BRACES (SUSPENDERS)

[DAJE]

My newest braces.

 

[DAJE]

These ones (above) are from an eBay seller, they're advertised as WW2 GERMAN UNIFORM INTERNAL SUSPENDERS but they're modern and don't resemble any genuine 1940s braces I've seen. The sellers are a Chinese company that makes military "reproduction" stuff, not very convincing if you're familiar with the real thing but good cheap quality if you want something that's inspired by military designs. (Make sure you search internationally, not just your local eBay version.)

These braces exceeded my expectations; they look a bit lurid in the eBay pics, in real life they're a much more tasteful military green, as you can see in my pics. Also the leather is actual leather and thick enough to be sturdy on your trouser buttons. I did have to extend the buttonhole slit a bit, but that's easily achieved. They're not too long or too short, either, the length is perfect for medium to high waist trousers. Those are 1915 model LVC Levis I'm wearing in the pic, with a medium front rise (another eBay find, heavily discounted).

The Buy It Now for these braces is US$25, which is a bit steep, but there are auctions that start at US$12 (with free postage), and since there's plenty of them, you just have to wait for the end of an auction and you can get one for the minimum. The first time I bid, some jerk bid against me, being too idiotic to realise that since there are lots them, no-one need pay more than the minimum bid. The next auction I held off bidding until the end and got them for the minimum. There are a couple of seller accounts that are selling these, but I strongly suspect they're all the same seller.

All in all, a great deal for some very nice braces.

 

[bombin]

I have some braces from Albert Thurston - they're the multi-adjust ones. I'm of around average male height (6'), and they seem a bit long to me - that is, the back Y-bit seem to be a bit too high up. Have other people had such troubles? Is it worth it to try to shorten it? At the moment I'm just wearing them a bit looser.

 

[DAJE]

I have some braces from Albert Thurston - they're the multi-adjust ones. I'm of around average male height (6'), and they seem a bit long to me - that is, the back Y-bit seem to be a bit too high up. Have other people had such troubles? Is it worth it to try to shorten it? At the moment I'm just wearing them a bit looser.

Check page 28 of this thread and you'll see pictures of braces that I customised to work better with high-back trousers. Post 276 is the one to look for.

 

[bombin]

Check page 28 of this thread and you'll see pictures of braces that I customised to work better with high-back trousers. Post 276 is the one to look for.

All of my trousers are high-backs; I hadn't even thought about the fact that modern braces would be designed for low-backs!

How difficult are these adjustments/shortenings to do?

 

[DAJE]

All of my trousers are high-backs; I hadn't even thought about the fact that modern braces would be designed for low-backs!

How difficult are these adjustments/shortenings to do?

If you can do basic hand-sewing, it's very easy. If the rear strap of the Y is attached to a metal loop, just cut the elastic off the loop, shorten it, and re-attach. In some cases the rear strap is sewn to a leather loop, but you can unpick the stitching, shorten the strap, and re-attach the leather if you're careful.

The one thing to be careful about is that it's easy to overdo it and cut off too much elastic, and there's no easy way to fix that mistake. Cheap clip-on braces from eBay mean that you can experiment and not worry too much about ruining things. Though the cheapest ones tend to be pretty short anyway.

 

[bombin]

If you can do basic hand-sewing, it's very easy. If the rear strap of the Y is attached to a metal loop, just cut the elastic off the loop, shorten it, and re-attach. In some cases the rear strap is sewn to a leather loop, but you can unpick the stitching, shorten the strap, and re-attach the leather if you're careful.

The one thing to be careful about is that it's easy to overdo it and cut off too much elastic, and there's no easy way to fix that mistake. Cheap clip-on braces from eBay mean that you can experiment and not worry too much about ruining things. Though the cheapest ones tend to be pretty short anyway.

Thanks for the further info.

I assume it's do-able by machine too though, no?

 

[DAJE]

Thanks for the further info.

I assume it's do-able by machine too though, no?

Yes, it's done by machine on most of the ones I've seen. I don't have a sewing machine (and I'd have to learn how to use it if I did) but I see no reason why it couldn't be done on a home machine.

Doing leather attachments by machine would be considerably more difficult, I'd expect.

 

[DAJE]

I took a couple of quick photos...


The two on the left show my shortened elastic sections, and my messy but serviceable sewing.

You can also see that I've singed the elastic with a lighter, which melts the plastic content and keeps the ends from fraying. Yes, I could have doubled the ends over for a neater look with very little extra effort

The metal parts (tri-glide and D-ring) are my own additions, as are the leather parts.

The two on the right show unmolested factory machine stitching.


The attached leather/faux-leather ends I mentioned.

The two on the left, with the braided piping button loops, are unmolested.

