Readers have requested I post photos showing evidence that I wear braces. I am all too happy to do so! It goes without saying that if I’m giving advice on wearing braces, I should also wear braces. So this post is all about me wearing braces and suspenders.
I was introduced to suspenders at a young age. My parents bought my first suit - a solid navy suit with matching jacket and pants. The pants were high-waisted, with no waistband or belt loops. Instead, the pant fabric came straight to the top of the waistline. When I became an adult I learned that this style is called "Hollywood style" - and I love it!
Without a belt, the pants were designed (and needed) to be held up with suspenders. This set came with stripped clip-on suspenders. Suspenders were very common in those days, worn by boys and men, but also ladies wore suspenders with skirts. My suspenders clipped to the waistband and had small time-clocks printed on the clips. Someone must have thought it comical to suspend time! The suspender width was narrow for the body frame of a boy. The straps crossed at the back (X-back style), giving two support anchors for a busy boy like me. The colors of the straps were navy and white stripes with red and blue stripes in the middle, to coordinate with the solid navy pants and jacket.
I can still remember how comfortable this outfit was to wear. The suspenders held my pants at my waist all day long and kept my pants from slipping down - unlike what belts did. I wanted to wear suspenders all the time, and I did - to church, to weddings, and other special events. Sometimes I wore the pants with the jacket - usually during the cooler winter months. In the warmer summer months, I just wore the pants with a dress shirt. I remember adults commenting that I looked dapper and sharp in my suspenders! That made me happy and want to wear them more.
Here’s a photo of my high-waisted pants with suspenders during an Easter event:
I don't remember any of my playmates pulling or snapping my suspenders. That's likely because we were all wore suspenders, and knew we would get it back in return.
Eventually, due to the excessive wear, the rear clips slowly started losing their strength and began slipping off the waistband. I would bend over and a rear clip would snap off. I eventually figured out that if I secured the clips at the pleats on the waistline (where there was extra fabric), it would minimize the chances of the clips coming off.
There's a photo of me wearing a white dress shirt and a green cardigan. I must have just put the cardigan on, as the neckline is far away from my actual neck. The space between my cardigan and neck show that I'm wearing these navy, red, and white stripped suspenders underneath the cardigan.
Around this time I also had a pair of light blue dress pants with a matching pair of solid, Y-back, clip-on suspenders. These pants were also Hollywood style waist and I always wore the pants with just the suspenders, especially in the spring and summer time. I would be running around playing tag or some other game, and my pants would be kept high and looking polished.
Growing up, I remember seeing pictures of suspenders with button attachments with two leather tabs. I dreamed of getting a pair of those "fancy" suspenders. They looked so neat and would not snap off! Clips may be easy to attach and convenient for energetic boys, but I really wanted a pair of button-on suspenders to support my pants. I realized at a young age that clip-on suspenders are the cheap version of suspenders.
After wearing suspenders for most of my preteen years, I didn’t wear them again until university. Styles changed and I became more conscientious of wearing suspenders as a teenager.
But when I got to university I wore suits again for professional events and job interviews. Wearing a belt was uncomfortable for me, so I researched accessories to add that would help give me some personality and set me apart from others. I stumbled upon vintage photos and saw pictures of men wearing suits. I quickly came across suspenders with buttons and remembered how much I enjoyed suspenders as a child. But this time, I was determined to wear fancy, button-on suspenders.
I convinced my mom to sew buttons into the waistline of my suit pants. While it was an off the rack suit, the pants were higher waisted and could use suspenders to keep them at my waist. I bought a fine pair of button-on braces on eBay - a black and white satin pair of braces by Trafalgar. They were in excellent condition, showing no sign of age. They would go well with my black suit.
I attached the braces to the buttons and then put on the pants, pulled up the straps to my shoulders. I instantly remembered the memories of wearing suspenders as a boy. After a few times wearing the braces, I decided that braces would be my look and I've been wearing braces ever since.
