buckskins

Mountain man reenactor dressed in buckskins

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

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 (originally a functional detail, to make rain drip away from the body). They can be decorated with beads, embroidery, or quills.

Buckskins derive from deerskin clothing worn by Native Americans. They 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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