The tan/burgundy stripe ones I unpicked the stitching holding the leather loop on, and re-sewed it (after adjusting the length of the elastic) using the original holes in the leather.

The blue stripe one shows an even quicker method: unpicked, adjusted, and reattached using three rivets. Quick and simple.

 

[bombin]

I took a couple of quick photos...

The two on the left show my shortened elastic sections, and my messy but serviceable sewing.

You can also see that I've singed the elastic with a lighter, which melts the plastic content and keeps the ends from fraying. Yes, I could have doubled the ends over for a neater look with very little extra effort

The metal parts (tri-glide and D-ring) are my own additions, as are the leather parts.

The two on the right show unmolested factory machine stitching.
The attached leather/faux-leather ends I mentioned.

The two on the left, with the braided piping button loops, are unmolested.

The tan/burgundy stripe ones I unpicked the stitching holding the leather loop on, and re-sewed it (after adjusting the length of the elastic) using the original holes in the leather.

The blue stripe one shows an even quicker method: unpicked, adjusted, and reattached using three rivets. Quick and simple.

Many thanks for all of the additional tips & information & photos. It is all very helpful. I think my wife will have a go at fixing the braces (she's more adept than I with a needle).

 

[bombin]

My wife managed to do one of the braces - one difficulty with the Albert Thurstons I have (I have a few pairs from the special offers section: http://www.albertthurston.com/categoryfast2.cfm?catid=7 ) is that the runner ends are really long themselves, so modifying the braces for high-waisted trousers ends up meaning the elimination of a lot of the elastic. The adjusters still end up a bit higher than I would like (a bit above the nipple level), but much better than before, and the Y split is now in a much better position on the back.

Thanks again, DAJE. I feel a bit frustrated in retrospect - I bought from Albert Thurston in order to get really good braces (I hadn't even thought about the fact that they would be designed for modern low-waisted trousers), but it looks like I would have been better off buying cheaper ones from elsewhere.

 

[DAJE]

You're very welcome, bombin. Glad I could assist.

You can shorten the front straps too if you feel the need for it. You have to be extra conservative with the amount you trim, though - because the straps are doubled over you end up with double the reduction in length.

 

[DAJE]

By the way, before the 1960s, it was not uncommon for braces to be V shaped, not Y shaped.

Example 1, UK army:


Example 2, West German Army:


Both those examples are vintage, but both are available for sale. I'm actually waiting for delivery of a set of the German ones - though given the nature of internet military surplus sellers I might end up with something a bit different. The UK ones I'm considering buying too. I've bought from that particular seller a few times, they're good.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

I ordered some purple & Olympic stripe ribbonAlbert Thurston braces this morning.

 

[bombin]

You're very welcome, bombin. Glad I could assist.

You can shorten the front straps too if you feel the need for it. You have to be extra conservative with the amount you trim, though - because the straps are doubled over you end up with double the reduction in length.

Oh, she actually did shorten the front straps too - but they're still a bit long (much better than before though - at least the adjusters aren't sitting on my shoulders!)

Do you have thoughts on V vs. Y shaped braces, in terms of comfort etc.?

I think I might look at getting a pair of the military ones sometime, but they're rather a dull colour. (It often doesn't matter, as they're usually covered by waistcoat, but a couple of my waistcoats are bit "gappy" at the sides, and so they do show a bit with those.)

 

[DAJE]

I ordered some purple & Olympic stripe ribbon Albert Thurston braces this morning.

Post pics, please. This thread needs more pics.

 

[DAJE]

Do you have thoughts on V vs. Y shaped braces, in terms of comfort etc.?

I haven't tried any, yet. I'd expect that Vees would work best on high-waist trousers - and if you've reduced the rear strap of the Y to a stub, you might as well have a V

EDIT: A few of the cheap braces I have are almost Vees, with short faux-leather rear straps. They do work better with higher rear waistlines, on lower waists the front straps can tend to slip down my shoulders. Not a huge issue, but potentially annoying.

The pictures I've seen of people wearing V back braces have been 30s-50s-era soldiers and civilians; Europe, UK, and Commonwealth mainly. I don't know if Vees really caught on in the US. I'll try to find some pics...

I think I might look at getting a pair of the military ones sometime, but they're rather a dull colour. (It often doesn't matter, as they're usually covered by waistcoat, but a couple of my waistcoats are bit "gappy" at the sides, and so they do show a bit with those.)

Muted colours are fine with me, and it's nice to have choices. Military ones tend to be well made, though some of the eastern bloc ones aren't very impressive. Also they're cheap if you shop around.

 

[DAJE]

Some interesting braces pics on this page:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/northernforties/NForties Clothing/5ba - Mens Braces.htm

 

[ChrisT]

Yes, a very intersting page

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Post pics, please. This thread needs more pics.

It will be my pleasure!