I started with the traditional black suit and black braces, but I've since expanded and have quite a collection of braces in different colors - blues, browns, reds, burgundy, grey, and many different stripped colors. I generally prefer vintage braces – older, unique and rare braces that are still in great shape. These are unavailable at department stores, so I hunt for them in vintage shops and second-hand thrift stores. For anyone wanting to start wearing braces, I’d recommend looking at second-hand stores for a pair under $20 first before paying $100-200 for a pair of high-end, quality braces.
I love to wear braces, as compared to clip-on suspenders, as I find the placement of buttons is superior to clips. Braces fully support the pants and adjust with your body movement. Additionally, I find them more classy and traditional than suspenders that trend-seekers can snap-on and snap-off at will. The feeling of snapping on a pair of braces is priceless, as it gives you a peace of mind that your pants will stay in place and be comfortable all day.
The first few years of wearing suspenders, I was hesitant to show them off in public. But the more I wore them, the more confident I became. On one occasion, I was volunteering as a waiter for a gala dinner for less fortunate families. We were instructed to wear a white dress shirt and dark dress pants. All the other men wore pants with a belt. I came wearing black pants with suspenders and received many compliments.
I
currently have about 20 button-on braces and 6 clip-on suspenders, and
looking to increase. I am very selective and specific in the
braces and suspenders that I buy. I'm currently looking for a historic
pair of braces that are not made anymore. They were called President
Suspenders and had a "give-and-take" feature in the back to accommodate every body movement.
President Suspenders were not just for men, they also made a line for women:
I have yet to see these braces being worn in person. Let me know if you have a pair and have photos!
In the meantime, I will wear braces. My favorite outfit is black braces with black dress pants on a white dress shirt. Some frequent outfits I wear are a dark suit with black or navy braces and a tie, and a grey suit with light blue suspenders. Here’s a photo with my one and only:
I did a photo shoot in the vintage part of town last year, and I wore simple black, Y-backed braces, over a white dress shirt, with a stripped tie and fedora:
A more recent outfit I wore was a white dress
shirt with a polka-dotted bow-tie and black X-back braces. I received many
complements and will do it again.
As I mentioned, I wear braces with business-wear and formal wear. I sometimes wear braces with casual wear, if the braces are casual and the pants fitted with buttons. I generally wear suspenders with jeans and a t-shirt and have a number of suspenders, including a solid navy pair, and stripped pair of light brown and green.
As I mentioned, I wear braces with business-wear and formal wear. I sometimes wear braces with casual wear, if the braces are casual and the pants fitted with buttons. I generally wear suspenders with jeans and a t-shirt and have a number of suspenders, including a solid navy pair, and stripped pair of light brown and green.
Discussion:
I encourage you to join in by posting your photos online – upload them to an online site like flickr or photobucket and then provide the link in the comments below - please keep the photos appropriate.
Lets share ideas and spread the message that its stylish to wear braces and more comfortable than a belt!
Note: all photos are used solely for non-commercial use and to illustrate braces in fashion. No plagiarism is intended.
Good luck finding your “President” suspenders, it’s a worthy quest. I’ve never seen any and didn’t know they existed until I saw your article on them. I will keep an eye out. They don’t look particularly comfortable to me, but who knows.
ReplyDeleteRegarding getting more people to wear suspenders I don’t think it’s going to happen and in many ways I hope it doesn’t. Your right, probably more people would, if more people did, wear them. There was a period in the 90’s when that happened. They were suddenly a fashion fad for a while and some people did wear them that probably wouldn’t have otherwise. Like most fads it faded. Yes, I used to, and still do on occasion, feel a little strange when I’m the only one in a room full of people with them on. That, I think is a lot of the problem some of the fence sitters have. But I’ve come to the realization that it is actually cool being the only one in the room with them on. So I’m hoping there are just enough of us out there to keep a few companies making them.
Finally I’ve come to conclusion that most regular suspender wearers are kind of like lefthanders. There aren’t very many, its really hard to become a right hander and why would you want to anyway?
@Anonymous: I agree with you that the President Suspenders could be uncomfortable, with the extensive straps and pulleys moving around in the rear. Nevertheless, I'd like to try it out!
