Costume Jewellery

The best complement to authentic traditional costume is traditional costume jewellery. As part of classic customs, this jewellery can look back on a long tradition and is still very popular with traditional costume lovers today. At Halsbandaffaire, we present a hand-picked range of genuine pieces made from high-quality materials from the Biedermeier period to the middle of the 20th century. Whether simple dirndl jewellery or opulent charivari, discover the right piece for every traditional costume! Find out more

A brief history of traditional costume jewellery

Formerly intended as a form of expression for rural communities and the rural population, the jewellery pieces of various regional costumes tell an impressive story of the relationship between clothing, people and society. The focus was on the representation of regional affiliation, civil status and one's own wealth.
"Tracht" is originally understood to be the clothing worn at festivals and when going to church. In contrast to today, dirndls and lederhosen were considered work clothes.
The knowledge of the characteristics of authentic traditional costume and its jewellery is preserved today primarily by trachten clubs and thus lives on not only during Oktoberfest.

Authentic traditional costume jewellery for women

There are many ways for women to dress up in traditional costume. You can choose from dress jewellery such as skirt pins and corsetry or classic jewellery such as rings, bracelets, necklaces and headpieces.
For a beautiful dirndl neckline, a garland-shaped necklace made of silver strands is of course recommended. Alternatively, an opulent choker necklace (Kropfkette) can be chosen. The latter sits directly on the neck and usually has to be customised to fit the wearer. Historically, this piece of jewellery is a good indicator of the wealth of the former owner: the more strands it had and the more elaborately crafted the clasp, the wealthier the wearer was.

A good choice for high-necked dirndls are earrings. Finely decorated earrings with turquoise or garnet trimmings are particularly effective with pinned or braided hairstyles.

If you appreciate perfectly coordinated accessories, you should choose a traditional costume jewellery set. Earrings, necklace, bracelet and ring form a unit in terms of design and trimming, thus creating a harmonious overall look.
Together with silver corsetry chains or a skirt pin decorated with hunting trophies and coins, the lady's costume is complete!

Men's jewellery for traditional costume

Costume jewellery for men consists exclusively of clothing jewellery. The Charivari, which is worn on the front of the bib of the lederhosen and has evolved from a form of watch chain, is particularly noteworthy. This piece of jewellery not only serves a decorative purpose - its pendants were also used as talismans and souvenirs or as proof of a successful hunt. Here too, the more pendants the charivari had and the more opulently crafted it was, the wealthier the owner. It was and is therefore definitely a symbol of status.

High-quality traditional costume jewellery online and on site

At Halsbandaffaire, we always focus on historically authentic traditional costume jewellery that has been tested for its authenticity. Our range therefore only includes traditional jewellery made of silver or gold, set with natural coloured gemstones. If our antique items are decorated with ornamental stones, this will of course be mentioned in our item descriptions.

You are welcome to browse through our online shop and check out our selection of jewellery for traditional costumes. If you would like to take a closer look at potential accompaniments to dirndls and lederhosen, you are of course welcome to visit our shop in Munich-Schwabing.

Our tip: Bring your traditional costume with you! This way you can quickly assess whether the selected jewellery actually matches your costume.