Lederhosen
leather trousers, with short or long legs, from Bavaria
The term Lederhosen ( ; German pronunciation: [ˈleːdɐˌhoːzn̩], singular in German usage: Lederhose, German: [ˈleːdɐˌhoːzə] ; lit. "Leather Pants") is used in English to refer specifically to the traditional leather breeches worn by men in Southern Germany (specifically in Bavaria and Swabia), Austria, South Tyrol and Slovenia (where they are most commonly called irharice). The term Trachten-Lederhose is often used in German to avoid confusion with other types of leather pants. The longer trousers are generally called Bundhosen.
History
Lederhosen probably originated during the late Middle Ages. They were worn for hard physical work, as they were more durable than fabric garments. Today, they are mostly worn as leisurewear. Lederhosen and dirndl attire are also common at Oktoberfest events around the world.
La Couturière Parisienne stated that lederhosen were originally not exclusively Bavarian garments, but were worn all over Europe, especially by riders, hunters, and other people involved in outdoor activities. The flap (drop front), though, may have been a unique Bavarian invention.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Lederhosen” is leather trousers, with short or long legs, from Bavaria. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Lederhosen, leather and trousers, not as a finished interpretation.
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Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 27, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q261061. The Library of Congress control number is sh85075678. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Lederhosen” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.