Buckskins

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Buckskin (disambiguation).
Mountain man
reenactor dressed in buckskins

Buckskins are clothing, usually consisting of a jacket and leggings, made from buckskin, a soft sueded leather from the hide of deer. Buckskins are often trimmed with a fringe – originally a functional detail, to allow the garment to shed rain, and to dry faster when wet because the fringe acted as a series of wicks to disperse the water – or quills.[1] They also served as a form of camouflage when hunting, by breaking up the outline of the wearer and allowing them to blend in with their background.[2]

Buckskins derive from deerskin clothing worn by

mountain men and other frontiersmen for their warmth and durability. Buckskin jackets, often dyed and elaborately detailed, are a staple of western wear and were a brief fad in the 1970s. The American jacket/tunic known as a wamus was originally made from buckskin with fringe.[3][4]

Famous wearers

Calamity Jane dressed in buckskins.
Photo by H. R. Locke

--

References

  1. ^ U.S. Cavalryman, 1865-1890, by Martin Pegler
  2. ISBN 978-0761358879
    .
  3. ISBN 9780486436104
    .
  4. ISBN 9780803297371
    .

External links

Media related to Buckskins at Wikimedia Commons

Stub icon

This article relating to the Indigenous peoples of North America is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Stub icon

This clothing-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Buckskins&oldid=1190083242"