Tales of a Brace-wearer (Part I)

A man was in his first week at a new corporate office. The corporate dress code was primarily suits but also blazers and dress pants.
One day the man was stopped by a couple of female colleagues. “Can we ask you a question?” one asked, “We’ve been talking about your style; your suits look so well put together.”
“Thank you,” said the man.
The lady continued, “Your clothes fit well, and you look comfortable in them: your shirt stays tucked in, your pants don’t drag on the ground, your pants stay at your waistline, you’re not constantly adjusting your pants like other guys around here. Your pants stay in place, but I don’t see you wearing a belt. If you don’t wear a belt, then you must be wearing … suspenders?”

Box-cloth braces

With a smile, the man flipped open his jacket to reveal a pair of royal blue braces.
“I knew it had to be suspenders!” exclaimed the second lady.
“Yes, these are the answer to why everything fits together. They are very comfortable and practical, and I don’t need to be concerned about my pants all day,” said the man.
 “What kind of suspenders are those? I have not seen suspenders with leather attachments at the waist before. How do they attach to the pants?”
“There are small buttons sewn onto the waistband of my pants. The straps are connected by these brace tabs that are either in an inverted-V or inverted-U – these are inverted-U. When suspenders attach to the pants with buttons they are generally called ‘braces’, and when they attach with alligator clips they are called ‘suspenders’. Some pants have the buttons on the outside of the waistband, some on the inside, depending on your preference.”
“I see,” said the second lady. “That’s so classy. I love the look. Buttons are more sophisticated than clips.”
“I prefer the buttons over the clips as well. In addition to being classy, when you have buttons there are more anchor points to keep my pants aligned all day long, regardless of my movements. But there’s more to it than just brace tabs attached to buttons. The buttons are positioned in specific locations along the waistline to anchor the pants, both at the front and back.” The man motioned with his hand, “let me explain: see how the buttons are aligned directly with the pleats, and on the side of the pants with the pockets?”
“Yes” agreed the women.
“The brace buttons secure the pants at the right locations – at the pleat line, to keep the line perfectly straight, and at the pockets. Think of it as an anchor here at the pleat line,” pointing to the location, “and an anchor here at the pockets. A single anchor - whether attached by a single brace tab or alligator clip - would be insufficient, regardless of where it is placed. That’s why clips simply don’t provide the same level of comfort and support for pants.”

“Now that you mention it, that makes sense. I’ve never thought about that. It’s no surprise that you look so put together – the pleats are kept straight with the brace buttons anchoring them at just the right places on the waistline,” said the first women.
 “Exactly; and the other side of the brace tabs anchor the side of the pants,” motioned the man.
“Yes, I can see how it works now,” said the lady. “How about on the back of the pants? How do the buttons anchor the pants?”
The man removed his jacket to show the rear, fish-tail back detailing.
The women breathed in, “Oh wow, these pants are designed for braces!”
“Exactly, the fabric over each leg comes to a climax at the anchoring brace buttons, which are held in line with the brace loop, which in turn is held perfectly in line with the rear brace strap. It all aligns perfectly to give a clean look at the back,” stated the man.
“Yes, I can see why your pants look so coordinated and fit so well,” said the women. “The pants are held up at all the right points to keep the pleats and pocket aligned, and at the rear over each leg.”
“That’s fantastic,” said the other lady. “The design of the pants fabric to come up to meet the braces is truly unique. It completes the look of the braces. I have never seen this before. It’s so stunning and sophisticated!”
“Thank you,” beamed the man.

 

“You don’t find pants like that off the rack in stores.”
“Agreed,” said the man.
“So where did you get them?”
“This pair I had custom-made. It’s called a ‘fish tail back’,” said the man.
“Going back to how braces attach to the pants – with buttons…” said the women.
“Yes, the buttons allow you to exchange one pair of braces with another for different looks. Sewing on buttons is an easy skill to learn,” said the man. “And it would be helpful to know, as buttons can sometimes pop off.”
The women smiled, “Ah yes, now that you mention it, I recall a black and white photo of working men with the brace tabs on one side connecting to only one point on the waistline, a button must have come off. Is that common?”
“It’s very rare for buttons to come off if they have been sewn on securely. Buttons don’t come off unless they’re under significant, prolonged pressure or the threads are worn down. I’ve been wearing braces for over 15 years and only had a few buttons pop off in that time. As the buttons are anchoring at the right locations, when one pops off you notice the change in tension and drooping pants right away. Men have been wearing braces with buttons for over 150 years, and if they didn’t withstand the daily demands of life back then, they couldn’t today.”

