Chaps

The word "chaparreras" is believed to have come from either “chaparrón”, a cloudburst or sudden, heavy rain, or from “chaparros” a Mexican colloquial name for brush, and a type of shrub.

Due to the difficult pronunciation, Americans shortened the word to Chaps, originally spelled and pronounced schaps or shaps.

There were other similar garments worn by the Mexican riders, including, Botas Huastecas, a set of wide leggings of pre-Hispanic origin used in the lowlands along the Gulf of Mexico; Mitazas, leggings similar to Chaparreras but that were not attached to the waist, only reaching up to the thigh; and Cuadrilera a small apron that predates Chaparreras made of leather that only covered the hip and part of the thigh used for roping.

[17] Chaparejos, misspelled by Americans as "chaparajos", is a blend of the words chaparreras and aparejo (rig or equipment for horseback riding).

Don Carlos Rincón Gallardo states that those early Chaparreras were distinct from the most recent ones (20th century) in that they were never unbuttoned, so that, to put them on, the rider had to remove his shoes and place one leg into each pant-leg one at a time like any other pants.

These first Chaparreras were in disuse in Mexico by the early 20th century being replaced by a new model that remains the standard today, two separate leather pant-legs that are united at the top by a strap or clasp that serves as a belt, with buttons or laces on the side that could be undone making it possible to wear them without having to take your boots off[22] One common belief today is that chaparreras derived from Spanish zahones, a leather apron used by shepherds, hunters, workers, herdsmen and others, to protect the front of pants from tears.

Zahones are not and have never been trousers like chaparreras but rather aprons, known in Spanish as delantal or delantera, two pieces of leather or cloth that only protect the front of each leg and are tied around the waist.

In all 19th century Spanish dictionaries, zahones are defined as either leather or cloth aprons or short opened breeches that are tied around the waist and behind each thigh covering the front down to the knees or never going beyond the calves.

[28] Chaparreras, on the contrary, are not aprons but trousers that cover the entire leg, front and back, and were originally intended to protect the rider's pants from the rain and, unlike zahones, were introduced in the 19th century and have no known connection to gregüescos.

The Spanish writer and poet, Juan Martínez Villergas, who visited Mexico in the 1850’s, found Chaparreras to be interesting or amusing, suggesting they were unknown to him as a Spaniard, and criticized the opulence, stating: “After the hat, what interested me the most about the persevering Mexicans, are the Chaparreras, a name given to a pair of pants that are open at the sides, from the bottom to the waistband, but although they are always closed, they have one, two, three and up to four rows of buttons just for conspicuous reasons.

Leather leggings, called calzas by the Spanish, made out of deerskin or wild dog, were part of the traditional outfit of the Chichimecas of Central Mexico.

[31] Botas Huastecas, wide leather leggings or pants that were attached around the waist and were used by the herdsmen of Veracruz might also be a possible origin, as they were similar to and predated chaparreras.

The name “Huastecas”, referring to the Huastec people and the peculiar way of manufacture by tanning deerskins with rotten brains and smoking them with burnt corncobs to generate a pungent smell to repel bugs and other critters, indicates an indigenous origin.

There is also evidence in the United States that certain design features may derive from the mountain men, who copied them from the leggings worn by Native Americans.

[41] Armas, like most of the equipment of the Charro, arose in Central Mexico and later, through migration and necessity, they passed on to the rest of the country, to north and south.

Spanish lawyer and monarchist, Luis Manuel del Rivero, not only derided the Mexican vaquero saddle and armas as “grotesque” but also never mentioned chaparreras as part of the Ranchero attire, which would show that they were either not common or didn’t exist yet around the time he visited Mexico (1842): “The Ranchero is a man of higher thoughts, very strong, great horseman, […] His attire, boots made of leather with which the leg is wrapped several times; spurs, as I have said, colossal; wide leather or cloth pants over cloth underwear; cotton shirt; a sash with which the waist is secured; a cotona, that is, a short leather jacket that is worn over the head, and a very large and heavy chambergo or Jarano hat.

[43][44] Today Armas continue to exist and are still used in certain regions of the country both for work, as in Baja California Sur, and for ceremonial or ornamental purposes in Central and Southern Mexico.

According to Mexican writer and journalist Manuel Payno, mitazas were more common in the northern areas of Mexico: On a clear and calm day at the end of September 184... […] a large cavalry party entered through the only road that connects the port of Tampico with the interior.

At the head of them was a young man wearing a Turkish blue cloth jacket with a red collar and cuffs; […] he was followed at a distance by a lancer, with a stern, tanned face and a large black mustache; […] Behind them were two other young men dressed in the Tamaulipas style, that is, with wide breeches or Mitazas, as they call them in the country, made of yellow suede, a Cotona jacket made of the same material with laces and small silver eagles on the back and buttons, and a large flat Jarano hat.

[45]In the lowlands of Veracruz, the country horsemen that worked in the haciendas of the state were called Jarochos, specifically those dedicated to the job of vaquero (cowherd) and everything related to cattle ranching.

The manufacturing process for making "Botas Huastecas" consisted, according to an article published in 1869, in:[50][51] “The boots, which are not boots but leggings, since they don’t have soles, nor are they worn on the feet, are made of the skins of two deer, which are arranged so that the respective neck of each one serves to cover the calves and part of the thighs, and they are tied to the waist with cords of the same skin.

The boots must be very wide and form many folds and wrinkles, both to avoid thorns from penetrating them, and to escape from the bite of snakes when having to cross bushy places.”Botas Huastecas no longer exist since at least the late 19th century.

Shotguns do not flap around the way the batwing design can, and they are also better at trapping body heat, an advantage in windy, snowy or cold conditions, though unpleasant in very hot or humid weather.

[64] Historically, the word zamorros simply referred to a basic shotgun-like style of either smooth or hair-on chaps worn by Colombian riders.

Chaps are intended to protect the legs of cowboys from contact with daily environmental hazards seen in working with cattle, horses and other livestock.

They help to protect riders' legs from scraping on brush, injury from thorns of cacti, sagebrush, mesquite and other thorny vegetation.

[72] Chaps are commonly worn by western riders at horse shows, where contestants are required to adhere to traditional forms of clothing, albeit with more decorative touches than seen in working designs.

[76] Outside of snake country, bird hunters often wear "upland chaps" made of waxed cotton or nylon to protect their legs from briars and thorns.

[78] Chaps are also popular in fetish fashion and the leather subculture, where they often are tightly fitted and worn without jeans or other garments layered beneath them other than a codpiece.

[36] Woolies, some Zamorros, and a few other historic or ethnic styles may be made with the hair or wool still on the hide, usually cowhide, sheepskin, or Angora goat skin.