DeleteI found your comments on wearing braces very thought-provoking. I agree with your logic that its better to avoid the fashion fad of suspender-wearing, because then those that do are more of a novelty, rather than the commonplace - just as left-handers are a novelty. Everyone doesn't have to use braces, belts provide certain fashion appeal. But for pure functional purpose of holding up pants, belts do not even come close to the comfort and ease of braces. My purpose in writing this blog and encouraging people to wear braces is that once they discover the comfort braces provide, they will never go back. Its like wearing a pair of worn-out shoes and then discovering the comfort of wearing a brand-new, comfortable pair of shoes - you wish that you'd switched earlier. I estimate a large number of people will be wishing they'd worn braces earlier.
Enough about wearing braces... I'm going to get off my soapbox now and let my pants do the talking - I know with my braces attached they will hold up to any criticism!
I have found,on many occasions, to be the only one in the room wearing suspenders, as my wife has pointed out to me several times.Although it feels strange at the time I have noticed that after a while I feel more and more at ease. I attribute this to the fact that I may be the only one there who is truly comfortable.
DeleteNo belt digging in to the tummy,not having to hitch up my trousers,and not having the waist of the trousers hanging below my waist.Suspenders do as their name suggest;they suspend the trousers rather than a belt that only cinches.
I like wearing suspenders for these reasons and I feel that the benefits outweigh any social drawbacks.
Oh my :) I wasn’t questioning the premise of your blog. I like it and read it regularly, keep doing it and for the record it’s a very nice soapbox. I was just giving you the questionable benefit of an alternate point of view.
ReplyDeleteJust by way of keeping the conversation going.
I think there are relatively few people in the world that will only wear belts when no other option exists; I suspect you fall into that category. I think there are proportionately a greater number of people that wouldn’t wear braces no matter what. Finally, there is the majority that probably don't care very much but go with the proportionately larger number of non-braces wearers. I think those are the people you’re trying to appeal to using the benefits of braces to belts logic.
I think your analysis of all the benefits of braces over belts is spot on. The problem is that as a marketing tool it’s probably not effective. That’s like the Surgeon General’s warning on a pack of cigarettes. If you’re trying to increase the use of braces on trousers amongst the majority I would recommend one or all of the following advertising schemes. (a) woman prefer their men in suspenders (insert JLo here ...) or (b) your car will go faster and look sexier (insert Ferrari here ...) if the driver is wearing braces or perhaps getting Tiger Woods (insert fire hydrant here...) to wear them at the next British Open.
Personally, I'm really OK when I'm the only one in the room wearing them. It would be nice if there were others so I'm behind you all the way on getting the numbers up. But as a left hander, it isn’t all about the numbers there are some quality issues that need to be addressed. When I’ve been in that hypothetical room full of people I've thought long and hard about slinking out of the room when the other people wearing them are; grossly overweight; wearing them with a belt; wearing the really thick obnoxiously colored ones emblazoned with things like "Budweiser", "John Deere", or a tape measure on them. I've even seen someone wear a pair with what I presume were his kids and wife’s faces on them.
@Anonymous: Thanks for the discussion; I appreciate the exchange of ideas.
DeleteI agree with your 3 camps: (a) people that choose to wear braces and need absolutely no convincing, (b) people that won't wear braces and no amount of reasoning or coercion will change their mind, and (c) people that simply follow the crowd; the I-don't-want-to-attract-attention group, which is sadly the largest group. This last group is influenced by public opinion so until that changes, they are not going to start wearing braces.
It hasn't always been that way. Braces used to be worn by this last group prior to the 1950s when braces were prevalent in society, along with men wearing suits every day. Braces were considered underwear, and so covered with a vest. Gradually, a cultural shift occurred that saw men turn away from wearing suits in casual settings as well as the shedding of vests. This resulted in braces also losing appeal. Those people that did continue to wear braces - primarily the portly and senior - had little motivation, broadly speaking, to remain fashionable. As such, braces, and specifically clip-on suspenders, started to receive a bad reputation. Braces were seen as an accessory to avoid for the chic, modern individual.