The man continued. “I find buttons grip far better over the long term than clips can. Aside from your buttons being anchoring points, clips snap off all the time as they only clinch the fabric, not firmly attach to it. Clips also damage the fabric, so for formal dress fabrics, clips should never be used. Braces stay firmly anchored with buttons. I like the vintage look of braces. Having been worn for over 150 years, they are timeless and classy.”
“Yes they are. I recall old photographs of men wearing braces and wondering why men don’t wear them anymore. Why aren’t more men wearing braces?”
“The height of the waistline on men’s pants is the primary reason,” the man responded. “Waistlines have inched lower and lower over time. Historically, waistlines were at or above the belly-button. This elongated the legs and made the man look taller. There is also a slight budge at the waist, so higher waisted pants pass smoothly over this budge. But in order to keep pants at this higher waist, braces must be used to support them.”
“I think another reason is that people associate suspenders with the clip-on variety and that’s a major turn off,” says the man. “Clips snap off, don’t anchor the pleat and side of the pants at the same time, and because you can easily take suspenders from one pair of pants to another, they look cheap. Braces are practical, stylish, and classy. I think more men should try braces and discover the comfort and confidence that comes with wear braces.”
“I agree,” chimed the women.

The man turned to go, but the first lady wasn’t finished. “As a stylish man, why do you leave your jacket on? Why not show off your braces and the stylish pants. I’m sure people would appreciate your style, as much as we have!”

“Thank you for the compliments on my style. Historically braces were considered an undergarment and not to be displayed. They were considered underwear and only your immediate family saw them. This thinking has changed and it’s now acceptable to display braces. But as braces are a vintage accessory, some of this traditional thinking carries on.”

“I see; but there are lots of old photographs of men showing their braces, without a jacket. I actually like seeing braces and the different styles and designs – it adds to the outfit. I love your pant style at the back, what did you call it? Fish-tail back? You don’t need to hide this special tailoring. I think you would agree with me,” turning to the other lady, “that braces can be proudly displayed.”
“Absolutely”, nodded the women.

“Thanks for the encouragement. And thanks again for the complements on my pants and braces.”

“You’re welcome.” 

The next day, the women gathered at the man’s office, eager to see his outfit for the day. He had taken off his blazer and was wearing a classy dress shirt with a pair of grey pants held in place by braces. The braces were stripped grey and navy.
“Love the braces; they complement your grey pants well,” admired the lady. “Are they fish-tail back pants today?”
The man stood up and smiled, turning around to reveal the fish-tail back details.

The wonder of high-rise pants held up with braces

I’ll just say it: I love high-rise pants. They create a striking visual image: they elongate your legs, shorten your torso, and cover your midsection. And they are held in place with braces! Pants designed for braces.










High-rise pants (sometimes called high-waist or high-waisted pants) sit at or above your belly button. This lengthens the pant leg and creates an smooth line from your shoulders down to your feet, uninterrupted by a belt. As the waistline is at or above your abdomen you can breathe comfortably, without having a restricted belt dig into you each time you take a breath. 

Notice how the high-rise pants elongate the legs and
creates a smooth transition form bottom to top half

In case you are unfamiliar with the term “rise”, this refers to the distance from the bottom of the crotch to the top of the waistline. A waistline sitting above your belly-button will have a ‘higher rise’ than a waistline that sits at your hips, for instance. It’s for this reason that jeans sitting below your hips are commonly referred to as “low risers.”

