Long Live Lederhosen!
Growing up in the 80s, I was surrounded by traditional German culture. My parents visited Germany and Austria in 1983 and returned with a pair or tiny lederhosen complete with red leather straps and heart pockets as a souvenir. Every year, we went to the local Oktoberfest at Mt. Angel and took vacations in Leavenworth, Washington which is modeled after a traditional Bavarian village. During the Summer, my grandparents would drive my brother and I around in their Buick while they listened to cassettes of German polka. My mom would only drive European cars. We had a cuckoo clock in our living room. It was normal to consume elk sausage.
Though there’s mostly German heritage on both sides of my family, we were never very patriotic. I think my parents were more interested in the aesthetics of traditional European culture than anything else! It definitely rubbed off on me; I took four years of German language classes in high school and college (and will only drive Volkswagens!)
Recently, I became obsessed with finding my own lederhosen to wear on a normal basis. The thing about lederhosen (shorts made of leather, often worn by German men) is that they aren’t traditionally designed for women. Only men and boys wear them, while women wear dirndls. This made my search particularly hard; I haunted Ebay for weeks until I found a pair of just the shorts (no fancy straps) that a U.S. woman had purchased back in 1953 at the age of 12 while traveling through Germany!
I love lederhosen because they are very durable, surprisingly comfortable and very warm for shorts. The button flap in the front is a bit awkward (yes, since they’re designed for the opposite sex, there’s a slight bulge when I wear them!), but it’s worth it. This Summer, I’ll wear them with knee-high socks and tall boots with a light cardigan. A word for the wise: It’s important to play down the rest of your look so that the lederhosen don’t take on a too ‘costume-y’ vibe.
What’s your take on lederhosen?
Do you love them or find them to be overly ridiculous for everyday wear outside of the Motherland?
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12 People have left comments on this post
While your mom and dad were in Europe, you slept with me every night. You’d crawl outside the covers, and sleep with your head toward the foot of the bed, all curled up like a little Norbest turkey. You were the cutest little creature I’ve ever seen. xxoooxx
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Adorable! They don’t look costume-y at all – just a vague sense of wintery goodness, and you can definitely pull the look off.
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too cute! you pull them off so well. you make them look casual yet unique as if they came from the imagination of some new designer. and those socks! i adore them too! oh and vdublove for life my friend
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ohhhh! fantastic; I’m jealous.
I completely love lederhosen, and am utterly inspired by this look.
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christine: I like that crazy silver-dipped lederhosen-esque dress you linked!!
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I always thought that lederhosen are wasted on men. You look fantastic, the bulge adds more than it takes.
I’m quite nerdy when it comes to lederhosen, yours look like a high quality pair. Very wide flap, with vertical pockets and have a nice worn in look.
It would be great to see the top of them, buttons etc. You should get some of the leather, cross bar braces that go with them. They look great and feel even better.
I hope the 12 year old enjoyed them.
Lederhosen are worn by women now, just look at the pictures of the lederhosen festival in Austria or one of the on line catalogues of a lederhosen maker.
When I first went to Southern Germany mid sixties, lederhosen were like a uniform, every one was wearing them.
Anyway great work.
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frxm lehow qiph chiso svua bteacno iubcwjod
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I agree with you totaly,because when you see the “stupidness” of ” the mode” today stay “classic and folklore” me and my wife who live in the “Vosges” mountains in eastern france and are “bilingual(french and german):i mean we wear “lederhosen with suspenders everyday (like most people do in “central europe”) but ,excus me lederhosen “without suspenders is not really “lederhosen!) if you want we can send you photos of us
freindly yours Mark and Joelle
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My wife and I,have been wearing “lederhosen” ( with leather straps),for over 30 years.It’s true that we live on the border line with “the black forest”( germany) and basel( switzerland),and our region “Alsace-Lorraine” ,was once german,once french,over and over again and we speak both german and french!I’ts truethat “lederhosen& straps” are very confortable! and “practical too,especialy ,for shopping,taking a walk with the dog,etc… If you want any photos we can send you some and sure there is no age or sex for wearing “lederhosen!
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but ,lederhosen “without “leather straps is not a lederhosen
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we’ve been wearing lederhosen for years( me &my wife) ,with leather suspenders” otherwise there’s no point on putting them on!.of course not only are they ” confortable” but allways “à la mode”,when you see the stupidness of the fashion’s dying every 3 months!,lucky that stupidness does not kill people,otherwise there would’nt be much creeps around!Long live lederhosen&suspenders! if you care to reply ,you’ve got our e mail adress, and if you care for photos we can send some too
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I bought my first pair of lederhosen about thirty years ago and when I tried them on it was love at first sight. I wore them every chance I got. As soon as I got home after work I would slip them on and they are incredibly comfortable and durable. Since then I have aquired about a dozen pair of then as well as the some of the longer bundeshosen and the fancy platter style ones. I also wear the long socks and all of them have the suspenders. The platter ones have very fancy embroidery on the cross piece with the Barvarian crest and another with a flower scene. I too think women look fantastic in lederhosen and you look great in yours. I sure wish lederhosen would take off as a permanent fashion preference for men and women. I’m doing my best to make my fashion preference know and will sometimes wear them when I go shopping, to the movies or out and about on the weekend. Suprisingly, I don’t get many many funny looks and sometimes people stop and talk to me about the lederhosen they own and how comfortable and durable they are. If I had my way, they’d be the only pants in my wardrobe! Keep wearing your lederhosen! You look sexy and amazing in them!
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