** Lederhosen: material leather suede rindkernvelour glattleder vollrind chamois








Lederhosen: Material


Figure 1.--This boy in 1985 wears lederhosen that had the shiny finish--glattleder.

Proper lederhosen were of course made of leather. Some short pants with lederhosen styling have been made with other materials, but real lederhosen are made of leather. The German word comes from "leder" meaning leather and "hosen" meaning pants. HBC has very little information about the leather used for lederhosen. We have noticed two major types. There are two types of leather: 1) glattleder (vollrind): smooth finished leather and 2) rindkernvelour (raw inner side of leather), also called suede in English. The animal the leather is made of varies: cow, deer etc. This is a topic we will persue in greater detail. We do not know many basic facts about the two types such as popularity, conventions, practicality, chrnology, and other trends. The true traditional Lederhosen, however, were primarally made of chamois leather until about World War II when Lederhosen increased in popularity and leather had to be used to meet demand. Both cattle leather and chamois leather was available in Alpine regions. Cows were kept for the milk and making "new cows" and the chamois lived naturally. The chamois leather, although a little thicker, is far more durable, pliable and softer than cattle leather. There were many varied types and grades of leather that were used for Lederhosen. Most lederhosen are made of rough leather looking much like suede. A less common type is leather with a shiny surface. This is a topic we will pursue in greater detail.

Animal Leather

The animal the leather is made of varies: chamois, cow, deer etc. Proper lederhosen were of course made of leather. Some short pants with lederhosen styling have been made with other materials, but real lederhosen are made of leather. The German word comes from "leder" meaning leather and "hosen" meaning pants. The true traditional Lederhosen, however, were primarally made of chamois leather. The chamois is the wild Alpine goat which occurs in the Alpine regions of southern Germany, Austria, northern Italy, and Switzerland. The short, smooth summer coat is overall tawny or reddish-brown. It becomes white in winter and chocolate brown in summer. The wild chamois herds during the summer wander Alpine meadows above 1800 meters. As the weather gets cooler they move to lower altitudes. Until the 1930s, most Lederhosen were made from chamois, but as Lederhosen increased in popularity, cow leather had to be used to meet demand. Both cattle leather and chamois leather was available in Alpine regions. Cows were kept for the milk and making "new cows" and the chamois lived naturally. The chamois leather, although a little thicker, is far more durable, pliable and softer than cattle leather. Nowadays you can't buy new Lederhosen made of chamois Leather in Germany nor in Austria, because those animals are protected in both countries. That's not the case in Northern Italy, where you can actually eat chamois meat in restaurants in the Alpine villages and find crafts made of chamois leather. An austrian reader tells us that she did not see Lederhosen when she visited , but again those trousers are not worn in Northern Italy).

Cow leather

Simple every-day Lederhosen worn in Germany after World War II (and we think most of in the 1930s) by boys AND adults in principle were made of cow-leather: very robust, and much cheaper than the alternatives. This is difficult to tell from the photographic record. A reader report that the Lederhosen he has encountered in fleamarkets during last decades provides examples from the 1950s or later and are mostly cow leather. Cow-leather comes in two grades. There is the rougher Rindkernvelours-version and the shiny Glattleder-version. A reader wonders if it's correct, to call Rindkernvelours suede in English; at least, what is called suede in Holland is a much softer kind of cowhide. He tells us, "I won't call it leather myself, in contrast to Rindkernvelours, because 'our' suede absolutely hasn't the feeling of leather." Rindkernvelours compared to that is much thicker and stiffer; it also is more stalwart and less refined than suede. Rindkernvelours was the original material used for Lederhose. Glattleder appeared after World War II. We believed that it was introduced in the 1950s and only became popular in the 1960s. This is also when you begin to see ) the double-zipp-fall-front, without both becoming completely dominant in the end. Glattleder was regarded as more modern and cool by the more fashioned minded boys, but it was more expensive. Therefore mothers didn't chose it automatically for their boys. Many boys didn't get new Lederhosen, but the Lederhosen of older brothers. Lederhosen since they were made of leather lasted much longer than fabric pants. And these older Lederhosen tended to be Rindkernvelours. So the replacement of the older kind of Lederhosen by the more modern and more expensive type happened only gradually, as pictures of school-classes from these years show.

Deer leather

Only in some (mostly Alpine?) regions of Bavaria and Austria where Trachtenlederhosen are made was deer leather used. And this contunues to be the case today. There are regional variations. All Alpine regions have their own special form of Lederhosen-style (regarding trouser-leg-length, halter-decoration, buttons, fit, exact color, etc.). Deer is much more expensive. Comparing modern prices at in Lederhosenshops in Bavaria, you pay twice or thrice the price of a cow-leather-specimen). And therefore in the case of boys presumably will only be used for the more decorative Trachtenlederhosen for sunday and special occasions, not for everyday. Areader tells us, "My grandnephews, living near Augsburg, all just did wear simple standard Lederhosen of rindkernvelours with halters and buttoned-up-fall-fronts when I played with them during our stay for summer holidays during the 1970s.".

