This was the statement a new friend made recently to me. He was in his late 30s and reasonably fit – he exercised regularly and ate well, and he didn’t have a pot belly. He has an office job that requires him to wear dress pants, and sometimes a suit jacket or blazer. He said he had spent his whole life wearing a belt with his dress pants. But the belt cut into his abdomen all day when he sat. His belt had to be tight around his waist to keep his pants at the right height. When he stood up or walked around, he was constantly adjusting and pulling up his pants. There must be a better way, he gripped.
There is, I said! I recommended he buy a pair of dress pants that were snug at the waistline when he was sitting, and then loose when standing. The waistband should be snug, not tight, I emphasized. Also, the waistline must go up to his natural waist – where his belly button was. He said he’d give it a try, but asked how the pants would stay at that height.
I gave a big smile; that’s where braces come in! He was hesitant, but I persisted.
Pants were originally designed to be supported with braces, not a belt. Brace tabs attach at specific places along the waistline to support your pants perfectly. And I said, he’ll solve the constant adjusting and pulling of his waistline throughout the day. In fact, the braces do the pulling to keep your pants in place. I recommended he visit a tailor or seamstress to get the buttons sewn onto the waistline, and directed him to my blog post on the topic. I stressed that he must wear braces with buttons instead of clip-on suspenders. This is very important as braces with buttons will give him the needed support, clips will not.
He agreed to give the larger-waisted pants with braces a try. I could tell he was hesitant, but he was fed up with his belt and ready to solve his problem of his pants slipping down all day.
A few weeks later we met for lunch. He was blown away by the results. He said he followed my recommendations exactly. With the help of his wife, they searched vintage stores and found a vintage pair of navy dress pants with a looser, and higher waistline. The pants came up to his belly button. He said the pants only stayed up if he inhaled and didn’t move; he was keen on getting braces attached. He made sure to check the tightness around the waist when sitting down. He took the pants to a seamstress, who followed the directions for placement of the buttons along the waistband. She even removed the belt loops on the waistband, he said.
While he waited for the seamstress, his wife bought him a nice pair of stripped navy, grey and white button braces. His wife was eager to see how the braces fit with the high-waisted pants.
He picked up the pants from the seamstress a few days later. When he got home he attached the braces to the pants and wore them around home that evening. His wife loved the look and he felt very good wearing the pants. This gave him confidence to wear them to the office the following day.
In the morning, he put on the high waisted dress pants with braces and a blazer. It was a warm spring day. When he arrived at the office his colleagues noticed that he was more at ease and complimented him on his style. His pants were flattering as they were high waisted and didn't bunch around his ankles. Eventually his colleagues asked for his secret, and he took off his blazer midway through the morning to reveal his braces. His peers loved the vintage style. He said the ladies especially commented on his braces. They said he looked taller, more confident, and more at ease.
He kept his blazer off for the rest of the day. His braces were very comfortable, whether he was sitting at his desk or standing and walking around. He could breathe normally, without having a constrained belt around his waist. A few times he caught himself reaching to adjust his pants when he stood up, but then thumbed his brace buttons and was thankful they were doing their function.
At lunch, he received more praise from bystanders as he walked outside the office without a jacket. He recalled one lady stopping him on the sidewalk to say that she loved his braces and pants. She turned to the man walking with her and asked him to start wearing suspenders!
At the end of his work day he went home and gave his wife a hug and kiss. She smiled as she lightly tugged on his straps. She asked how he felt wearing the braces all day. He said he loved them. The suspenders were so comfortable and he didn't have to adjust his pants once. It was the first time in years.
She smiled and said she liked seeing him comfortable. She was excited, as she was thinking of buying him a few more pairs in different colors.
He’s now a firm believer and plans to wear braces with high waisted pants on all his dress pants.
Discussion time:
Have you seen anyone wearing braces around your office or workplace?
