When in Rome... by Marina Fogle

I’ve just spent the week in the green mountains and crystal clear lakes surrounding Salzburg. My family hail from here and when I’m out here we embrace the good life – delicious wholesome food, mountain walks with the dogs followed by diving into deep lakes surrounded by mountains whose water is clean enough to drink. It’s right out of the sound of music.

And one thing that really hasn’t changed since Maria von Trapp’s time is the wearing of the traditional dirndl, Austria’s national dress that is still worn daily, especially by chic Salzburgers. Being a family of three girls, I joke not when I say that we have a cupboard full of about 50 dirndls. Not only does this allow us to wear a different one for every conceivable occasion, but it means that our friends are dressed in them the moment they arrive.

A dirndl is the most flattering piece of clothing – it emphasises your waist and gives even the most flat chested girl a fabulously impressive cleavage. I must admit, the idea of not being able to fit my expanding belly (and boobs) into a dirndl this year filled me with horror. “Don’t worry” chirped my dirndl clad mother, “I wore one until I was 8 months pregnant”. “Yes, but you still fit into your wedding dress, 30 years after your wedding. You’re not normal,” I grumbled back.
My sisters chose the most appropriate dirndl from our vast selection and the three of us, just about managed to coerce my enormous bust into the poor thing. We did all but the bottom two buttons up, the apron covered the bulge and even though my waist was nowhere to be seen, I really did look and feel fabulous….