Herrenstrümpfe


Leggings attached to breeches with ribbons. Photographs courtesy of Historic Enterprises ©.	Leggings attached to breeches with ribbons. Photographs courtesy of Historic Enterprises ©.


Painting by G. Horenboutca, app. 1500.	Close-up of painting: it is not visible whether this man is wearing leggings (attached to the breeches with ribbons) or real tights under his thigh-length skirt.

Later, after outerwear became shorter, the leggings were attached directly to the doublet. When men's overcoats were shortened to the thighs in the first half of the 14th century, part of the leg which was previously concealed by long stockings became visible, much to the resentment of the clergy. As known from a Mainz Chronicle in the year 1367, one could "look into the rear-ends" of young men wearing overcoats which were too short when they bent down. Thus, in 1390, the city of Constance enacted an ordinance whereby men who wanted to wear short overcoats had to conceal the front and back of the hip area.

Obvious and visible bareness between the leggings and breeches

(segment from the Bladeliner Altar, Rogier van der Weyden) mid-15th century.

This moral problem was solved by sewing together leather or wool stockings, with the seams visible either in the back or both in the front and back. A triangular codpiece was attached to the front section of the tights.


Front covering, called the "Braguette". Fastening for tights and pants since the Renaissance.	The first tights developed from leggings, to which codpieces were attached for fastening. Photographs courtesy of Historic Enterprises ©.	Close-up of the triangular codpiece. Photographs courtesy of Historic Enterprises ©.

Stockings and tights made of Scharlach ("Scarlet", a woolen cloth dyed red), a very stretchable fabric similar to stockinet, were very popular and available in a multitude of colors. With the availability of elastic fabrics, it became possible to fashion tights without codpieces - these tights could be worn visible to the waistband.


As cutting techniques were improved and elastic fabrics became available, tights could be fashioned without the codpiece. Photographs courtesy of Historic Enterprises ©.	Tights worn without concealing outerwear, segment of the Herrenberger Altar, 15th century, Staatsgalerie Stuttgart.


Painting by Dirk Bouts, 15th century, Staatsgalerie Stuttgart.	Close-up of painting: the tights are particularly noticeable on the figures to the left of the painting.

Tights, which emerged in the 14th century and were worn predominantly as outerwear, remained an important and valuable element of men's wear until the end of the 16th century. Margrave Johann von Küstrin was so delighted about his knit silk leggings in 1569 that he enthusiastically wrote the following: "I have silk tights too, but I only wear them on Sundays and holidays."

Harem pants, which were first thigh-length, and later knee-length, became fashionable towards the end of the 16th century. At first, they were worn with tights, but after 1670, harem pants tied under the knee became so widespread that for the first time, a separation between pants and stockings occurred.


Tights worn under thigh-length pants, so-called Spanish "Heerpauken".	Spanish fashion of short thigh-length pants with long silk stockings or tights worn underneath, mid-16th century.	The distinction between pants and stockings came from tights, where the feet were cut off. Segment of the Herrenberger Altar,15th century, Staatsgalerie Stuttgart.


Stockings and most likely tights continued to be worn underneath harem pants, end of the 16th century.	Long stockings worn with thigh-length pants, segment from a painting by Jan Steen, app. 1590.	Long stockings worn with thigh-length pants, segment from the painting "Kücheninterieur", W. Heimbach, app. 1640.

Knee-breeches with stockings or tights worn underneath defined the fashion of legwear from this point on - until the French Revolution in 1789, which abruptly ended the trend of visible men's stockings and knee-breeches (culottes). The revolutionary "Sans Culottes" rejected knee-breeches, which were widespread in the aristocracy, and introduced the new fashion of long trousers worn with knee-length socks or normal socks. This was a turning point in the history of European fashion, which still today shapes typical men's wear. Men's stockings and men's tights, which are still sporadically worn under knee-breeches or long trousers, have become relatively rare since the French Revolution.		Silk stockings or tights (?) worn under knee-breeches, segment of a painting by J. F. de Troy, 18th century.
However, from a number of preserved articles and messages, one can assume that not only socks and stockings, but also tights continued to be worn underneath trousers until the end of the 18th century.		Cream-colored stockinet underpants with attached feet, 1795.
In 1797, the following was published in the Journal for Fabrication, Manufacture, Trade and Fashion: "In September, 'Waebler und Keil' announced in Hamburg the establishment of a trading company. Among others, they deal in English and French fine jewels, women's clothing and foulards with gold and silver embroidery, all types of plated goods, (...), all types of English stockings and tights, cashmere and piqué."		Cream-colored stockinet underpants with attached feet, 1795.
German-made men's tights were also well-known during this time. In Gazette 4 of the "Berlin Archives of the Time and its Tastes", published in October 1795, a huge selection of fabrics and articles of clothing, including "silk, silk blend, cotton and woolen stockings and tights" was offered for sale.		Silk men's tights, Germany, 1795.
Even though there are few preserved pieces of writing or pictures, men's tights seem to have remained popular after the Biedermeier age and in the 19th century - even if only as long underwear or nightwear and usually not visible.		Two-piece pajama made of cream-colored wool stockinet, form-fitting pants with attached feet, England, 1885.

Visible tights were merely worn by ballet dancers, circus performers and athletes, for example in wrestling or boxing. For men working in the arts or at fairs, tights were a normal part of their work clothes. These tights, which were known as stockinet pants, were only produced by a few specialized factories.


