Swing Dancing and Braces

Swing dancing originated in the 1920s, and is connected with Jazz and Big Band music. Style reflects culture and this was true during this period. Dancers took up the clothing of time, which was heavily influenced by the social ideas of the day. Style was reflected in music, which was flamboyant, easy-going, and unique. 

Swing dancing was meant to be fun and relieve stress. It was a social activity that allowed you to connect with people. All ages came together at the dance hall to meet others, talk, and usually dance.

Here's some videos to illustrate the style, music, and dance. 

Here's some lindy hop dancers from the movie Day at the Races (1937) and a color version here. All of the male dancers wear braces to keep their high-rise pants high! The opening dance off with the portly man shows how useful braces are to swing dancers - he would not be able to pull off his moves and keep his pants from sliding down without the help of braces.

This man's ready to dance, wearing braces with his high-rise trousers

During this era women wore knee-length, pleated or circular skirts and dresses in flamboyant colors. The key was that the bottom half had plenty of material for dancing and allowed the material to flow wave like a flag. If wearing a skirt, it was usually high-waisted, sometimes with braces or simple straps over the shoulders to accommodate the high waist. 

A classy swing, circular skirt with built-in shoulder straps

Men always wore full suits: a jacket and tie, and sometimes a vest. Akin to the ladies style, men’s suit pants were high-rise held up with button-on braces.

Another example is from the 1943 movie, "Kid Dynamite". The scene opens with 2 ladies pinning dance numbers on the back of their partner's suit jackets. The ladies are both wearing high-waisted skirts with suspender straps attached. One lady's straps cross in the back and the other lady's straps do not. As you'll find out, this will be a problem.

The men are wearing suits. During the scene, as the dancers move around, the jackets open and we catch glimpses of high-waisted pants, which would have been held up with braces. 

The dancing commences and dancers start to boogie and move in all different positions. They twist and turn and enjoy dancing. It's a fantastic time. At the 3:25 mark, the lady's right suspender strap slips off her shoulder. Her straps don't cross in the back, and with all the movement, the strap can't stay in place on her shoulder. Switching back to the other dance partners, the lady's crossed shoulder straps are in place even though she's widely dancing around as well. The song ends and the lady pulls her suspender strap up again. This would get annoying, and is the reason for crossing the straps in the back.

Here's another video that illustrates both of these styles: a pair of lindy hop dancers, Dean and Jewel. They are wearing quintessential swing dance outfits: Dean is wearing white, high-rise pants with braces, and Jewel is wearing a flamboyant skirt with shoulder straps. Her vertical straps have a horizontal strap in the same fabric across her bust, which keeps her straps in place, regardless of her vigorous movement.

Coles and Atkins jazz dancers in classic high-rise trousers with braces and suit jacket

And finally, women sometimes opted for high-rise trousers when dancing and wore suspenders with them, such as this lady:

Lady dancer wearing Lederhosen-style suspenders

I find it interesting that both women’s and men’s styles have two common features:

1. Roomy and comfortable fit: the clothes were not skin tight or overly baggy. Skirts and pants were roomy to allow air movement and flow of the fabric; they were not tight or restrictive.
2. High-rise: the waistline of skirts and pants was at the belly button, or higher - at the rib cage. The high-rise provides a lengthening effect of the legs.

Both dancers are wearing braces

The combination of these two features required a third feature: braces or straps, as roomy pants and skirts need to be held up at the high waistlines. Belts simply were able to support the pants or skirt at the high waistline. It’s no surprise then that people during this era wore braces – it fit the style! It’s also not surprising that swing dancers continue to wear this style.

Notice the braces on the lady's skirt

The activity of swing dancing involves a lot of movement – twisting, bending, and shuffling to name a few. Braces are excellent at moving in tandem with the body with the constant movement, and maintaining the waistline and pants (or skirt) at their proper position. 

Classic dance clothes: Men take off your jackets!

 

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I once read a story of two swing dance partners at a competition. The man was wearing high-rise, vintage pants held up by braces. He had worn the braces many times before and had no problems. The choreographed routine called for the woman to roll over the man’s back, and then be lifted upward by the man, his arms above his shoulders.

A pair of vintage dancers. Notice the man's high rise pants held up by braces

During the competition, everything was going as planned. However, as the women rolled over the man’s spine, something unexpected happened. The man bent down to hoist her up and his rear brace strap catapulted upward like a released balloon. The Y-back strap followed the lady skyward. In the blink of an eye, the once secure braces were now loose and flapping around the man’s upper body. Both the man and women were stunned, but smiled and carried on their routine. The braces flapped around and got entangled in hand-offs and dance moves. But worse was the man’s pants, which quickly lost their high-rise status and slowly sank lower and lower with every twist and move. They finished their routine and quickly left the stage, the man clutching his rear waistline and the lady attempting to help by pulling down on the rear brace strap.

Out of the spotlight, the lady felt responsible as the braces snapped off when she rolled over his back. She figured she had done something that caused the buttons to pop off. The man knew the lady meant no harm, and didn't do it intentionally. He was more interested in reattaching the strap, if possible. As a seamstress, the lady was the best person to mend it. She mentioned to the man that it was unusual for both buttons to pop off at the same time. She flipped the waistband over to inspect the inside of his pants. The lady found torn threads where a button used to be and, to her surprise, an anchored button still attached to the waistband! Instead of both buttons popping off, one button had stayed on. She looked back at the rear brace tab and found that the leather on a tab had torn apart, separating the brace tab from the button. Under the pressure of the man bending down, the left button popped off and at the same time the brace tab separated. The brace tab couldn't hold and so tore apart. The tear in the brace tab was serious damage and could not be repaired. It was brittle, likely from getting damp from sweat during swing dancing, and then drying afterwards, as the women explained to the man. The constant cycle made the leather brittle.

Swing dancing with braces is very common

All was not lost though, she said, as one button was still securely attached to the man's waistband. The women suggested attaching the functioning brace tab to the other side where the remaining button was,  and the man agreed. The women pulled the dangling rear strap down and attached it to the single button. It looked slightly lopsided, but it would hold the man's pants up for the remainder of the day. As a safety check, the lady lightly pulling back and snapping the rear strap. All good to go, she said. The waistline returned to it's high-rise state. They were ready for the next routine later that day. But the man had learned his lesson: always check your braces buttons and brace tabs before a major competition.

Discussion

• Are you a swing danger? Do you wear high-waist trousers or skirts with suspenders or straps?
• Have you had any issues wearing braces or straps while dancing
• If you wear braces with vintage pants or vintage high-rise skirts with straps when you go dancing, do people complement you on your look?