The truth is, braces provide more opportunities to be modern and personal than belts. Braces allow an individual to display their own personality, creativity, and do it at their choosing (when their suit jacket or cardigan is off). The designs and colors of brace straps in addition to the styles of braces (Y-back, X-back, H-back) is far greater than the opportunities of a leather or cord wrapped around one's waist.
All this is to say that brace-wearers are wrestling with changing public opinion. I suspect there is a significant number of young people tempted to wear braces, and will do once they see that others are wearing them as well. So those that do wear braces need to proudly proclaim that fact, and do it in a way that's not obnoxious or gaudy. There needs to be a shift in perspective. Wearers are not only the thick, bright-colored clip-on suspenders with brand names kind, or those wearing a belt and suspenders, or even that its only for the portly or senior aged. There needs to be young, modern men and women wearing braces with casual pants, dress skirts, and casual shorts, in addition to the quintessential suit. I contributed to the change just yesterday, by wearing a pair of braces with jeans and a t-shirt.
I think we’ve successfully beaten the “marketing” topic to death. As I read through your last response I thought of a couple of other questions. At the end you mentioned contributing to the change by wearing braces with jeans and t-shirt. The sentence got me thinking, since we left-handers are a pretty small minority, and since you’re the owner of this blog and outspoken advocate of the change we should found out just how committed you really are (we really don’t :) but for the purposes of this discussion). How often do you actually wear suspenders? once-in-a while, couple of times a week, all the time etc. I know people that only wear them with suits for example. If you’ve already covered this, I apologize for not doing my homework. Do you wear them with shorts? I cant think of any reason not to, but I seldom (actually never) have seen it on males and seldom on females.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the discussions, keep doing them.
@Anonymous: Pleasure to continue on the conversation!
DeleteI probably wear braces 2-4 times a week. I'm a traditionalist, so I primarily wear braces with suits and more formalwear. But I also wear braces and suspenders with jeans and a dress shirt, depending on the look. The frequency also depends on the season, as I find wearing suspenders with shorts is sometimes too tacky in the summer. Shorts are generally not made with a higher rise or tailored to fit a specific body, to accommodate braces. That said, I think you can wear a pair of solid-colored shorts with a shirt that's dressier than a t-shirt and pull it off. Otherwise you may look more like a clown that needs to hold their shorts up than a stylish individual. As shorts are generally worn for sports, or going to the beach, its generally not fitting to wear them. Its like hats. I love hats, but I don't wear a hat to the park when I'm planning to play soccer and sweat. On the other hand, if I go to the park for a picnic without any physical exertion, I may wear a pair of suspenders with a solid black pair of shorts.
Wearing braces in warm weather has key benefits, be it with pants or shorts. As your pants/shorts are suspended from the shoulders, there is roominess around the waist. This improves air circulation and reducing heat buildup around the waist.
I agree that suspenders with shorts are seldom seen on males or females. But I've observed that more and more retailers are pairing straps with shorts this year - specifically for females. There's currently a number of suspender shorts available - have a look online. I think I may even do a post soon!
Wearing suspenders is very feminine!Like me who is married and with two children a boy and a girl,aged 8 and 12,they like wearing clip on suspenders with their shorts,pants and skirts.As for me,I like wearing large clip on suspenders suspenders with my large pants or bermudas,and when doing my house work or in the garden,I like also to put on top a white buttoned working overall ( housecoat),and sometimes not buttoned ,so with the wind it fly's open and you can see my large pant suspenders,I wear also a big men's cap on my head too,and I stay like this even going to the local store or shops nearby!A matter of fact the other day when my husband returned home from work and I was coming back from the local store,he did'nt recongnize me and pulling the car in the alley and me coming along,he was bewilderd ,saying wow!,you sure look great ! honey,with your cap,and overall opend and your large pant suspenders,and gave me a big hug,then my children coming home from school at the same time hugged me and clinging to my front suspenders ,( wich I appreciated very much§ ) i felt that I was a loved woman!.And the other day my husband knowing my tastes,did me a surprise and offerded me a nice packet neatly done I opened it and it was a pair on large leather black shinny pant suspenders with big buckles in front and in the W back of them there is a big O ring in the middle,I was "thrilled",but those one's I only wear them on sundays or when going out,with my long leather black skirt,Perhaps one day he will buy me also a black leather cap too,anyway I agree with the previous comments that suspenders for ladies is sexy and great!
