Suspenders
Encyclopedia
Suspenders or braces (British English) are fabric or leather straps worn over the shoulders to hold up trousers
. Straps may be elasticated, either entirely or only at attachment ends and most straps are of woven cloth forming an X or Y shape at the back. Braces are typically attached to trousers with buttons using leather tabs at the ends or with clips. In British English the term suspenders or suspender belt refers to a garment used to hold up stockings, what in American English is called a garter belt.
impractical. After losing popularity in the first World War, as men became accustomed to uniform belts, suspenders were still standard throughout the 1920s. Because of their image as underwear, men switched to belts during the 1930s as the waistcoats which had hidden braces became worn less. This also signaled the switch of position of the buttons from the outside of the waistband to the inside. Though the return of fuller-cut trousers in the 1940s revived braces, they did not dominate over belts again to the same extent.
While they have been in and out of fashion over the last century (alternating with belts in general preference), there has been a brief resurgence in interest due to the styles seen in period dramas such as the 2008 re-make of Brideshead Revisited
.
Current wearers include actor
Martin Shaw
as his TV alter-ego Judge John Deed
, and Daniel Craig
— particularly as James Bond
, 007. Many business people, newscasters (such as Larry King
in the US) and professionals such as lawyers also wear suspenders. John Barrowman
playing Captain Jack Harkness
in the hit TV show Torchwood
often wears suspenders, as does Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor
in Doctor Who
. The Simpsons character of Lenny, one of Homers friends, wears a blue pair over his green shirt (traditionally the clothing choice seen in the fictitious character).
Suspenders are also a typical part of skinhead
, and to a lesser extent, punk fashion
. In skinhead and punk fashion suspenders are typically between 3/4" and 1" in width. To some skinheads the color and placement (either up around the shoulders or down around the waist) of braces may have political significance.
Materials used for making suspenders have also changed over time, with newer additions such as rayon
, a hard-wearing synthetic fibre, now offered as well as the standard boxcloth (a fuzzy woollen cloth). Silk, though traditional, is not long-lasting.
(US), or upper
or upper-middle class (UK) wear and are made to be attached to trousers by buttons only. Noted manufacturers include Albert Thurston (sold re-branded by most outfitters), who supply high-profile actors, such as Daniel Craig
in the role of James Bond
in Casino Royale
and Michael Douglas
as Gordon Gekko
in Wall Street and John Barrowman
as Captain Jack Harkness
in Torchwood
.
In traditional or formal settings, it is considered a faux pas
to wear both suspenders and a belt at the same time, though this has not always been the case among all classes in the past. Further, it was considered by some that suspenders are actually underwear and that as such, they should never be seen at all. As was usual before World War II
, the waistcoat, or for coolness in summer a jumper or cardigan, covered up parts of clothing then considered improper to be seen, such as suspenders, and similarly jumpers and jackets kept the shirtsleeves hidden. Even before the War, however, men began removing jackets in public, and so this sensibility was eroded. It is perhaps only in Britain that some still consider it "gauche" to wear (for example) brightly coloured suspenders, or suspenders with no jacket. In general however, it is now considered acceptable on both sides of the Atlantic for suspenders to be visible.
The trousers for suspenders have buttons for attaching the tabs, either on the outside (traditionally) or on the inside of the waistband, which does not have belt loops. Such trousers might also have a high back in the fishtail shape, though this is not so common now; this shape has an additional adjuster strap at the back as well as the two side adjusters placed on most belt-less trousers.
Trousers
Trousers are an item of clothing worn on the lower part of the body from the waist to the ankles, covering both legs separately...
. Straps may be elasticated, either entirely or only at attachment ends and most straps are of woven cloth forming an X or Y shape at the back. Braces are typically attached to trousers with buttons using leather tabs at the ends or with clips. In British English the term suspenders or suspender belt refers to a garment used to hold up stockings, what in American English is called a garter belt.