Back to high-rise pants. I especially love vintage, high-rise pants. Sometimes referred to as “Hollywood waist”, these pants do not have a separate band of fabric circling around the waist. Instead, the pant fabric extends up the legs right to the top of the pants, with no cross fabric for a belt that would interrupt the line. If there are belt loops, they are below, rather than at the top of the pant waistline. There are generally darts to angle the difference between the hips and the lower rib-cage. And that’s where the top of Hollywood waist pants ends: at the bottom of your rib-cage. To maintain this height, braces are attached.

Note the Hollywood waist on these high-rise pants for both men and women

Not only do high-rise pants make your look better, they make you feel better. Breathing is enjoyable! The pants sit comfortably above your waist, allowing your abdomen to expand and contract, all day long.  You take a breath in, and your abdomen fills out your pants waist. High-rise pants are large enough to absorb the breathe; just tight enough to be comfortable. You then breathe out, and your abdomen shrinks back into your body. With the absence of your abdomen, your pants would start to slide downward due to the effects of gravity. But they don’t - if you are wearing high-rise pants as they should be worn. Braces come to the rescue to provide fantastic support. Your high-rise pants stay high all day long.

No matter how much bending or twisting, braces keep your pants in place

The specific placement of the buttons along the waistline provides maximum support for this accomplishment. Brace buttons should be attached at the front above the center pant line and pocket above each leg (about 3-3.5 inches apart), and then equidistant from the center of the pants at the rear (about 1.5-1.75 inches from the center seam). It’s truly an enjoyment to sit, stand, bend, and twist - not to mention breathe - without having to adjust or pull up your pants. The braces do all the heavy lifting.

Proper button placement on these high-rise white pants worn by Farrah Fawcett

Charlene Tilton with improper button placement -
should be to the side to align with the pant line

With this in mind, I’m constantly perplexed that people turn to belts. Belts restrict movement and circulation around your waist and result in pants slipping down all day long. They interrupt the smooth transition from the top of your body to the bottom.

Men have an unfortunate aversion to wearing pants at or above their hips - why? Is this an outdated style of a previous generation? Do the pants not stay up (without braces, hence the need for braces), or men don’t like braces? I have not solved this question yet. But I do know that they're missing out on the wonder of high-rise pants and braces. Historically, when men wore pants, they were high-rise and held up with braces.

Vintage photo of men wearing braces

If I haven’t convinced you yet of the comfort of high-rise pants with braces, I’ll add one final point: braces are charming. People respect you when you make effort to dress well. High rise pants are one of those ways you can dress well and be stylish. Braces add a certain sophistication and refinement to an otherwise standard outfit. This writer from Esquire states that she highly regards suspenders and finds them to be darling. 

Current fashion trends are starting to take notice of the increase in rise of pants. Women’s fashion has emphasized high-rise pants for the past few years. In fact, check out this New Yorker article titled "How high can high-waisted pants go?" to understand that this rising trend will continue. It’s only a matter of time before it shifts to men’s clothing.

Courtshop James Jeans with braces

She's lov'n her high-rise pants with braces!

Discussion time:

• Do you wear high-rise pants? If not, why not?
• How do you find braces with high-rise pants?
• Have you worn Hollywood waist pants?

Braces and Suspenders Observations

Have you noticed more people wearing braces? I have. And it’s not just people in one demographic, but young and old, males and females. Here are some styles I observed recently:

• middle-aged women attending a group birthday party in a restaurant wearing blue jeans and a casual, white shirt. Instead of a belt, she went with clip-on braces
• older businessman wearing grey pants and a navy blazer. As he was walking down the sidewalk a gust of wind opened his blazer to reveal his braces
• 20-year old wearing black suspenders with a white dress shirt and black jeans
• teenage girl wearing a green, knee-length skirt with suspender straps
• women wearing denim shorts with red suspenders and a plaid shirt

I couldn’t photograph these outfits, so I’ll share what braces I’ve been wearing. This is a pair of Y-back stripped braces with brown leather tabs. The straps have a grey edge trim, with light blue and thin stripes of red, white, navy, and grey.

What braces or suspenders have you been wearing recently?

What Braces does Backtobraces Wear?

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. 

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.