We all have heard of the German lederhosen one way or another but very less people know what lederhosen actually are and where their story began. However, that is going to change today.
In this blog, we will explore the story of lederhosen and try to create a better understanding of the outfit.
So, lets get right to it:
The Beginning:
Lederhosen were never meant to be worn as a traditional outfit. Rather, they were designed as peasant labour clothes. Germans had been using leather to manufacture apparel items such as boots for generations.
In tough job situations, leather was a good high-endurance material for labourers and farmers to wear. French culottes (also known as knee breeches) became fashionable in Europe in the 16th century. Culottes were worn by the French for leisure and aristocratic purposes; hence they were made of softer fabrics. German and Austrian artisans in the Alps adopted the culottes style for their own use by the 18th century. Instead of lovely French textiles, they went with their tried-and-true leather.
Rise to The Ranks:
Although the lederhosen were originally designed for mountain and rural peasants, upper-class Germans ultimately discovered that they were suitable for outdoor activities such as horseback riding and hunting. During the 18th century, it was also fashionable for noble society to imitate peasant style. While still worn by peasants, Lederhosen pushed their way up to courtly society. As a result, lederhosen became the standard German outfit.
Pantaloons and pants began to replace culottes in European fashion in the 19th century. Because nobility now had a new fashion to follow, their interest in lederhosen waned dramatically. The lederhosen were then considered as peasant garb unsuited for city dwellers once more. In the case of farm laborer’s, lederhosen were finally replaced by a new invention. Jeans became popular not only for work, but also as a hot American fashion trend among younger generations. Lederhosen were weeded out of the required attire for German living as a result of all of these considerations.
Fame With Oktoberfest:
In 1818, a businessman came up with an idea to commercialize a locally famous event the people called “Oktoberfest”. For this, he built temporary structures that were supposed to be used as food stalls.
This increased the popularity of the festival but to some extent. After a while, these food stalls were converted into beer halls. These beer halls soon became the main attraction of the event which started attracting many more people.
The Present:
The last ten years have been the best for the lederhosen industry as it is seeing a huge surge in demand, more and more people are opening up to the idea of using lederhosen more as a leisurewear than an outfit just worn at special events.
The outfit is deemed to be very comfortable. Lederhosen are all inclusive outfits. They don’t have any gender-specific characteristics. This makes the outfit more appealing to the present generation, who are only interested in gender-neutral apparel.
Although the lederhosen hasn’t altered much in terms of appearance, it may still be worn with any fashion trend and look great. It will look finest if you wear it with some sunglasses or a cowboy hat.
Lederhosen also allows you to combine diverse traditions without overwhelming them.
Lederhosen are breaking all the rules when it comes to places to wear them at. Now a days, lederhosen weddings are becoming more and more popular. People who want to make their weddings something more than just an event go for lederhosen weddings which are easy to organize and difficult to forget.
The Future:
In the times to come, lederhosen men are expected to be more rampant than they are today. This industry is expected to boom with leaps and bunds and become a million dollar industry soon.
In the next five years, many big fashion changes are expected to be brought to German lederhosen men. It is expected to be changed to fit every sector of the population in order to make it an outfit for all.
Lederhosen have lived so many lives that keeping track of all they have done might be tough at times. All of the criticism and negative connotations linked with the outfit, on the other hand, will fade away.
We will see authentic lederhosen being worn by farm workers as well as folks in business offices. The clothing will once again become commonplace, and it will be worn and adored by all.
The future looks very bright for the attire. The demand for men’s lederhosen is expected to increase soon and to fulfil the demand, supply will have to increase, making a lot of money fo those in the industry.
Conclusion:
So, this was a short story of the Bavarian outfits we all know as lederhosens. Hope you find he blog interesting and will come ack for more soon.
Also read Accessories to Pair with your Dirndl
