Today I’m taking a look at a beautiful floral lace apron from Rare Dirndl I got just in time for Oktoberfest!
I’ve had my eye on this made-to-order style for a while, and I decided to cash in my “Prost Points” (the Rare Dirndl rewards program) to have this apron made before I went to my favorite Oktoberfest in St. Charles, MO.
Here’s a look at the accessories I wore with it:
I love how sheer lace is, which allows the lovely color of the skirt of the Harlequin dirndl to shine through!
This is such a good staple piece…I’m really looking forward to pairing it with more of my dirndls!
Time for a look at my most-anticipated purchase from the Miss Candyfloss Chérie Bardot collection, the light and breezy Audrey-Naia dress!
You may have realized by now that this style, which has a lovely pleated bustline and row of buttons all the way down the front, is my very favorite Miss Candyfloss style…it is so easy to wear!
I accessorized with a flower crown from Rare Dirndl, an Erstwilder brooch, and a stack of Splendette Duchess Bangles:
This dress is exceptionally lightweight (to the point it is a bit sheer, necessitating either a petticoat, or, for summer, a pair of short underneath, with the skirt of the dress unbuttoned from the waist).
It does run a bit big…I almost wish I had sized down for a firmer fit.
The dress has a lovely twirl!
I love the beautiful floral print and soft colors…I’m looking forward to wearing it all summer long!
I’m ending the month just like I began it…with a special outfit for Mary Blair March. As promised, here’s a look at the second styling of my Rare Dirndl custom dirndl, featuring the bonus apron I requested!
Like my blue apron, the green version is sheer, which allows the pattern of the skirt to show through. It has an extra-special feature, though…Erika made the ties in two colors instead of just one, so I still have an extra pop of blue!
This time around, I accessorized with blue hair flowers and my complete Meteor Jewelry Co. Starlite set…earrings, bracelet, and necklace, all in the same bright blue:
I added my edelweiss heart zipper pull again, too:
And I wore my new Dr. Martens Mary Janes with my dirndl socks:
As always, I love to twirl!
For this styling, I wore my black lace sparkle dirndl blouse…I like white better with this dress, but it was pretty chilly the day I wore it, and the black has the longest sleeves of all my dirndl blouses.
This is another great look for Mary Blair March!
Eventually I’m hoping to get another blouse (maybe in pale pink?) to add to this look…I love switching out the elements of a dirndl outfit!
As promised, here’s a look at my completed Rare Dirndl custom dirndl, and just in time for Mary Blair March!
It looks just like I imagined it would. I love the yellow bodice against the grey background of the Mary Blair butterflies print skirt:
And the sheer blue apron pops beautifully!
You may have noticed this dirndl is slightly shorter than my other dresses…the construction of the original dress was kind of weird, and to even out the skirt, it had to made a bit shorter. With the petticoat underneath, though, it’s really not that noticeable, and I think the fullness of the skirt also creates the illusion of length.
I accessorized with a pair of SUGARFIX by Baublebar butterfly earrings that I got at Target last year (it’s scary how well well they go with this look!), an edelweiss wrap bracelet from Rare Dirndl, and a pair of necklaces inspired by Mary Blair…an “It’s a Small World” style from Crislu, and an Alice in Wonderland spinner from RockLove:
I also added one of my Rare Dirndl zipper pulls:
Keeping the volume from the skirt of the original dress makes it extra good for twirling!
Two of my favorite features of the dirndl are the trim around the neckline…not only did Erika include two different types of pink ribbon, she also added a beautiful ruffle made from the extra fabric from the dress…and the cool buckle on the apron, which is a totally new style for me!
I love how bright and cheerful this look is…it’s perfect for Mary Blair March and the happiness of spring!
I did actually send it back to Rare Dirndl to have it let out a bit because it was fitting pretty snugly in the bodice, but when it’s back, I’ll have another styling of this dirndl featuring the second apron I had made to go with it!
We have made it to the final step of the Rare Dirndl custom dirndl experience!
On Monday (which just happened to be the 113th anniversary of my Austrian grandfather’s birth!), I opened the custom dirndl shipping box for the last time:
It has been about 11 months since I first inquired about having a custom dirndl made, and almost five months since the kick-off call that really began the process. It was so exciting to see the project come together, and a total thrill to see the finished product!
Since I last saw it (and since the post office tried to lose it!), the final elements were added, including the hooks (a new style for me!), and the lacing. I also got to see the second apron I requested (which has a really cool, new-to-me buckle!), for the first time. No detail was overlooked, including the “Hidden Mickey” I asked Erika to include somewhere on the dress:
Stay tuned for the first of two stylings of my new dirndl on Saturday!
If you’ve been looking closely at my dirndl photos for the last few months, you may have noticed that I added a pair of dirndl socks to my wardrobe:
I have been interested in dirndl socks pretty much since I started wearing Trachten, but I was worried about how knee-high socks would fit my plus-size calves.
