Lederhosen explained

Lederhosen are the leather trousers at the heart of traditional Bavarian menswear. They come short, as knee breeches or full length, made of deer, goat or cow leather, held up by suspenders and frequently decorated with embroidery. This guide explains the different types of lederhosen, what the details mean, how the short version was deliberately revived as costume from 1883 onward, how to care for the leather and what to look for when you buy or rent a pair.

What are lederhosen?

The word simply means leather trousers. In German a single pair is a Lederhose; English speakers usually borrow the plural form for one pair. According to the city portal muenchen.de, the leather is deer, goat or cow, the trousers are held up by suspenders, and embroidery on the front flap and the legs is common. A well made pair is meant to last for decades, grows softer with age and is allowed to show wear.

Lederhosen are not exclusively Bavarian. The official Oktoberfest portal of the city, oktoberfest.de, points out that Austrians, Swiss and South Tyroleans wear them too. In Munich, though, they have become the typical outfit for men at the Oktoberfest; oktoberfest.de calls them almost obligatory for tradition-minded men. If you are planning a complete look, our guide What to wear to Oktoberfest covers shirts, jackets, shoes and the rules for bags.

Types of lederhosen: short, Kniebund and long

The city portal distinguishes three basic cuts, and there are a few special forms.

Short lederhosen (kurze Lederhose)

The short version leaves the knee free. It was the work wear of hunters, woodcutters and alpine dairymen, who needed sturdy trousers that did not restrict them when climbing. With short lederhosen, men traditionally wear Loferl: calf warmers that sit on the thickest part of the calf, with bare skin showing between calf and foot, and sturdy Haferlschuhe. Visible socks under Loferl are considered a fashion mistake, according to oktoberfest.de.

Knee breeches (Kniebundhose)

Kniebund lederhosen are tied just below the knee. They are worn with long socks that are pulled up over the knee first; the closed knee band then keeps them from slipping down. The Historisches Lexikon Bayerns, the online encyclopedia of Bavarian history, notes that the leather knee breeches only came back into fashion in the 1950s.

Long and special cuts

Full-length leather trousers exist as well. oktoberfest.de also describes boot lederhosen with very narrow legs tied at the ankle, and the Plattlerhose, which ends just above the knee and is cut so that a dancer's slap sounds louder during the Schuhplattler.

Suspenders, flap and embroidery

The suspenders of traditional lederhosen are joined across the chest by a crossbar, called the Steg in German. A pair in the collection of the Bavarian National Museum, a knee-length model the museum dates, with a question mark, to the 1960s, shows how such suspenders are built: the front straps are sewn to the embroidered bar, the longer back straps can be adjusted with buckles and button onto the inside of the waistband, and leather gussets let the fit be adjusted.

The suspenders often reveal a region. In the Allgäu, according to the Bavarian costume federation (Bayerischer Trachtenverband), green cloth suspenders hand-embroidered with 13 to 15 edelweiss flowers are typical, three of them on the crossbar; an embroidery template dated 1756 survives in the local museum in Oberstdorf. oktoberfest.de lists edelweiss and gentian as classic motifs for suspenders, and oak or vine leaves for the trousers.

The broad front flap is where many men hang a Charivari, a silver chain once loaded with coins, animal teeth and hunting trophies. oktoberfest.de gives 33 centimeters (about 13 inches) as the ideal length of a men's Charivari.

History: from work clothes to symbol of Bavaria

By the 1880s, short leather trousers were disappearing. Their comeback began in 1883 in the village of Bayrischzell, where a local schoolteacher, Josef Vogl, started Bavaria's first club for preserving traditional dress. Its statutes made the revival of the vanishing local dress its main purpose, and the men's outfit it promoted, short lederhosen included, was borrowed from hunters, woodcutters and herders. More clubs followed quickly, first in Upper Bavaria and soon across the state.

Not everyone approved. The Catholic Church was skeptical of the young clubs, and bare knees added to the suspicion. Church representatives refused to bless the clubs' flags into the 1930s. oktoberfest.de adds that the Archbishop of Munich officially called lederhosen immoral in 1913. Decades earlier, the royal house had taken a different view: King Maximilian II was the first Wittelsbach ruler to dress in traditional costume, which made Upper Bavarian Tracht acceptable at court.

The modern image came later. Since 1980, players of FC Bayern Munich have celebrated in lederhosen, and the Oktoberfest became a place where young city men wear them to show their attachment to Bavaria. In a speech in 1998, Federal President Roman Herzog said that in Bavaria lederhosen and laptop had formed a symbiosis. Turned around into "laptop and lederhosen," the phrase became a slogan for Bavaria combining technology and tradition.

How to care for lederhosen

Good lederhosen never go into a washing machine, and a certain patina is part of their charm. Many people believe they should never be washed at all, but oktoberfest.de takes a different view and recommends this approach:

• Small stains: treat them locally with a stain remover; a brush often helps too.
• When the leather turns stiff: that is the sign the patina is sealing the leather and a deeper clean is due.
• Hand washing: use lukewarm water and plain curd soap, never hot water, which turns the leather hard. Rinse out all soap.
• Drying: press the water out gently without wringing, dry the trousers flat on a towel and turn them regularly. If they feel stiff afterward, knead and stretch the leather until it softens again.
• Or leave it to the experts: specialist leather cleaners handle lederhosen as well.

Buying or renting lederhosen

For a single trip to Munich you do not need to buy. Renting is common in the city, and costume clubs regularly hold markets for secondhand Tracht. If you do buy, a few checks help:

• Sewn, not glued: muenchen.de names stitching and a soft feel, rather than a rubbery one, as signs of quality.
• Hand or machine embroidery: in hand embroidery the needle only pierces the surface of the leather, so the decorated areas rise in relief; machine embroidery stitches right through.
• Leather: classic lederhosen are made of soft chamois-tanned deerskin. The label Wildbock usually means ordinary goat leather.
• Origin: according to oktoberfest.de, many lederhosen are made in factories in India, Hungary or Sri Lanka, often from leather sourced in Pakistan or New Zealand. Deerskin from local hides costs considerably more.
• Fit: lederhosen are meant to fit snugly and will soften with wear.

To see lederhosen worn the traditional way, go to the Trachten- und Schützenzug, the big costume parade held on the festival's opening Sunday during the Oktoberfest. In 2027 it falls on 19 September and starts at 10 a.m. at the Max II monument on Maximilianstraße. More German background is on our page Die Lederhose.