the fashion known as altdeutsche tracht, "old german" dress or costume (also known as deutsche nationaltracht, "german national costume"), became popular in germany between 1813 and 1815, during the time of what is in german historiography known as the "befreiungskriege", the "liberation wars", the last years of the napoleonic wars. it was an expression of anti-french german national sentiment and met with great approval among women and men of various social strata. the new fashion was intended as a demonstration of resistance against the "french fashion foolishness", as it was described.