Rent Beautiful, Authentic Oktoberfest Clothing - Hassle Free My husband (who is the only person on our block who won't dress up for Halloween) was persuaded by his German colleagues that wearing Lederhosen was necessary for Oktoberfest. I didn't want to carry extra clothing for two weeks in Europe, so we rented from Bavarian Outfitters. I reserved a dirndl (the traditional women's dress) online at no charge about 3 weeks ahead, but he still wasn't sure. When we arrived in Munich, a quick Uber ride brought us to their pop-up shop. The clerks were delightful, spoke English and brought us different sizes and styles of each piece of clothing (including socks and shoes, if you like) until we were perfectly turned out. My husband was able to rent Lederhosen without a reservation. I had reserved the wrong size, but they simply brought me two choices in my preferred colors in the correct size. The clothes were made of natural materials (cotton, wool, suede), nearly new and perfectly clean. There were curtained, private dressing rooms. The whole process took about 30 minutes, and was actually part of the fun.
When we arrived at Oktoberfest, we immediately saw that most people were dressed up so we felt great about our choice. We were not out of place on the U-bahn or in downtown Munich. Other American couples we knew purchased attractive Bavarian gear in a shop near their hotel because they were staying longer, but our rented clothes were higher quality and more authentic.
Wearing the correct outfit definitely enhanced our feeling of participating vs. being American tourists. After a few delicious, fresh beers we forgot that we were wearing "outfits." A few more and after that, well, who cares? It was fantastic. We had a great time in Munich, met people from around the world, sang, smiled and laughed. Who could ask for more from travel?
