Figure 1.--Here we see see a German boy wearing a sweater with Lederhosen. Note the edgeing on the sweater, somewhat similar to the Bavarian jacket. He also wears tights. Kneesocks were more common. |
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There are a variety of other clothing associated with Lederhosen. Some items are part of folk dress. As Lederhosen became an item worn with regular and not just folk dress we see various items being worn that were not part of traditional folk dress. Some are other items of Alpine or folk dress. These include Alpine caps and Bavarian jackets. The halter might be considered as an essential part of the Lederhosen themselves. Here the kind of calf cuff worn rather than kneesocks is another Folk item. These are items that were widely worn by the late 19th century. Other clothes have been worn with Lederhosen. These tend to be more clothing items. Perhaps the best known are the colorful check or plaid shirts that became popular after World War II. Hosiery varied. When not wearing the calf cuff, kneesocks were commonly worn with Lederhosen. We also notice boys wearing tights with Lederhosen.
Boys wearing lederhosen as part of folk costumes often wear Tyrolian caps. We also see them called Alpine caps. These caps are the only kind of headwwear that we note being worn with Lederhosen.
I'm not sure what the precise term was for these caps. They were normally black or dark green and worn with a feather. I'm not sure what the inspiration was for this distinctive style or just when it forst appeared. Other caps were worn with Lederhosen, bur most photgraphs since World War II show boys wearing leaderhosen without headwear.
Some of the most common items associated with Lederhosen are are folk dress. Lederhosen are often worn with a folk or Bavarian jacket. This is a way in which Lederhosen can be worn on dresses occassions. We never see Lederhosen worn as part of suits or with sport jackets. As Lederhosen became an item worn with regular and not just folk dress we see various items being worn that were not part of traditional folk dress. Some are other items of Alpine or folk dress. These include Alpine caps and Bavarian jackets. The halter might be considered as an essential part of the Lederhosen themselves. Here the kind of calf cuff worn rather than kneesocks is another Folk item. These are items that were widely worn by the late 19th century.
Lederhosen were tremendously versitile garments. They could be worn for roughing it on hikes into the coutry or also for school and even formal occassions. As partof folk dress, Lederhosen might be worn with a Bavarian jacket. This was a dress up outfit for church or other formal occassions. But Bavarian jackets were not the only jackets worn for such occassions. Bavarian jackets were not the only jackets worn for formal occassions. We also notice boys wearing suit jackets and sports jackets with Lederhosen. We see all kinds of jackets beiung wiorn like this. Normally tey would be worn with dress trousrs or later by at least smart casual slacks. Lederhodsen were seen as appropriate alternatives. As far as we know, this was the only type of pants used like this until jeans began to be wornb as smart casual pants in America during the 1970s. This was common for Lederhosen during much of the 20th century. We are not yet sure of the age conventions.
Lederhosen are normally worn with collared shirts. For dress occasions they might be worn with a white shirt and a tie. For normal every day wear they were often worn with ginham or other plaid-like shirts. The most common ginham was a red checkered pattern, although various blue shades were also worn. HBC has not noticed other colors of ginhams used. Other types of checkered or plaid shirts, however, are worn.
Occassionally we see German boys wearing sweaters with Lederhosen. This is not very common. This seems to be most common for schoolwear.
The hosiery German boys wore with Lederhosen has varied over time. We note quite a range of hosiery types. Kneesocks seem to have been the most common, but by the 960s kneesocks were going out of style xo we see many boys wearing ankle socks with Lederhosen. We have noted boys wearing long stockings, but this was not very common. This was in part because many older boys wearing Lederhosen no longer wore long stockings. Also as Lederhosen were becoming increasingly common, long stockings were becoming less popular. We have also noted boys wearing tights, but this was not very common for short pants Lederhosen. It was somewhat more common for knicker-lengh Lederhosen. When not wearing the calf cuff, kneesocks were commonly worn with Lederhosen. Yje calf-cuffs seem to have been mostly worn as part of folk costumes. Often we see boys wearng the bulky hand-knitted kneesocks.
The footwear worn with Lederhosen has varied over time and depended somewhat on the activity involved. Footwear of course was different for casual and dress occassions. We often note boys wearing heavy boots with Lederhosen, especially for hiking and camping. Most commonly we notice learher shoes. By the 1970s we note boys wearing sneakers, but by that time Lederhosen were declining in popularity. Boys also wore sandals with Lederhosen, but this was somewhat less common than other types of footwear.
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