ReplyDeleteIt is so great that you wear your braces with pride. My husband likes me in mine. I love how they hold my pants up but I'm still hiding them!! Do you own any button on braces? I'm wearing a nice Red elastic pair! Extemely comfortable and they look great!! Andie.
DeleteThe whole thing of this discussion is what's comfortable ie: constantly pulling up your trousers because you are wearing a belt or wearing braces that are always comfortable and keep trousers at the right position/ height. My wife is always moaning at me for constantly pulling my trousers up ( except when I wear braces ) which I am wearing more and more as they are the most comfortable and practical option. I have both clip on and button and button is by far the most comfortable and as to being cool and fashionable, if it's comfortable and practical then it's fashionable!
ReplyDelete@Anonymous: I completely agree! Once you have worn braces for a day you will wonder why you never wore them before!
DeleteThanks for posting and enjoy wearing braces!
As a 22 year old guy, I had never considered wearing braces until I had to wear a rented Morning suit to a wedding recently. The trousers had no belt loops, and were clearly not going to stay up on their own, so I sheepishly asked to borrow a pair from my Dad, whom I had previously criticized for wearing them, particularly without a jacket. Once strapped in I found them not only efficient, but also very comfortable, indeed, much more so than a belt. As a result, I have now purchased a couple of pairs to wear with my work suits, although I cannot bring myself to show them in public, even in this hot weather.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I will never criticise any wearer of braces in the future. I am a convert.
@Anonymous: Thanks for sharing. It's quite common for men to resist wearing braces, only to discover how comfortable they are. Men wear them for 1 event and then are hooked (pardon the pun)!
DeleteYou do not need to be ashamed of exposing your braces. As long as you wear them tastefully, people will be impressed and appreciate your style. I've wrestled with this same issue, and have finally decided to show off my braces proudly. They are a nice fashion accessory. As more men wear them, there will be fewer critics.
As a 22 year old guy I had never considered wearing braces until I recently had to wear a Morning Suit to a wedding. It was quite clear that the trousers were not going to stay up on their own, and had no belt loops, so I sheepishly asked my Dad if I could borrow a pair of his braces, having previously criticised him for wearing them, particularly without a jacket in hot weather. Having struggled to clip them on I could not believe how efficient and comfortable they were, and have now bought a couple of pairs for my own work suits. have yet to brave removing my jacket in company. Suspect my mates would laugh, but I am a convert.
ReplyDeleteGood news, Back to Braces! A friend of mine has found a pair of 'President suspenders' in excellent condition, and she wishes to sell them! If you're still interested, please let me know: I can send photos.
ReplyDeleteAll the best,
Marc Chevalier
Sorry about that -- they were just sold to a customer from Japan. In any case, I can still provide you with photos for your archive.
