You’ve got your steins polished, the tables in the beer halls are straightened, and the bratwurst are cooking––you’re all set for your Oktoberfest party. But wait––oh, no! The oompah band is already tuning up and the guests are on their way, but you forgot to get new lederhosen, and after a summer spent indulging on cider and schnitzel, there’s no way your old ones are going to fit! You run to your wardrobe, brushing aside your spare haferls and Pickelhaubes to find just what you need: this Oktoberfest Beer TShirt. Phew! Aren’t you glad you ordered that?! As the partygoers filter into the dim, amber light and enjoy whatever you’ve got on tap, they probably won’t even notice your lederhosen aren’t the authentic article––“Is that his chest hair? Homina, homina,” they’ll think.
Dressing up as or laughing at a stereotypical version of another culture isn’t as cool as it used to be, but as German is the most common source of ancestry in the United States, hopefully we’re laughing at our own heritage as much as those goofy Krauts. And for those of us who aren’t German? Well, they’ve got more to answer for than most other countries, so we’ll laugh at their silly suspender-shorts, thank-you-very-much.