History
There have been several precursors to suspenders throughout the past 300 years, but the modern type were first invented in 1822 by Albert Thurston and were once almost universally worn due to the high cut of mid-nineteenth and early twentieth century trousers, a cut that made a beltBelt (clothing)
A belt is a flexible band or strap, typically made of leather or heavy cloth, and worn around the waist. A belt supports trousers or other articles of clothing.-History:...
impractical. After losing popularity in the first World War, as men became accustomed to uniform belts, suspenders were still standard throughout the 1920s. Because of their image as underwear, men switched to belts during the 1930s as the waistcoats which had hidden braces became worn less. This also signaled the switch of position of the buttons from the outside of the waistband to the inside. Though the return of fuller-cut trousers in the 1940s revived braces, they did not dominate over belts again to the same extent.
Fashion
Brideshead Revisited (film)
Brideshead Revisited is a 2008 British drama film directed by Julian Jarrold. The screenplay by Jeremy Brock and Andrew Davies is based on the 1945 novel of the same name by Evelyn Waugh, which previously had been adapted in 1981 as an eleven-episode television serial.-Plot:Although he aspires to...
.
Current wearers include actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
Martin Shaw
Martin Shaw
Martin Shaw is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in shows such as The Professionals, The Chief, Judge John Deed and Inspector George Gently.-Theatrical background:...
as his TV alter-ego Judge John Deed
Judge John Deed
Judge John Deed is a British legal drama television series produced by the BBC in association with One-Eyed Dog for BBC One. It was created by G.F. Newman and stars Martin Shaw as Sir John Deed, a High Court judge who tries to seek real justice in the cases before him. It also stars Jenny Seagrove...
, and Daniel Craig
Daniel Craig
Daniel Wroughton Craig is an English actor. His early film roles include Elizabeth, The Power of One, A Kid in King Arthur's Court and the television episodes Sharpe's Eagle, Zorro and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Daredevils of the Desert...
— particularly as James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
, 007. Many business people, newscasters (such as Larry King
Larry King
Lawrence Harvey "Larry" King is an American television and radio host whose work has been recognized with awards including two Peabodys and ten Cable ACE Awards....
in the US) and professionals such as lawyers also wear suspenders. John Barrowman
John Barrowman
John Scot Barrowman is a Scottish-American singer, actor, dancer, musical theatre performer and media personality. Born in Glasgow yet growing up in Illinois after his family emigrated to the United States when he was eight years old, Barrowman was encouraged to further his love for music and...
playing Captain Jack Harkness
Jack Harkness
Captain Jack Harkness is a fictional character played by John Barrowman in Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood. He first appeared in the 2005 Doctor Who episode "The Empty Child" and reappeared in the remaining episodes of the 2005 series as a companion of the ninth incarnation of the...
in the hit TV show Torchwood
Torchwood
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...
often wears suspenders, as does Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor
Eleventh Doctor
The Eleventh Doctor is the eleventh incarnation of the protagonist of the BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. Matt Smith plays this incarnation, replacing David Tennant's Tenth Doctor in the 2010 episode "The End of Time, Part Two"...
in Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
. The Simpsons character of Lenny, one of Homers friends, wears a blue pair over his green shirt (traditionally the clothing choice seen in the fictitious character).
Suspenders are also a typical part of skinhead
Skinhead
A skinhead is a member of a subculture that originated among working class youths in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, and then spread to other parts of the world. Named for their close-cropped or shaven heads, the first skinheads were greatly influenced by West Indian rude boys and British mods,...
, and to a lesser extent, punk fashion
Punk fashion
Punk fashion is the clothing, hairstyles, cosmetics, jewelry, and body modifications of the punk subculture. Punk fashion varies widely, ranging from Vivienne Westwood designs to styles modeled on bands like The Exploited. The distinct social dress of other subcultures and art movements, including...
