Figure 1.--This German boy in the early-1950s has a relatively plain halter called a Lederhodenhalter. He was probably about 9 years old. Note the center strap oval which provided a place for decoration and the holes to adjust the fit, just like a belt.

Leather halters are a form of suspenders, designed with a cross bar. The German term is "lederner Hosenhalter", "Lederhodenhalter". These halters are commonly associated with Lederhosen. Like suspenders, but unlike suspebder pants, the halter is a separate garment and not a part of the Lederhosen. They normally buttoned on. We note boys commonly wearing leather haltwrs to hold up Lederhosen, but the were also worn without halers. Not all boys wearing halters, however, wore them with Lederhosen. We assume that this was because boys who had these halters did not considered them aas solely for use with Lederhosen. These halters may have been the inspiration with H-br shorts which were very popular in Germany, but less so in mny other countries. The leather halters could be plain or highly decorated. The decoration was highlt variable, often using Alpine motifs. The highly decorated halters usually had a wider cross strap which might have an oval center. This allowed for more decoration. They normally matched the Ledergosen, but might be purchased separately and thus did not always match. The halters were worn both for formal occasions to create a complete ethbic outfit and also by younger boys to hold up their trousers. A German reader writes, "Leather halters as seen in this photo today are no longer commonly worn by German boys, Bavaria an exception. Earlier I wrote that I never wore Lederhosen as a boy. But I can remember to have once had a lederner Hosenhalter, without decoration, during the late-1940s, about the same time as the boy here. I was a little older. I used it for some time, because it was easy to adjust for growing as I got older. One just used another hole in the straps from the shoulder. In the photo you can see the holes. They were rather practical, under the leather there was a smooth, white felt. You can also see this in the photo. The cross bar behind, buttoned in front and behind. For formal occasions. Today only with Lederhosen are these halters still worn and mostly in Bavaria."

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Created: 7:18 AM 3/19/2009
Last updated: 7:58 AM 3/23/2009