I am going to be a Fraulien Girl for Halloween.
http://www.pinupgirlclothing.com/3pcfraulgira.html  This is the link
to my costume. My boyfriend and I are going to a party with alot of
other college students and we want to cooridnate our outfits. So
basically I need to know more of the history of a fraulein girl. I
think it was a german waitress. And I need an idea of what he could
be???

Dear tarajordan!

Well, I am German, so I feel that I should offer you my knowledge in this case.

The first thing is that "Fräulein" does not refer to an occupation.
Actually, it is nothing but the equivalent to the English word "miss"
for a young woman. It is considered out-of-date today and is hardly
used anymore. It is true, however, that waitresses were often
addressed as "Fräulein" in the past. But it was never a name exclusive
to them; female switchboard operators were also generically addressed
as "Fräulein".

Now, to the costume itself. I must say, it looks very funny indeed
(besides being a looker, of course). You are on the right track with
the waitress thing - the costume is very obviously based upon the
dresses waitresses wear at the Oktoberfest in Munich and at similar
occasions. Those dresses again derive from women's traditional
costumes in Bavaria, southern Germany. So one could say that this
"fraulein girl" costume is a bizarre variety of Bavarian woman's garb.

So I'd recommend to use the Oktoberfest connection as the common theme
for your and your boyfriend's outfits. That means, he should look like
a cliché German. Lederhosen (or something vaguely resembling
Lederhosen) would be the most important part of his outfit, combined
with a red-and-white or blue-and-white checkered shirt (with short
sleeves, if possible). For the head, I recommend a hat resembling a
traditional Bavarian man's hat, ideally something looking
approximately like one of these examples:
http://www.deiters.de/images/produkte/1134150187_gr.jpg
http://www.deiters.de/images/produkte/d150563_gr.jpg

To complete the outfit, thick woolen knee-length socks (grey) and
solid heavy hiking shoes would be perfect.

I hope that I was able to inspire you!
Best regards,
Scriptor


Source of the hat images:
Deiters Costume Store
http://www.deiters.de/

Thanks so much SCRIPTOR-GA! I also agree that you did a very good job
answering my question since our costumes are about your culture. I
always try to pick a theme from a different culture because I think
it's fun to learn about different areas of the world.  If you have any
more fun ideas to add to my costume let me know by Saturday! Thanks!

That's a lovely answer, Scriptor, very kind and helpful without being
the least bit condescending.  Sometime people aren't so nice about
seeing their culture depicted in clichés.  I'm sure your customer will
have fun helping her boyfriend get dressed up in Lederhosen!

Let's mention to tarajordan, shall we, that just in case she wants to
know, she should pronounce "Fräulein" approximately thus:  FROY-line.

Archae0pteryx