Lederhosen Types

German Lederhosen
Figure 1.--Here we see two brothers wearing matching short pants Lederhosen. The photograph is undated, but was probanly taken in the early 1950s.

These leather pants came in many styles and lengths, often with suspenders or even a front design. They came in both a short pants and knickers style. The short pants Lederhosen were probably the best known. They came with varyig designs and lengths. The length varying in large part along the lines of prevailing fashion trends. We also note that knickers-length Lederhosen have become more popular in recent years. There were other other stylistic differences among both short pants and knickers Lederhosen.

Short Pants Lederhosen

Based on the few images I have seen, short pants lederhosen in the 1920s were worn by both men and boys. The style appears to be a rather long lederhosen--knee length. As boys all over Germany began wearing them, much shorter lederhosen were worn. They were popular with the Hitler Youth, in part because they were an identifiable German style. In addition they were perfect for rough outdoor wear. I think that they were made cut at a shorter length in the 1930s, but they were so long wearing that a pair of lederhosen brought for a boy would still be serviceable after several years. Thus increasingly shorter lederhosen were worn by the boys. After the war, lederhosen cut quite short were sold in the 1950s and 60s. Sepplhose are non-Bavarian term for lederhosen. They are usually made in a gray short pants lederhosen. The term in German means "turned over pant legs". These grey shaded lederhosen were often worn by Hitler Youth boys.

Knicker Lederhosen

The original lederhosen, were kniebundlederhosen--knicker length knee breeches. Men and boys in the 18th Century commonly wore knee breeches. Thus the first lederhosen were made in this style. I'm not sure what the conventions were for wearing kniebundlederhosen and kurzehosen in the 20th Century. They seem to have become more popular in recent years.







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Created: 10:53 PM 11/7/2006
Last updated: 10:53 PM 11/7/2006