The attached ad makes it quite clear that the American Army was not without its innovators: the Germans may have introduced poison gas, the British may have introduced the tank but it was the Americans who added "Chamois Leather Underwear" to the arsenal of industrial warfare.
It is little remembered in our day that the Native Americans who served in the American Expeditionary Forces along the Western Front were permitted to wear moccasins in place of the regulation Pershing boot. "Ethnic pandering" is not a term that should come to mind; this was a high complement paid by their commanding officers for a well-respected prowess in battle. The following is a small portion from a larger article which is posted on "The Native American" page of this website; the entire article can be read following the link that reads "A Talent for Sniping". Attached, you will find three well illustrated advertisements for Paris military tailors that were lovingly scanned and posted after having been crudely ripped from the brittle pages of the U.S. Army newspaper STARS AND STRIPES. Some A.E.F. officers realized that industrial war would not provide them with an opportunity for horseback riding and they wisely chose alternative footwear more suited to the discomfort of living in the damp trenches of France. A black and white illustration showing the sort of British made boot favored by American officers during World War One. A look at the many pictures which depicted the officers of the A.E.F. and it is clear to see that the lace-to-the-knee style of trench boot was much preferred over other varieties. However, many pictures from the closing days of the war tend to also indicate the line officer's preference for ankle-boots with puttees. This advertisement was placed in an American veteran's magazine as an attempt to produce some profit from the vast surplus of uniform items that remained in all the combatant nations at war's end. Puttees, unlike other uniform items, enjoyed a brief moment in fashion's spotlight during the late teens and much the twenties as an accessory for those who enjoyed camping and hunting (or simply wished to affect the look).
Also included is a fashion photograph of puttees from a VANITY FAIR fashion editorial from 1917 | 
