009OktoBEERfest
September 23rd, 2009The blessed month of October is just one week away and it’s time for you to get edumacated. It will make you feel so smart, so informed, and so grateful to me if you ever find yourself on Jeopardy or Who Wants to be Millionaire and have a question on this subject as the big one. Just remember to thank me when you win the big bucks, and by “thank me,” I mean “share some of the loot,” of course.
Today’s topic: Oktoberfest. Visions of glass mugs overflowing with beer and foam are dancing through your head right now, but I’ve got some shocking news for you. Oktoberfest wasn’t all about beer when it was conceived.
It began waayyyy back in 1810 to commemorate the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese. First it was just a big horse race. No beer. The citizens of Munich had such a good time, they decided to hold Oktoberfest every year and to organize it. A parade was added. Still no beer. Next came booths and tents for games and selling bratwurst. You guessed it, no beer.
It took until late 1880’s for beer tofinally make its appearance. The booths and tents got bigger and became beer halls, beer gardens, and were used for music and dancing as well. It was 1892 when beer was first served in glass mugs.
Now beer is the central point of Oktoberfest, with food, games, music and period costumes playing only supporting roles. Six million people head to Munich each year for Oktoberfest, making it the largest people’s fair in Europe and maybe even in the whole world. They’ve got 14 huuuuuuge tents each run by a different brewery. The biggest one holds about 12, 000 people.
Now don’t you feel so much smarter? So much more ready for Oktoberfest? Then get out there and celebrate. Travel to Germany for the original or hit up a local event. Santa Barbarians should make a point of of visiting Santa Barbara Oktoberfest on October 10. Drink up some of that special brew, consume mass quantities of traditional German food, and, by all means, do it right by wearing costumes from the 1800s.
Girls, that means finding a dirndl that suits you. What? You don’t know what a dirndl is? It’s your basic beer girl costume or what Gretel, of Hansel and Gretel, would wear.
Guys, it’s time for lederhosen or at least some Alpine wear from the 1800’s. Again, think Hansel and Gretel.
And while you are out enjoying the brew, the food and the fun, whisper a quick little word to Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese thanking them for inspiring such a great event, even though it did take 80 years to bring beer into the picture.
Bartender Olympics in Costume
August 24th, 2009State Street in Santa Barbara on a Sunday afternoon. There’s always something going on – live music, crazy people, demonstrations . . . and yesterday Bartender Olympics. I saw the big banner hanging outside Tonic and looked in from the street to see what all the hubbub was about.
I saw people in costumes, lots of people in costumes. I had to know more. I talked the security guys manning the front doors into letting me in without ID to prove I was over 21. I guess my wrinkles and mid-forties face were plenty of proof.
It turns out I was lucky enough to stumble upon the 2nd Annual Bartender Olympics. Apparently the local bars and clubs send down teams of 6-8 bartenders. Each team had to dress up according to a theme and couldn’t spend more than $300 to outfit the whole team. They had 16 teams there ready for fun and games and bartender competitions.
There was a team of superhero bartenders looking very muscular, powerful, and ready to save the world one mixed drink at a time.
Wolverine was full of energy and raring to go. His warm up included dancing solo, with Batman, and mixing it up with a Teletubby.
One bar was represented by a group of black ninjas. They seemed better with the drinks than with their tin foil weaponry.
Then there was the Japanese costumed team. Very composed, very together, or maybe just very hung over from the night before.
Then there were the jovial beer guys. A very fitting costume for bartenders wouldn’t you say? And very suitable for the hot temps we had yesterday.
I couldn’t say the same for team Animal. There was a tiger, a chicken, a bear, and . . . some other bird thing. The team members in these costumes were melting right before my eyes.
They were taking off their heads and unzipping trying to stay alive.
Don’t miss Bartender Olympics next year. If not for the skills competitions, come for the costumes!
Lederhosen Costumes in Austria
April 16th, 2009I had no idea that Lederhosen were so popular. Then I picked up my recent National Geographic Traveler magazine and read a story on Austria. It was fascinating! The men still dress, unselfconsciously, in collarless loden jackets with buttons carved out of bone and antler, and in lederhosen!
Lederhosen
They don’t just wear these lederhosen as costumes to please tourists either! No, in fact, those outsiders that visit this village, often don their own lederhosen so as to fit in better with the locals.
Beer Guy Lederhosen
There is such a high demand for these authentic and hand-stitched shorts, made from the skin of deer and of mountain goats, that if you were to order a pair today, you would not see them until May of 2014! How incredible is that. What is more intriguing is that these lederhosen cost upwards of 5,000 euros.
With so many parties and Halloween and Oktoberfest right around the corner, some of us just don’t have the time to wait for these bona fide lederhosen. While we cannot begin to compare in quality, our lederhosen costumes are just as fun. They may not last a lifetime, like their genuine counterparts, but you can order them today and get them tomorrow if you really wanted to.
