How to Clean your Dirndl Post-Oktoberfest

The best part of Oktoberfest is the food, drink, Gemütlichkeit and, of course, wearing dirndls! The not so fun part is the mustard dripping on your apron, that drunk guy behind you spilling his Jägermeister on your blouse and just that overall stale beer smell your dirndl dress has because you may or may not have sat in a puddle of Spaten Oktoberfest. However, there is an easy way to solve this problem… a nice post Wiesn’ Dirndl cleaning.

In this article we go over the cleaning process for each item piece by piece and the best practices to safely clean and care for your dirndl pieces. 

Blouses

Dirndl blouses tend to stain easily because of how white some blouses can be. Also, let's not forget to mention stale beer AND pit stains (ugh)!! 

Off-the-Shoulder Blouses: These are a 65% cotton 35% polyester blend which is fabulous because you can toss that puppy in the washer and dryer and it’ll come out like a dream! 

Sweetheart Blouses: I like to wash them on a gentle or hand wash cycle and line dry. You can use a bit of bleach if you’d like on the solid white blouses. 

Sparkle Blouse: Gentle or hand wash cycle in a delicates bag and line dry. DO NOT BLEACH.

Lace Blouses (Marjo Brand): Gentle or hand wash cycle in a delicates bag and line dry. DO NOT BLEACH (it’ll start to eat away at the lace… and we don’t want that). Washing it in a lingerie or delicates bag helps it from snagging on other items that might be in the machine.  

Bloomers and Petticoats 

Bloomers: Machine wash and dry

Petticoats: Hand wash and line/drip dry

Apron

Since the apron is what usually gets dirty the fastest, I try to choose washable fabrics for the aprons, but if it is dry clean only, the tag will say so.

Check the care label on your apron for washing instructions.

Beaded Lace Aprons (or anything that says spot clean only): Take a bit of detergent on a slightly damp wash cloth to clean off any spots. You can also try hanging it in the sun for a few hours to help get rid of any stale odor.  

Dirndls

Your best bet with the dirndl dress is dry cleaning or spot cleaning it yourself with a damp wash cloth and some detergent. The fabrics used to make the dirndls are typically machine washable. However, the hooks and trimming that goes on by hand is the reason you don’t really want to toss it in the washer. The trim may start to fray and the front hooks and hardware may start to come loose.

Dirndls without hooks or trim: You could wash it in the washer on a gentle/hand wash cycle and line dry. 

PRO-TIP

Take the chain or ribbon out of your pocket when you take the dirndl dress to a dry cleaner! They tend to magically disappear after a visit to the cleaners… ask me how I know zis.    

If you ever have any concerns about caring for your dirndl, you can either e-mail me or take it to the cleaners and ask their opinion. Or… just give it to Oma and give her a big hug… she’ll probably take care of it for you {wink, wink}.

Looking for more Dirndl Style tips & tricks? Click the link to get access to our official style guide! >> https://bit.ly/dirndlstyle

-

Ever wonder which dirndl dress style you are? Click here to take out quiz and find out now!