Gaiters

Gaiters are garments worn over the shoe and bottom of the pant or trouser leg and used primarily as personal protective equipment, in particular against snakebite.

Common materials for leg gaiters on the market are canvas, nylon, Cordura, Kevlar, and leather.

[citation needed] Beginning in 1700, most infantry in European armies adopted long linen gaiters, or spatterdashes, as a protective leg covering to be worn over the woollen stockings that were a common feature in both military and civilian dress.

Gaiters are worn when walking, hiking, running (especially orienteering and rogaining) outdoors amongst dense underbrush or in snow, with or without snowshoes.

Heavy gaiters are often worn when using crampons, to protect the leg and ankle from the spikes of the opposite foot.

Gaiters strap over the hiking boot and around the person's leg to provide protection from branches and thorns and to prevent mud, snow, etc.

The purpose of this vesture was originally practical, since archdeacons and bishops were presumed to be mobile, riding horses to various parts of a diocese or archdeaconry.

Hiking gaiters
Two different lengths of gaiters: mid-calf and ankle-length. The sketch shows buttons for the back and a strap that goes underneath the foot to hold the gaiter in place.
U.S. Navy Ceremonial Guard wearing white canvas leggings , as the part of the Enlisted Full Dress Whites or Blue
Over-the-knee gaiters worn by a Chilean rodeo rider
The Bishop of Lichfield , in Vanity Fair , 1897