Last year, Rare Dirndl imported a few options from designer Luise Steiner, and when I noticed that they came in three sizes, including XXL, which fit shoe sizes 10-14, I figured it was finally time to give them a try. I went with the grey pair, because I thought they would go with most of my dresses (they do!).
They also look great with a wide variety of shoes, including my dirndl-style Mary Janes and also ankle boots, Docs and Adidas.
The fit is fantastic…they’re not too tight at all. The cable knit pattern is really pretty. And they’re a nice, heavy material, which is great for keeping my legs warm in the colder months!
Now that I’ve discovered that I can indeed wear dirndl socks, I may add some other colors to my wardrobe!
Today I’m looking at one of my favorite dirndl accessories…the lederhosen handbag!
When Rare Dirndl imported a batch of these, I knew it would make the perfect addition to my wardrobe. I didn’t really have a bag that went well with my dirndl looks. I love that it’s a nice, neutral olive shade, because it goes with most of my pieces.
There is no mistaking that it’s designed after lederhosen!
The details on the bag are amazing. I especially love the beautiful, detailed buckle on the removable shoulder strap:
It’s the perfect size to hold all my essentials.
I really love that it’s from an Austrian company!
As you can see from the handful of the looks I shared here, it’s very easy to style, and it walks the line between whimsical and practical perfectly!
Rare Dirndl is scheduled to get another shipment of these bags next month, and they always go fast, so if you’re interested, make sure you don’t wait!
It’s been a while since I shared a custom dirndl update!
I received my dress sans apron this week for another fitting. For the most part, the uneven skirt length issues have been sorted out, and I was able to get a feel for how short the skirt actually is. My number one concern was that I wouldn’t be able to wear it with my favorite petticoat, but as you can see here, it works just fine! (It’s a good thing I always let my petticoat show a bit, though!)
The twirl factor is still good, too!
I’ll be sending it back for what I assume will be the final touches…I can’t wait to see how the whole ensemble looks together!
Time for a look back at 2024’s outfits of the day!
I was very intentional about putting together outfits this whole year. I wanted to really wear my wardrobe, so I put together looks for trips to the library and Target and anywhere else I went (except Walmart, because Walmart doesn’t deserve my best except at Christmas when I try to spread a little holiday cheer wherever I go). I think there are over 250 unique looks here, so obviously I didn’t wear something notable every day, but it was the vast majority!
I haven’t decided if I’m going to keep a record like this again in 2025, but it really helps me pay attention to what I’ve worn (and what I’ve neglected), and how I’ve styled things differently, which I really enjoy!
Time for a very special three-for-the-price-of-one “Top Five” list!
As I was looking back over the outfits I wore this year, I realized that choosing favorites would be much easier if I organized my various looks into categories. In the end, I came up with three different styles…outfits featuring Miss Candyfloss pieces, Rare Dirndl looks, and “Festive Fashion” ensembles.
Let’s start with the Miss Candyfloss outfits. The combination of coat, hat, and jumpsuit makes this look extra impressive:
I love how bright and cheerful my dress and jacket for Easter were!
Pairing my first trumpet skirt in teal with a purple top made this outfit one step away from Disney Bounding Ariel, and I love it!
This was a surprise release from the autumn/winter Miss Candyfloss, and I loved it as soon as I saw it…the colors are absolutely gorgeous, and I feel like I’m glowing when I wear it!
Finally, a Miss Candyfloss dress in my favorite style, with a bold color palette that I love.
Next the Rare Dirndl looks. I wore a dirndl 29 times this year, so I had a lot to choose from! I paired the apron from my very first Rare Dirndl purchase with the dress from the second, and they look so nice together!
Pairing the Magician dirndl with this year’s summer apron was a bold choice, but I love how the colors look together!
The Harlequin dirndl paired with a lace apron was my pick for St. Charles Oktoberfest:
I was really into the combination of purple and teal this year, so pairing the 2024 Halloween apron (and a coordinating ribbon) with my purple dirndl dress was a natural choice:
And the Frühling dirndl from this year’s Jahreszeiten collection is absolutely stunning:
And finally, my favorite Festive Fashion ensembles. I added a new dress to my wardrobe this year, in an unexpected color palette for Christmas, and it was a lot of fun to style with a cropped cardigan and pastel accessories.
This blouse is a fairly new addition to my wardrobe, and I knew I wanted to wear it with a Christmas print…I really like how this look turned out!
I wasn’t sure that this Miss Candyfloss blouse would work with this skirt…I was afraid it would be too busy. But in the end, I absolutely love the combination…it might be one of my favorite looks period from this year!
I also wasn’t totally sure about wearing my new Rare Dirndl apron with my Magician dirndl, but it too was a successful pairing in the end:
And I was really excited to pair my newest dirndl with my gnome print apron…it’s a totally fun festive look!
Would it even be a “Top Five” list without a bonus addition? I wasn’t sure if I wanted to include this outfit in the dirndl section or with the festive fashions, so I decided to just let it stand on its own!
So there you have it…a “Top Five” list that turned into 16! I’m looking forward to finding new ways to wear all of my favorite pieces in the coming year!
