MUNICH, GERMANY – Forget Tinder. Decades before anyone was swiping right, some say a century, Oktoberfest had already figured out how to announce your relationship status—using clothing, beer, and an alarming amount of baked goods.

The famous dirndl bow is often said to carry a message. Bow on the left? Traditionally interpreted as single. Bow on the right? Taken. Center and back have their own folklore, although the whole system is more tradition and popular convention than an official Bavarian dating code.

Which is probably for the best. Imagine trying to explain to someone that you spent €15 on a beer so you could conduct romantic reconnaissance based on apron geometry.

Glupperl - Customized clothespins used as name tags.
Two Glupperl indicate this beer tent Barbie is single.
And Oktoberfest has apparently embraced the concept even further. In 2025, the official Oktoberfest website reported that visitors were buying little pins and Glupperl specifically to signal relationship status: an edelweiss meant “taken,” while a pretzel meant “single.”

So, in theory, you could walk into the Wiesn, scan the room, spot a pretzel, and think: Excellent. The algorithm has spoken.

Of course, there is one major difference between Oktoberfest and Tinder.

On Tinder, you swipe left or right.

At Oktoberfest, you drink a liter of beer, lose your friends, forget what direction you were facing, and then discover that the person you thought was signaling “single” was actually just wearing a pretzel.

This article is based on information published by Oktoberfest.de.