. In skinhead and punk fashion suspenders are typically between 3/4" and 1" in width. To some skinheads the color and placement (either up around the shoulders or down around the waist) of braces may have political significance.
Materials used for making suspenders have also changed over time, with newer additions such as rayon
Rayon
Rayon is a manufactured regenerated cellulose fiber. Because it is produced from naturally occurring polymers, it is neither a truly synthetic fiber nor a natural fiber; it is a semi-synthetic or artificial fiber. Rayon is known by the names viscose rayon and art silk in the textile industry...
, a hard-wearing synthetic fibre, now offered as well as the standard boxcloth (a fuzzy woollen cloth). Silk, though traditional, is not long-lasting.
Wearing suspenders
High quality suspenders usually considered white collarWhite-collar worker
The term white-collar worker refers to a person who performs professional, managerial, or administrative work, in contrast with a blue-collar worker, whose job requires manual labor...
(US), or upper
Upper class
In social science, the "upper class" is the group of people at the top of a social hierarchy. Members of an upper class may have great power over the allocation of resources and governmental policy in their area.- Historical meaning :...
or upper-middle class (UK) wear and are made to be attached to trousers by buttons only. Noted manufacturers include Albert Thurston (sold re-branded by most outfitters), who supply high-profile actors, such as Daniel Craig
Daniel Craig
Daniel Wroughton Craig is an English actor. His early film roles include Elizabeth, The Power of One, A Kid in King Arthur's Court and the television episodes Sharpe's Eagle, Zorro and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Daredevils of the Desert...
in the role of James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
in Casino Royale
Casino Royale (2006 film)
Casino Royale is the twenty-first film in the James Bond film series and the first to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond...
and Michael Douglas
Michael Douglas
Michael Kirk Douglas is an American actor and producer, primarily in movies and television. He has won three Golden Globes and two Academy Awards; first as producer of 1975's Best Picture, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and as Best Actor in 1987 for his role in Wall Street. Douglas received the...
as Gordon Gekko
Gordon Gekko
Gordon Gekko is the main antagonist of the 1987 film Wall Street and the antihero of the 2010 film Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, both by director Oliver Stone...
in Wall Street and John Barrowman
John Barrowman
John Scot Barrowman is a Scottish-American singer, actor, dancer, musical theatre performer and media personality. Born in Glasgow yet growing up in Illinois after his family emigrated to the United States when he was eight years old, Barrowman was encouraged to further his love for music and...
as Captain Jack Harkness
Jack Harkness
Captain Jack Harkness is a fictional character played by John Barrowman in Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood. He first appeared in the 2005 Doctor Who episode "The Empty Child" and reappeared in the remaining episodes of the 2005 series as a companion of the ninth incarnation of the...
in Torchwood
Torchwood
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...
.
In traditional or formal settings, it is considered a faux pas
Faux pas
A faux pas is a violation of accepted social norms . Faux pas vary widely from culture to culture, and what is considered good manners in one culture can be considered a faux pas in another...
to wear both suspenders and a belt at the same time, though this has not always been the case among all classes in the past. Further, it was considered by some that suspenders are actually underwear and that as such, they should never be seen at all. As was usual before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the waistcoat, or for coolness in summer a jumper or cardigan, covered up parts of clothing then considered improper to be seen, such as suspenders, and similarly jumpers and jackets kept the shirtsleeves hidden. Even before the War, however, men began removing jackets in public, and so this sensibility was eroded. It is perhaps only in Britain that some still consider it "gauche" to wear (for example) brightly coloured suspenders, or suspenders with no jacket. In general however, it is now considered acceptable on both sides of the Atlantic for suspenders to be visible.
The trousers for suspenders have buttons for attaching the tabs, either on the outside (traditionally) or on the inside of the waistband, which does not have belt loops. Such trousers might also have a high back in the fishtail shape, though this is not so common now; this shape has an additional adjuster strap at the back as well as the two side adjusters placed on most belt-less trousers.