- Lederhosen
Lederhosen ("leather trousers" in German; singular: "Lederhose") are knee-breeches (knickerbockers or
shorts ) made ofleather .The word Lederhosen is frequently misspelled as "Leiderhosen" (literally, "sadly-breeches"), or "liederhosen" ("songs-breeches"). The proper is /ˈledɚˌhozən/, but is often mispronounced as /ˈlidɚˌhozən/.
Traditional Bavarian men's clothing
Traditionally, lederhosen were worn by Germanic men of the Alpine and surrounding regions, including
Austria , the highlands and mountains of SouthernGermany , the German-speaking part ofItaly 's province of Bolzano-Bozen (formerly part of Austria until afterWWI ) andSwitzerland .[http://www.marquise.de/en La Couturière Parisienne] , however, claims that lederhosen were not originally only a Bavarian garment, but that they had been worn all over
Europe , especially by riders, hunters and others—and not only by the peasant folk. Only people in the south of Bavaria (south of Munich) had "Lederhosen." The flap ("drop front" style) may actually be a unique Bavarian invention. It became so popular in the 18th century, that it was known inFrance as "à la bavaroise," or in the Bavarian style. [cite web
title=La Couturière Parisienne - Wo bleiben die Lederhosen und Dirndl?
publisher=A. Bender
date=April ,2008
url=http://www.marquise.de/de/ethno/bayern/lederhosen.shtml
accessdate=2008-08-27 ]Lederhosen have remained regionally popular and are commonly associated with virility and brawn. Some men enjoy wearing them when
hiking , working outdoors, on a stag night, or attending folkfestival s and beer gardens; they are rarely seen elsewhere, and have accquiredcamp (style) connotations in the rest of Central Europe. Nevertheless, they have remained asymbol of regional pride. Their role in Bavaria is thus comparable to that of thekilt inScotland .Traditional German boys' clothing
German boys up to the age of about 16 used to wear lederhosen. These lederhosen were less decorated than the Austrian
tracht (mainly with regards to embroidery) but retained some typical attributes like the suspenders/braces, and drop front style flap. Even today, some German and French boy scouts wear various forms of lederhosen, although in most cases they do not form part of the official uniform. Lederhosen was also used by Austrian boys as well from the 1930s to the 1960s. Nowadays they are wearing them in special cases, like in aBiergarten or on aZeltfest . The Austrian girls are wearing theDirndl as a part of the tracht.Similarities in other regions
The Turkish oil wrestlers wear a kind of lederhosen called a
kisbet , which are also embroidered and similar to the Alpine lederhosen, but without the suspenders.Notes
ee also
*
Clothing
*National costume
*Austrian folk dancing
*Not to be confused with:Leeuwenhosen External links
* [http://www.bavariandancers.com Treu dem guten alten brauch founded in New York City in 1928]
* [http://www.postrealism.com/lederhosen.htm History of Lederhosen and customs concerned with Tracht costumes]
* [http://bavaria-lederhosen.com/en/History-17/History_of_Lederhosen-76/ History of Lederhosen] (English) | [http://bavaria-lederhosen.com/de/Geschichte-17/Geschichte_der_Lederhosen-76/ Geschichte der Lederhosen] (German)
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