The Burning Question on Everyone’s Mind

I know what you’ve all been thinking — in Ralph Bakshi’s unfinished 1978 animated version of The Lord of the Rings, Aragorn isn’t wearing pants. Is this true to the character as conceived by Tolkien?

There is very little textual evidence that Aragorn wore pants. Within the books themselves, the issue goes completely unmentioned. However, we do have this letter Tolkien wrote in 1958:

“… males, especially in northern parts such as the Shire, would wear breeches, whether hidden by a cloak or long mantle, or merely accompanied by a tunic.” — The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien 211

If Tolkien emphasizes that breeches particularly *were* worn in the north, can we not infer that they were generally *not* worn in the south? And if we accept that, it is reasonable to point out that while Aragorn spent a good deal of time in the north, he was from further south by birth and heritage.

So pantsless Aragorn is, at the very least, a valid interpretation.