Costume designs for the ballet "The Pirate Island", by R. Fleury, 1835.	Circus performers in tights, 1886.	Excerpt from the catalog of the company "Swiss Costume and Flag Factory J. Louis Kaiser, Basel", app. 1890.

Tights, a central part of the new German traditional wear, the "Normal Clothing based on the System of Professor Dr. Gustav Jäger".
"Mankind's wool is its Heaven" (G. Jäger's slogan). One advocate of tights as outwear for men was the physician and professor for physiology, anthropology and zoology, Dr. med. et. chir. Gustav Jäger (1832-1917) from Stuttgart. In 1879, Jäger brought to life a "clothing reform", which only accepted non-dyed, natural wool clothing in a specific cut as good for the health. Thus, Gustav Jäger is one of a group of reformers who, as part of a general hygiene, clothing and reform movement in the second half of the 19th century, stood up against the negative side effects of modern times. The goal of this movement was the re-orientation towards elemental things, as modern times were suppressing the natural needs of mankind. With his new clothing system, Jäger hoped to give people a new, positive outlook on life. In cooperation with the Stuttgart-based textile manufacturer "Wilhelm Benger Söhne" in 1880, Jäger's "Normal Wear" appeared on the market. Jäger's role model was the old-German traditional wear of the middle ages, wool tights, in place of the pipe or elephant-leg trousers which he abhorred. For him, the re-design of legwear was the "paramount of the clothing reform" and the most important component of the "German National Outfit". "In the reform of men's clothing in regard to health, the abolishment of baggy trousers played the main role and most of our energy should be spent on them. (...) Especially important, though, is also the production of trousers from stockinet or through knitting. This type of production enables free movement of the legs and yet fits firmly to the body. Perspiration can escape through the porous material and thus prevent body odor. (...) To come back to the trousers, we find that the ideal sanitary trousers are a pair of stockinet trousers that are tight around the legs - the pants worn by knights in the middle ages" (Gustav Jäger, 1885). With his demand of bringing back the middle ages and the Renaissance, Gustav Jäger was a child of the time, and in his way, enabled the tide of Historicism, which was apparent not only in the architecture of the time but also in historical festivals, parades and plays which took place in many towns towards the end of the 19th century. After 1880, a pair of tights was the most important part of men's costumes for historical festivals, which have carried on until this day.


Professor Dr. Gustav Jäger wearing his "Normal Wear" - stockinet wool tights as legwear, app. 1880.	The "German National Outfit" by Professor Dr. Gustav Jäger, advertisement of a clothing store in the Spring of 1884.

"Isn't it a shame - particularly for us Germans - that we sacrificed our wonderful old German traditional wear to the "Sans Culottes" movement invented by fools of the French Revolution?" (G. Jäger, 1882).

Trousers should be made using wool from sheep or camels, with a porous structure, and they should be knit or warp-knit. The cut should be form-fitting, so that no air can circulate between the body and the trousers, and so no cold air can rise upwards along the body. Based on this "norm", Gustav Jäger demanded that men wear tights instead of trousers, which completely collided with the fashion trends of the time. Thus, the Jäger trend was followed only by proponents of his "Wool Regime", who organized clubs and called themselves "Jägerians". In 1884, the chairman of the Dresden Club said the following:

"The spell is broken! The legwear reform has now begun in Dresden, too! Since July 1st of this year, brave and bold, with a good portion of pride, I go out and mingle with the hundreds of pitiable gawkers wearing my tight stockinet trousers, a wide-brimmed hat on my head and a tie with golden fringe on my breast."

One of the few available pieces of evidence that Jäger's "Normal Wear" was worn - the Pastor Wilhelm Claus from Mössingen, photo from app. 1880.

In addition to the above, Gustav Jäger also recommended the so-called "Feet Trousers" (tights) made of wool for lady's, men's and children's sleepwear. It is assumed, therefore, that Jäger was the first producer of anatomically-correct left and right 5-toe socks and stockings. These articles were more successful, since as opposed to the "National Wear" stockinet pants, these pants were not worn in public.

1883 advertisement for "5-toe stockings" and "Feet Trousers" for men and ladies sleepwear from the monthly magazine "Professor Dr. G. Jäger's Monthly Handout. Magazine for Healthcare and Life Lessons", published between 1891 and 1908 by Dr. Jäger.

Gustav Jäger's men's tights did not become popular in the last decades of the 19th century - even with clubs and advertising. The normal type of underwear for men remained the long underwear, which was introduced by the Prussian Army in the 19th century. Long underwear, though, was often considered a laughable form of legwear. In 1929, a physician made the following comment in regard to long underwear:

"Men are still wearing their unpractical and unhygienic linen shirts and really ludicrous long underwear. In the summer, made of linen, and in the winter, made of wool or with lining."

The typical form of men's underwear - long underwear in 1908, 1912 and 1915.

Second photo from around 1930.

The First Tights of the Post-War Era 1949 - 1954

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Tights - Normal Men's Wear
Until the middle ages, men and women usually wore similarly tailored clothing. The separation of fashion into men's and women's clothing did not occur until the men's skirt became increasingly shorter, and the stockings worn underneath not only became longer, but were also shown in public. These leggings, which were first sewn and later hand-knit or warp-knit, reached to the hips and were attached to the breeches with ribbons.