Leather Grades

There were many varied types and grades of leather that were used. HBC at this time has very little information about the leather used for lederhosen. HBC has very little information about the leather used for lederhosen. We have noticed two major types. There are two types of leather: 1) glattleder (vollrind): smooth finished leather and 2) rindkernvelour (raw inner side of leather), also called suede in English. The animal the leather is made of varies: cow, deer etc. This is a topic we will persue in greater detail. We do not know many basic facts about the two types such as popularity, conventions, practicality, chrnology, and other trends. There were many varied types and grades of leather that were used for Lederhosen. Most lederhosen are made of rough leather looking much like suede. A less common type is leather with a shiny surface.

Buttons

The buttons and the central ornament on the breast part of the halter were usually made from deer antlers. The button were cut as slices of the stem part of the antler, keeping the dark natural ornamentation along the perimeter of the button. The holes were not round, but two slots to allow a stripe of leather to secure the button.

Characteristic of Lederhosen

Proper lederhosen were of course made of leather. Some short pants with lederhosen styling have been made with other materials, but real lederhosen are made of leather. The German word comes from 'Leder' meaning leather and 'Hosen' meaning pants. The German convention is to capitalize nouns.


Figure 2.--Here is apair of suede (rindkernvelour) lederhosen withy a double zip front.

Types

We have noticed, however, two major types. There are two types of leather:

Smooth Finish (Glattleder/Vollrind)

One type of lederhosen are glattleder (vollrind): smooth finished leather. As the breakthrough of Glattleder and of Double-Zipp took place circa at the same time, there in practice is a relation between both (not a causal, but a factual). Nearly all Lederhosen with buttoned-up-fall-fronts and halters are of Rindkernvelours (in Glattleder they were and still are really rare; also the Trachtenlederhosen are never in Glattleder), and thus nearly all Lederhosen of Glattleder have a double-zipper-fall-front and belt (only sometimes instead of the belt the halter). The reverse is not true: not all Rindkernvelours-Lederhosen have buttons and halters (no monopoly in this respect), a lot have zippers and belt (I estimate for the double-zipper-versionat the end of the Lederhosen-era in the mid 1970s it was circa half Rindkernvelours, half Glattleder in average). Regarding the choice between Rindkernvelours and Glattleder, apart from the price, there might have been one thing relevant. The great advantage of Glattleder -- I know by experience -- is that those Lederhosen are much less vulnerable for dirt; if you get some mud on them, or marmelade at breakfast, you can, because of the smooth surface, more easily get your Lederhose clean again, by just wiping the mud or marmelade away. The only disadvantage of Glattleder as far as I know is that, because of its more refined shiny surface, damages to the leather, or wastage at the buttocks would become earlier visible than in the case of Rindkernvelours, where the traces of damage and wastage will disappear from sight more easy into the coarse surface.

Suede (Rindkernvelour)

The other major type of lederhosen are "rindkernvelour" (raw inner side of leather), also called suede in English. Suede is leather that has been finished on the inside or flesh side with a soft napped finish. The outer side can be used for suede if a thin outer layer is removed. In the case of Rindkernvelours, the dirt can less easily be removed, it will go into the pores of the leather and change the colour of the Lederhose at that spot. As cleaning with water isn't a good idea in the case of leather, it will stay there, only gradually fading partially away in the course of time. After a couple of years a Rindkernvelours-Lederhose therefore will look much more worn-out than a Glattlederhose, that will keep longer the appearance of being new. In the case of Rindkernvelours the orginal green-grey colour at some spots will be turned completely black, and especially the buttocks and the front flap will have become shiny, the first thanks to sitting in the sand or mud, or by sliding on a switch-back, or whatever; the second thanks to the fact that many a boy will often wipe off his dirty hands on his fall front. This dirty outlook in that case could be something the boys themselves strived purposely for. This means: Rindkernvelours was better for rough play in the garden (backyard) or for scouting. A boy in Glattlederhose was more presentable on occasions where he should look more trim and neat -- in company of adults, in the church, when visiting grandparents.

Popularity

We do not know many basic facts about the two types such as which were more popular. Many boys could not bhave cared less. More fashion concious older boys did have an opinion. Glattleder became popoular as it was seen as more trendy. Of course mothers had a say here, especially for the yonger boys. What mothers deemed more essential -- perhaps also depending on their social environment and status or whatsoever -- may have influenced their decision by their choice between Glattleder and Rindkernvelours. One reader tells us, "For that reason as a boy I had TWO Lederhosen -- one in Rindkernvelours for daily life, one Glattlederhose which he wore when he dressedvuo for some occasion." In Bavaria (and Austria) instead of the latter in that case a decorated Trachtenlederhose might have been chosen, because Glattleder was, like double-zipp-fall-fronts, over there regarded as typically northern-German, as 'Prussian' (and that wasn't meant as something positive at the time): such Lederhosen in Bavaria were despised as a kind of style break, and only worn by boys coming from elsewhere, who weren't familiar with local habits and dressing norms.

Conventions

We also do not know if there were conventions associated with these differnt types of lederhosen. Was one type more suitable for casual play and the other used more when dressing up. Was one type used more by Scouts?

Practicality

We also do not know if one type was more practical and thus better suited for camping and Scouting.

Chronology

Nor do we know how the chronology of these different types varied. It seems as those the suede type appeared first, but this is just speculation at this time.







HBC






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Created: December 27, 1998
Last updated: 12:49 PM 12/29/2020