ReplyDeleteBest,
Marc
@Marc, Thanks for notifying me. Please do send the photos for archiving. Thanks
DeleteYes me too I fell that way ,saying to myself well with a belt my pants will hold up fine !But in the long run I said to myself what can I do because they are allways slipping down ,But I was still not convinced of wearing pant suspenders!But as my husband and children they wore all pant suspenders ,,wich I liked I went upstairs and looked into the cupboard at my husbands suspenders ,and recently I had bought him a pair of large leather one's with big metalic buccles ,and there I said well!I'm not doing anything wrong by just trying them on on me ,,and as soon as I did put them on with their big clips and pulled them up,my pants were perfectly holding up and what's more they did'nt pull at all on my shoulders ,!Well after all I said to myself I'ts not bad at all and not only are they confortable but they maintain me better than with a belt !At dinner time my husband and kids came back and as I wear allways a nylon buttoned overall they did'nt see that I was wearing suspenders,so I lifted my nylon overall up and showed my husband that I was wearing his leather pant suspenders!and apoligized that I had taken his !Straight away he said well darling you did well and anyway what is mine is yours too !,and after dinnertime I took off my nylon overall and showed him that I was wearing his suspenders and If I looked okay with them on me ?! He answerd well you look great and they really suit you so don't worry keep them on !,then the door bell rang and it was my mother in law passing by and after kissing me she too said too Oh you look great with your leather pant suspenders ,wich reassured me even more !Then everybody went off ,and I put back on my nylon overall to do the washing up and housework,and I thought to myself that I was really a bit stupid of thinking that suspenders did'nt suit women !Latter on when I had finished my housework and my neighbour who is a young married woman like me came in ,and saw me with my leather pant suspenders said oh honey you look great ,by the way where did you find them ?!So I explained in wich shop I had bought them ,and the next day to my surprise she came around a d showed me that she too had bought a pair like mine ,and she to looked relly fine in them !So from now on when I go on foot to do my shopping mostly with my neighbour we both dislayed our large leather pant suspenders with our jeans and to my surprise nobody said anything,except some people tellng us hat we looked very good in them !So from now on I can't do without them ,and of course I got my husband another pair exactly an mine now ,So today the whole family is wearing pant suspenders and we like them !
ReplyDeleteThank you for the anonymous person ( a lady) ,who explains to us her love for wearing pant suspenders,and that she felt good in them too!Well me too in the beginging of our mariage Me to as a husband I went to my office work everyday wearing allways my large pant suspenders aswell as my nylon buttoned overall buttoned on the side aswell as a beret wich my wife liked me to wear!,and at that time my wife was working in an office.and when she too started to have trouble keeping her trousers and skirts up properly she wanted to find a solution too ,and I proposed her to wear large pant suspenders with those huge buccles ,and that anyway as she to was wearing for her work a nylon buttoned overall in her office and wich was buttoned in the back with none less than 10 big black plastic buttons ,If she wore braces they would not be seen !The Idea seemed good to her and so we got her a pair of those large braces with those huge metal clips and she said that she felt more secure wearing them and as I said they could not be seen under her nylon buttoned overall ,that everybody wore here in France in the 1950's up to the 1990's,Although there are still a lot of french housewives wearing them at home ! wich I really dig !So since a couple of years now we both wear our large braces with those huge clips ,a tie and a beret too both of us and we really like to wear all of this !Unfortunatly we could'nt have children ,but on every occasion when we offer something to our nieces ,girls and boys we allways offer them a nice pair of large pant suspenders ,wich their parents like too what's more the other day I was discussing of the subject with our family doctor,that were braces were all that god for our health ,and he answerd me " certainlt thet maintain your back much more better than a belt can do ,and even I wear them too so that was good news ,so gentelmen ans especialy you ladies carry on wearing your beloved braces ( or as you say in north America carry on wearing youy pant suspenders ,because you look really great in them !
ReplyDeleteTo be honest even as a girl I have always liked to wear large pant suspenders with my jeans or my skirts!It's a plus for girls and women to wear them!and to be honest girls and women look realy great when they wear them !Plus as I've been told by the doctors that large pant suspenders maintain much more better your back from pain than a belt does!In winter of course you may tell me that you can't see the suspenders with your jacket,but even in summer,when it's hot I just put with my shorts a piece of my top of my bathing suit,the bra part and just put them on top ,wich even gives you a nice feeling because there you can realy feel the large pant suspenders upon your skin,it's so sexy!But when I am at home or at the seaside I just take off my bra swiming suit and wear them over my breasts and and all the people I meet tell me how great I look ,and once again to be honest I don't give a dam of what others think of me !dressed up this way !I've got quite a collection of them too!either large clip on one's or with leather ends with buttons to hold them!some years back I went to a jumble sale and there was some sold tens by tens by a person,thet were all granddads one's with leather ends and I bought the whole package of ten so I'm not lacking of pant suspenders!Plus I have 2 children a girl and a boy ,and I make them wear everyday a pair of pant suspenders too aswell with a tie and a cap and even my husband I make him wear large pant suspenders like all three of us and now he can't do without them now ,si i'm happy and so is everybody!
ReplyDelete