# What is the purpose of jodhpurs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 3, 2024, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-jodhpurs/1006681 "2024-09-03T13:44:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2024, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-jodhpurs/1006681/1 "2024-09-03T13:44:02Z")
Since there’s already a thread on Puttees ( [What was the purpose of puttees? - #11 by John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-puttees/1006502/11) ), I thought I’d bring up this topic. “Jodhpurs” are those weird pants with extra-wide thighs, but tight-fitting near the ankles. Apparently there’s inconsistency among people using the term, because some jodhpurs are tight-fitting all the way, and some wide-thighed pants are called “riding breeches”. In any event, I’ve seen them in movies, pictures, drawings, and comics, and they’ve always bothered me. The usually given reason for that weird shape is to give lots of room for the thoghs when riding. Excpt a lot of the jodhpurs I’ve seen are absurdly wide at the thigh – much wider than they’d need to be just to give you plenty of freedom to spread out when sitting. Besides which, I can sir perfectly comfortably with my pants that don’t have extra-wide thighs, so why do they need them? I’d heard that it might be to allow extra air circulation, as well, which makes some sense, but then why restrict the ankles? And wouldn’t you want to have some kind of venting to let air in? > **[Jodhpurs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jodhpurs)** > > Jodhpurs, in their modern form, are tight-fitting trousers to the ankle, where they end in a snug cuff, and are worn primarily for horse riding. The term is also used as slang for a type of short riding boot, also called a paddock boot or a jodhpur boot, because they are worn with jodhpurs. According to Tara Mayer, "Jodhpurs … exemplify the material and cultural exchanges between Britain and its Indian colony in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries." > Originally, jodhpurs were snug-fit... ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2024, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-jodhpurs/1006681/2 "2024-09-03T13:50:30Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > but then why restrict the ankles? I can’t speak to the absurdly excessive volume around the thighs, but I am reasonably confident that the snug fit at the ankle is because the rider doesn’t want any loose fabric that could get caught or tangled in the stirrup assembly. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2024, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-jodhpurs/1006681/3 "2024-09-03T13:51:53Z")
The post-riding purpose was to project an air of authority (like a cavalry officer). That’s why old time film directors adopted the style. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2024, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-jodhpurs/1006681/4 "2024-09-03T13:52:47Z")
I always thought jodhpurs were strictly for horseback riding. But I suppose they’d be equally suitable for drawing attention away from how ridiculous your significant other looks in puttees. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2024, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-jodhpurs/1006681/5 "2024-09-03T14:08:36Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > I always thought jodhpurs were strictly for horseback riding. Never heard of it for any other reason. Already noted, the lower leg is tight so it can’t get caught up in stirrups or straps or snag on brush and branches. Golfers wear Plus Fours but they’re purposely trying to look silly. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2024, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-jodhpurs/1006681/6 "2024-09-03T15:29:08Z")
At one point (circa 1900?) at least some US police and highway patrol agencies had their motorcycle officers wearing jodhpurs. And maybe ordinary foot or car patrolmen as well. I did some Google image searches but was having a hard time filtering out enough of the current offers to sell jodhpurs from pix of old time folks wearing them. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2024, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-jodhpurs/1006681/7 "2024-09-03T15:37:52Z")
From the linked article: > The thighs and hips were flared, a traditional Indian style that allowed free movement of the hip and thigh while riding. > When he visited [Queen Victoria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Victoria) in England during her [Diamond Jubilee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond_Jubilee_of_Queen_Victoria) celebrations of 1897, he brought his entire polo team, who caused a sensation among the fashionable circles of the United Kingdom by their riding clothes. In addition, they won many polo matches.[[7]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jodhpurs?useskin=vector#cite_note-7) Singh’s jodhpur style of flared thigh and hip was rapidly taken up by the British polo-playing community, who adapted it to the existing designs of English [riding breeches](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breeches#Riding_breeches), which ended snugly at mid-calf, and were worn with tall [riding boots](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riding_boot). ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2024, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-jodhpurs/1006681/8 "2024-09-03T15:41:57Z")
