Figure 1.--Here we see a snap shot of German childre, we believe in the late-1930s. One boys wears Lederhosen for play. The other boys wears a dress-up Bavarian folk outfit. Note the girl wearing long pants. This suggests to us that the photograph would not have been taken earller than the late-30s.

By the late 19th and early 20th century they had become Bavarian folk costume. Lederhosen became well established as folk wear during the 20th century. At first they were considered primarily Bavarian wear. Groups like Wandervogel, however, hrlped to spread lederhosen to other parts of Germany. At American German folk festivals, boys and men appear to wear lederhosen beyond a specifically Bavarian context. I'm not sure if the same is true of Germany. Few German festivals are held without men and boys wearing Ledehosen and often these Bavarian folk costumes. Boys also wear these Lederhosen folk outfits as suits to parties and church. This I believe is done mostly in Bavaria.

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Created: 12:09 AM 10/9/2007
Last updated: 12:09 AM 10/9/2007