colour mix

When I bought my first dirndl, the shop lady insisted on bringing me one size smaller than I usually wear. "The breasts don't go in the dress," she explained. Then she asked me if I were single or taken, which I thought was a bit forward after all this talk about my bosom. Turns out she just wanted to know whether to tie my apron bow to the left, or to the right.

I don't live in Bayern, where it is common to wear a dirndl for everything from farm work to a wedding reception. If I did, I would be adding this to my collection:



Sisters Darouiche and Rahmée Wetterich started the brand NOH NEE in 2010. They were born in Cameroon and now call Munich home. What I love about the brand is their whole philosophy of "colour mix" - to hear the sisters talk about dresses makes you want to vote them into German Parliament: “(Colour mix) will be of great importance in the days to come....people will get to know each other, they will innovate, and they will see their own traditions in a different light."

In Germany, people talk more about "integration" than they do about "multiculturalism". This dress gives me hope for something in the middle.