There was a short thread a while back here about the trope of directors wearing jodhpurs. [Why are steriotypical movie directors depicted wearing jodhpurs? - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-steriotypical-movie-directors-depicted-wearing-jodhpurs/755348) ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2024, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-jodhpurs/1006681/9 "2024-09-03T16:09:03Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Golfers wear Plus Fours but they’re purposely trying to look silly. And if you combine jodhpurs and plus fours, you get…Hammer Pants!: [![](https://dagmaramach.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/mc-hammer-pants-black-pleather-ca-1990-fashion.webp) ](https://dagmaramach.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/mc-hammer-pants-black-pleather-ca-1990-fashion.webp) Stranger ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2024, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-jodhpurs/1006681/10 "2024-09-03T17:23:32Z")
The one thing nobody has answered is my question _Why are the thighs in jodhpurs so damned large?_ Yeah, I know they’re spposed to be for comfort in riding. But that can’t excuse how huge the thighs on these are: > **[INMONARCH Mens and Womens Royal Jodhpur Style Pants BB09 Custom Made Tan at...](https://www.amazon.com/INMONARCH-Womens-Royal-Jodhpur-BB09/dp/B00WGI5YSW)** > > Buy INMONARCH Mens and Womens Royal Jodhpur Style Pants BB09 Custom Made Tan and other Pants at Amazon.com. Our wide selection is elegible for free shipping and free returns. > **[Men's Real Leather Breeches / Jodhpurs Tan Leather Breeches With Black Piping ...](https://www.ebay.com/itm/185105538769)** > > The legs are not as long as normal trousers but this is better for wearing it in boots. It has two front pockets and two on the back. Fully lined. Hand crafted. CARE: Avoid being exposed to the dust, rain or water, the genuine leather may turn hard... > **[This is a Jodhpur trousers in 1930s. Today the most well-known of these...](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/this-is-a-jodhpur-trousers-in-1930s-today-the-most-wellknown-of-these-design-are-ralp-lauren-face-cones-a-f--558798266247133938/)** > > This is a Jodhpur trousers in 1930s. Today the most well-known of these design are Ralp Lauren. "Face Cones": a fashionable way to protect oneself during snowstorms Coco Chanel was the first person creat female jodhpurs for herself from a friend's... Also – I can ride my bike or other mode of transportation just fine with my normal, pants with un-widened thighs. thighs that big on the jodhpurs?So why did they need ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2024, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-jodhpurs/1006681/11 "2024-09-03T17:56:40Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > The one thing nobody has answered is my question _Why are the thighs in jodhpurs so damned large?_ Your own wiki post answered it. Why are they large? > The thighs and hips were flared, a traditional Indian style that allowed free movement of the hip and thigh while riding. Any larger than what is necessary for practical use or comfort is likely just for fashion. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > Also – I can ride my bike or other mode of transportation just fine with my normal, pants with un-widened thighs. thighs that big on the jodhpurs? Unless your bike is as high off the ground and as wide as a horse, I’m not sure it’s a valid comparison. It’s also worth keeping in mind that just because you can ride a horse with regular cut pants, doesn’t mean everyone wants to. Other people might like the way they look or are more comfortable on a horse with them. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2024, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-jodhpurs/1006681/12 "2024-09-03T18:05:29Z")
The Rhode Island State Police: [![](https://www.golocalprov.com/cache/images/cached/cache/images/remote/https_s3.amazonaws.com/media.golocalprov.com/RI_State_Police_Photo_Recruitment_Oct_2019_1200_1181_90.jpeg) ](https://www.golocalprov.com/cache/images/cached/cache/images/remote/https_s3.amazonaws.com/media.golocalprov.com/RI_State_Police_Photo_Recruitment_Oct_2019_1200_1181_90.jpeg) I speculate that jodhpurs from India were especially tailored for the movements in polo. When you’re jabbing someone with a sword on horseback, basic baggy cavalier pantaloons will do. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2024, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-jodhpurs/1006681/13 "2024-09-03T18:13:10Z")
