Western Wear Items: Leather Chaps

A good pair of chaps is an important part of a cowboys gear. Protecting the rider from snags, branches, brush and a number of other objects. A full time cowboy would never saddle up with out their chaps.

by Dustin Williams

Leather is a great material that has been used for Centuries. It has always played an important role in western wear. Leather western wear items include cowboy hats and cowboy boots. Today we are going to focus on leather chaps and their history in western wear.

Leather chaps have been around for a long time. Starting from the 1600s there have been plenty of reports about the use of leather chaps, and they have continued to be revamped. If there has been any livestock handling the leather chaps have been around to help out.

In the nineteenth century leather chaps were mostly stepped into garments, meaning they were attached to a belt that a person stepped in to. Mexican’s called these leather protectors Armitas. Armitas were made out of calfskin, deer, or even goats.

Texas cowboys evolved their own style of chaps from the Armitas. They were one of the first to use full leather britches. The only problem with this shotgun style was that they did not have a seat and were often referred to as closed legs.

In the 1880s chap makers went to work to solve this problem. One way that fixed the stiffness was to make the chaps come in pieces now instead of one piece. They then curved the waistband to allow more movement for the cowboy.

The next chaps that were used were chaps that were used a lot during the popular Wild West Shows. Batwing Chaps, as they were referred as, allowed more movement for riders because they provided a wider cut then other chaps. They also were more elaborately decorated so riders could be recognized during Rodeos or Wild West Shows.

In the hot summers full length leather chaps were uncomfortable for some cowboys. A new western wear item became popular around the 1940s called Chinks. Cowboys had been cutting off the bottoms of their chaps to get rid of the restrictive nature of the full length chaps, and in the 1940s they finally started producing them that way. Chinks usually only went a few inches past the cowboys knee.

Leather chaps have continued to evolve since then. They are still used today to help with herding, yard work, outdoor work, feeding, fencing and branding for many cowboys and ranchers today. Leather is a great material to use with western wear items, and leather chaps are no exception.