Austrian Youth Group Garments: Lederhosen

Figure 1.--Here we see Austrian boys, probably in the late-1950s. We can not tell what the group was, but the boys all wear Lederhosen which suggests they were a uniform item.

The garments worn by Austrian youth groups seem similar to those worn in other countries, especially Germany. One noticeable trend in austria is that Lederhosen were particularly popular and often worn with youth group uniforms. Lederhosen wwee commonly worn in the first half of the 20th century. Lederhosen are generally most associated with German and Austrian youth groups. The connection may be the strongest with Austrian youth groups because lederhosen are an Alpine style and all of Austria is an alpine country. In contrast only southern Germany, especially Bavaria is associated with the Alps. We note Austrian boys wearing Lederhosen with the Wandervogel, Boy Scouts and Hitler youth. We are less sure about the Communist Young Pioneers, but the Soviets seem to have withdrawn from Austria before the Young Pioneers became well organized. And we note some photographs of boys in youth groups wearing Lederhosen, but we can't figure out what specific group is involved. Leferhosen seem to have declined in popularity beginning in the late-1960s as jeans were becoming increasingly popular.