Buckskins
Clothing Definitions — definitions of garments and clothing terms from Apparel Search
Buckskins are clothing, usually consisting of a jacket and leggings, made from buckskin, a soft sueded leather from the hide of deer or elk. Buckskins are often trimmed with fringe, which helped shed water and became one of the style's signatures. The garments were the practical dress of hunters, trappers and scouts who needed clothing that was quiet, durable and repairable in the field. This page explains how buckskin is prepared, the clothing made from it, and the place of buckskins in frontier and Western dress.
Buckskins are often trimmed with fringe (originally a functional detail, to make rain drip away from the body), and can be decorated with beads, embroidery, or quills.
Buckskins derive from deerskin clothing worn by Native Americans, and and were popular with 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.
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Photos
Buckskins in Frontier Dress
Leather clothing suited a life lived outdoors. A buckskin jacket and leggings resisted tearing brush better than woven cloth, could be patched with scraps of hide, and moved quietly — a real advantage for a hunter. The tanning process mattered: properly smoked buckskin remains soft and wearable after getting wet and drying, where poorly prepared hide stiffens. Those qualities carried buckskins from necessity into symbol: by the era of Wild West shows, the fringed buckskin suit announced the scout and frontiersman at a glance.
Today buckskin garments are made for historical re-creation, traditional hunting dress and Western wear, and the leather itself is used for gloves, moccasins and bags where its softness and grip are prized. Modern deer-hide leather is tanned commercially but keeps the character — sueded surface, natural stretch and toughness — that made the frontier garments practical.
Buckskin the material should not be confused with the similarly named sueded finishes applied to other leathers: true buckskin comes from deer or elk hide, and its combination of softness, breathability and resistance to tearing is what the clothing was built on. A jacket and leggings in the material are warm in cold weather yet less stifling than heavier hides, one more reason the outfit served people who lived outdoors in all seasons.
Common Questions
What is buckskin leather?
Buckskin is a soft, sueded leather made from the hide of deer or elk. Traditionally brain-tanned and smoked, it stays supple after wetting once properly prepared, which made it valuable for clothing that had to survive outdoor life.
What garments make up buckskins?
Buckskins usually consist of a jacket and leggings made from buckskin leather. The jacket is often a pullover or front-fastening hunting shirt, and both pieces are commonly trimmed with fringe along the seams.
Why do buckskins have fringe?
Fringe on buckskins is practical as well as decorative: the hanging strips help rainwater run off the garment instead of soaking in, and they break up the wearer's outline. On later Western and show clothing the fringe became mainly a style feature.