The word "lederhosen" is German for leather trousers, the word is commonly
used to indicate a particular type of short trousers coming from Germany or
Austria. Lederhosen have a mixture of features, which distinguish them from
a pair of leather shorts made elsewhere in the world. These features are a
fall front, with either button or zippered fastening, leather braces with a
cross bar, legs that have a turn up or cuff on them, lacing on the bottom of
the leg, the use of large buttons that are attached with a leather strap,
pockets at the front rather than the sides, a single small knife pocket near
the bottom of the right leg and the leather used is selected for its
durability rather than fashion. A single pair of lederhosen may have most of
these features or just a few, there is no precise definition.
Lederhosen can be full length
leg, over the knee – Kniebundhose / Kniebundhosen - or short,
Sepplhose / Sepplhosen or kurze lederhose / kurze lederhosen.
Traditionally supported by halter straps from the shoulders - Hosenträger–
some lederhosen can also be worn with a belt. Like leather shoes or denim
jeans, there's a breaking in procedure while the leather is fully softened.
Everyone has their own routine. Part of the attraction of lederhosen is the
way they adapt and mould to the body shape over time, particularly when worn
regularly or continuously. There's no fading as with blue denim but it's
quite clear to the interested eye what is underneath lederhosen, how much
there is and where it usually lies: left or right.
Lederhosen are particularly associated with Bavaria and in the Alpine
area but also in other parts of Europe. There is a long tradition of wearing
leather pants of varying styles dating back into the early Middle Ages. Some
historians date leather pants back to the 6th century AD. It was in in the
16th and 17th Centuries in Bavaria and in the Alpine part of Austria that
the modern lederhosen as we know it today emerged.
One source suggests that the style of lederhosen
evolved from French knee breeches (culottes) in the 18th Century. The French
of course did not use leather, but a variety of materials, including silk
and satin for the rich. It was the more practical Germans who began making
long-wearing pants out of leather. The first lederhosen were
kniebundlederhosen, knicker like knee breeches commonly worn in the 18th
century.
Lederhosen were commonly worn as casual wears or for hiking and other
outdoor wear as they were so hard wearing. Small boys may wear them for
play. Beginning in the 1920s we note boys beginning to commonly wear them to
school in Germany. They may have been even more common in Austria.
Lederhosen were not initially boys wear, but rather adult work trousers.
Today they are increasingly worn by boys or adults participating in folk
festivals. The popularity of lederhosen, however, declined in the 1960s as
German boys, like other European boys, increasingly wore jeans. Lederhosen
were also sometimes worn with a tie and jacket for a dressy, but folk look.
This is rarely seen today, although some boys might wear the knickers (kniebundlederhosen)
with a tie and jacket. Currently they are most commonly worn at folk
festivals and other such events.
Lederhosen can be handed down from generation to generation because of
the durability of the leather hide. Plainer styles of lederhosen are for
wearing everyday, frequently described as a favourite item of clothing
perhaps partly because of the freedom from worrying about getting dirty.
Well made lederhosen were almost never worn out. The hard-wearing pants
were practically indestructible. For that reason, they were perfect for
hiking and outdoor activities. The fact that they did not need to be washed
like cloth garments made them even more practical for outdoor activities.
This was presumably why leather pants were first worn by farmers in Alpine
area--the practicality. Much why Native Americans and frontiersmen wore them
in America's westward expansion. As a result, a boy's lederhosen were worn
for several years and were very well-worn garments.