Never mind the jodhpurs; why are they wearing Sam Browne belts? That went out of style in the ‘Fifties when police realized that gives a perpetrator a perfect handle in a grapple or use it to throttle the officer from behind. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2024, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-jodhpurs/1006681/14 "2024-09-03T18:28:25Z")
When one rides a horse, the entire inside surface of your leg is in contact with an animal in constant motion, with a stirrup strap between. The tightness of the lower leg of jodhpurs is to prevent skin rubs. They were designed for ‘English’ style saddles which are small and lightweight, with flaps that come just below the knee, and straps from which the stirrups freely swing (the ‘leathers’). If you wear anything that bunches around your knees or lower legs, or has a prominent inner seam (like jeans), the leathers wear unpleasant holes in your skin. The baggy thighs are because fancy riding clothes in Europe are designed for the noble sport of galloping cross country jumping ditches, hedges, and fences, usually chasing a fox with hounds. You need to be able to move a whole lot, rising in your stirrups, leaning this way and that, without restriction. Riding _breeches_, which are worn with tall tight boots, are traditionally limited to adults, are much the same with small changes. Children wear jodhpurs with ankle boots. It’s all traditional up the yahoo in Britain. The baggy thigh style totally disappeared from riding costume with the advent of spandex. Other equestrian cultures solved the rubbing problem in other ways. Iberian, or Vaquero style – from which is derived cowboy or Western riding culture, favors heavy saddles with wide stiff leathers called fenders, that protect the whole inside of your leg. The saddles are substantial because they are meant to withstand a cow hitting the end of a rope you tied to it, and to keep you aboard when your horse makes fast lateral moves to cut off cattle movements. You move much less in a western saddle. Jeans and protective leather chaps over them is standard lower body wear. Of course, riding apparel is much fetishized in the fashion industry. But it is practical for actually riding. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2024, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-jodhpurs/1006681/15 "2024-09-03T18:55:27Z")
@peedin would know about this since she currently owns a horse ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2024, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-jodhpurs/1006681/16 "2024-09-03T19:10:36Z")
Jodhpurs are still a thing in modern day riding and showing, but these days they are pretty exclusively for children. They are as form fitting as breeches, but they have a cuff and an elastic that goes under the foot. They are meant to be worn with short boots, called paddock boots or jodhpur boots. The old-style with the wide upper leg is now more of a uniform than a piece of active sportswear. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2024, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-jodhpurs/1006681/17 "2024-09-03T19:24:22Z")
Jodhpurs look weird with a Marine uniform, but they were worn when Smedley Butler guarded the US legations in China [![](http://chinamarine.org/portals/0/mounted/mountednowackXX.jpg) ](http://chinamarine.org/portals/0/mounted/mountednowackXX.jpg) Another thing that doesn’t look right about that photo is the lack of protection for his bootlaces from the stirrup. The Australian Light Horsemen wore leather plates called butterflies for this [![](https://www.southerncrossmilitaria.com/uploads/3/1/2/9/3129280/7507012_orig.jpg) ](https://www.southerncrossmilitaria.com/uploads/3/1/2/9/3129280/7507012_orig.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2024, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-jodhpurs/1006681/18 "2024-09-03T20:00:08Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Your own wiki post answered it. No, it didn’t, and I explain why. Some posts here came closer in answering it.on ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2024, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-jodhpurs/1006681/19 "2024-09-03T20:01:54Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Unless your bike is as high off the ground and as wide as a horse, I’m not sure it’s a valid comparison. What’s the height got to do with it? And I can straddle wide things without my pants being a limiting factor. It still doesn’t explain the thighs on jodhpurs. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2024, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-jodhpurs/1006681/20 "2024-09-03T20:13:05Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Never mind the jodhpurs; why are they wearing Sam Browne belts? Is this standard uniform or dress uniform for the RI police? Mounties in Canada wear jodhpurs and Sam Brownes for their dress uniform, but not their daily uniform. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-jodhpurs/1006681.md?page=2)