Traditional Swiss Clothing: A Short Guide

When you think of traditional clothing in Switzerland, what comes to mind? It’s that age of look of traditional Swiss fashion of men, women, and children sitting on a mountain top wearing traditional Swiss costumes of the past.

Traditional clothing in Switzerland was influenced by a lot of cultures, namely German, Italy, and France. But, the main influence actually came from the different cantons, and the traditional clothing changed depending on what the person did and their gender too.

There is quite a lot of variation in the traditional dress of Switzerland but today, it remains pretty constant as it only comes out for special occasions. Let’s take a look at the traditional dress of men, women, and children, plus where you are likely to see it worn.

Traditional Swiss Clothing for Men

The traditional dress for men in Switzerland is based on the alpine regions and it is an image you have probably seen before.

The men wear lederhosen held up with suspenders. Lederhosen, if you don’t already know, are knee-length trousers and they are perfect mountain wear.

Lederhosen are a tough pair of pants that can handle mountain living and they are particularly great for hiking around the mountains, ideal for tending to alpine cattle and exploring the alpine areas.

Along with the lederhosen Swiss men also wear knee-high socks made from wool to keep their legs warm in the mountains and black slip-on shoes.

The traditional costume is tied together with a white short-sleeved shirt and a hat. The hats changed with the seasons.

In summer, straw hats are worn to keep the men cool and the hats have a wide brim to protect them from the sun. In winter, the hats were short-brimmed and made from felt to keep them warm.

Some men will have a red handkerchief in the left pocket of their lederhosen, which means that they are not married and available, making it easy for Swiss women to see who the eligible bachelors were.

Traditional Swiss Clothing for Women

The traditional dress for Swiss women of different cantons is overall quite similar but the differences lie in the details from one canton to the next.

Generally speaking, the traditional costumes are akin to western style clothing and feature a full-length skirt with a tight top that is sleeveless.

The traditional attire of Switzerland for women is quite like today’s “dirndl“, which is basically a full skirt and a tight sleeveless top. Their shoes are back slip-ons like the men and they also wear brightly colored tights or stockings plus a hat or a headpiece.

Their traditional costumes were then decorated with colors and sometimes they wore aprons with them to protect their traditional outfits while they were working.

The colors Swiss women choose to wear along with the fine accessories change from canton to canton and even show their marital status. In Zurich, women wear blue but in Obwalden it is white.

In Obwalden, single women wear silver jewelry, and married women wear gold jewelry and white bonnets. This changes from canton to canton too.

Swiss women are also trained in embroidery from an early age in their childhood and their traditional dresses may be covered with stunning embroidered flowers from their region, for example.

Traditional Swiss Clothing for Children

Children in Switzerland pretty much wear the exact same clothes as the adults, but smaller versions of course.

Swiss boys also wear lederhosen with suspenders, black slip-on shoes, knee-high wool socks, a white shirt, and the right hat for the seasons too.

A young girl in Switzerland will also wear a full-length skirt with a sleeveless top, tights, black slip-on shoes, and a hat plus any decorations they might have added.

The key differentiator is again, color, boys will usually wear dark colors such as blue and black while girls wear bright colors such as white and red.

Depending on where you are, smocks may also be involved in traditional costumes for kids too. Swiss-French boys and girls, as well as Swiss Italian boys and girls, wore smocks to school but they were also used in traditional outfits at festivals and more.

Traditional Clothing for Festivals in Switzerland

Of course, traditional costume is not worn every day in Switzerland anymore but it is whipped out whenever there is a national festival to celebrate.

Traditional outfits vary from canton to canton. As described above, the men in alpine areas wear lederhosen, while in the Gruyeres lowlands, the men wear black trousers and a short red jacket.

It is the Alpine women who wear the traditional outfit described above, but in Gruyeres, they wear long-sleeved jackets and silk aprons. St Gallen women wear gold lace caps, but Unterwalden women wear dresses with silver and gold accessories.

Attending a Swiss festival and seeing the national costume is a great experience and you should do it at least once when in Switzerland.

Interesting Facts on Swiss Traditional Clothing

• Colors, ornaments, and accessories all change from canton to canton and have different meanings
• Men wear darker colors while women wear brighter ones
• Single men wear a red handkerchief hanging out of their left lederhosen pocket in some cantons
• Tights are still homemade in some traditional Swiss families
• Traditionally, boys wear dark-colored tights, girls wear bright
• Sundays are when both men and women were their best dress outfits
• On Sundays, men add class to their outfits with the likes of pocket watches, jewelry, and lots more
• Women add embroidery to their best-dress Sunday outfits to make them special