When did belts replace braces?

[avedwards]

Most vintage suits in the "what are you wearing" thread seem to be worn with braces. The same goes for most suits in noir films. Bogart appears to be a big exception to this though as he wears belts with most of his suits. In the 1960s Sean Connery's Bond wears a belt, never braces (not even with a dinner jacket).

Personally I could never wear braces with trousers, no matter what I am wearing. I just prefer the practicallity of a belt as I move about a lot, even in a suit. I also prefer a belt as you can take your jacket off in public when you've got one, which I wouldn't want to do if I had braces on as I think the proper etiquette is never to show them. I don't have anything against braces at all even if it sounds like it, I just won't wear them myself; I have the same thing with bowlers - I like them but could never see myself in one.

So at what point between the 1940s and 1960s did belts replace braces for holding up trousers?

 

[JoePreppyPauper]

Braces versus belts

I don't think there was a sudden change like a meteor killing the dinosaurs, but starting in the 1940s, more and more men chose belts over braces/suspenders for holding up their dress trousers. By the early 1960s the vast majority of younger men wore belts with their dress trousers. Tuxedos were, and continue to be the only exception.

There was of course a braces renaissance in the 1980s, but the look was tainted by Michael Douglas' wonderfully evil portrayal of Gordon Gekko the "Greed Is Good" character in Wall Street. Braces were then associated with all the worst excesses of the 1980s.

I am wearing braces again and loving them. I like traditional, pleated, cuffed trousers worn a little more high-waisted in a more vintage style. I can never get them to hang properly without braces. They either slide below my (small) tummy and the pleats bunch up or I have to cinch my belt uncomfortably tight to keep my trousers just above my natural waist. So for me personally, it's braces all the way.

Trousers worn with braces should be slightly looser in the waist than trousers worn with a belt. Also, in my humble opinion braces should ALWAYS be the type with leather tabs fastened to buttons inside the waistline of the trousers.

 

[Sefton]

Also, in my humble opinion braces should ALWAYS be the type with leather tabs fastened to buttons inside the waistline of the trousers.

Unless you're able to pull off the look that Marcello Mastroianni did in "8 1/2": skinny black braces with metal clip-on ends!

BTW, welcome to the Lounge.

Cheers!

 

[dhermann1]

It was a very gradual process, but I read somewhere (you remember good old "somewhere"?) that in 1945 they determined that for the first time more men wore belts than suspenders. That would seem to make a lot of sense to me.

 

[Feraud]

Unless you're able to pull off the look that Marcello Mastroianni did in "8 1/2": skinny black braces with metal clip-on ends!

BTW, welcome to the Lounge.

Cheers!

A fellow who carries himself with poise can generally carry off almost anything.

 

[Highlander]

I also prefer a belt as you can take your jacket off in public when you've got one, which I wouldn't want to do if I had braces on as I think the proper etiquette is never to show them.

Good Morning Avedwards:

I'd disagree a bit on this one(and I could well be wrong). First off, I've got some really cool silk braces, and I like to show them off once in a while. Whether it be in my office as I take my jacket off to work, or maybe at a semi-formal event, after dinner, and things start to relax. I think the braces add to the look. They also make a statement... A very classic one.

My Dad would disagree, disliking braces of all sorts. My Granddad on the other hand wore high waisted pants with braces regularly. Similarly on Collar bars. Dad always thought they looked old fashioned...Me, I think they look classic.

My humble opinion.

 

[David V]

Belts have been around forever. Braces are the "upstart".

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Belts have been around forever.

Yes, and so have sandals ... long before Christ.



.

 

[Fletch]

Belts are closer to the manly essence.

If you doubt this, try thrashing an inferior with a pair of suspenders.

Disclaimer: I do not actually endorse the thrashing of inferiors. Verbal humiliation is more than adequate for most situations, leaves no physical traces, and is 100 per cent legal as long as you do not acknowledge the victim's status as a member of a protected group.

 

[avedwards]

I'm sure thrashing someone with a leather belt would be equally effective as using a pair of braces. Although I prefer to use my fists to thrash people than to use my belt as I don't want to appear to be stripping when I am actually teaching people that it is rude to draw on someone's shirt in permantent marker when asked not to (happened to me last Friday in school).

 

[BruceTracy]

In the 1960s Sean Connery's Bond wears a belt, never braces (not even with a dinner jacket).

Sorry if it seems like I'm nitpicking, but that's actually incorrect. IIRC, Connery's Bond never wore a belt (at least not in the 1960s). I'm pretty sure all of his trousers had button style side tabs/ adjusters in Dr. No and From Russia With Love. I think they were probably also this way in Goldfinger, but don't take my word for it. I have no idea if his trousers were this way in Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, or Diamonds Are Forever (though DAF wouldn't technically be relevant to your question anyway as, IIRC, it was not released in the 1960's, but rather in 1971).

 

[avedwards]

You're probably right actually, I saw the lack of braces and automatically assumed he was wearing a belt. I forgot that there are other ways of holding trousers up.:eusa_doh:

 

[Geesie]

I don't like the bulk of a belt buckle when I'm wearing a suit. Honestly, with my tailored suits I don't wear either. The pants are tailored to me and fit perfectly well without belt or suspenders.

 

[Guttersnipe]

It was a very gradual process, but I read somewhere (you remember good old "somewhere"?) that in 1945 they determined that for the first time more men wore belts than suspenders. That would seem to make a lot of sense to me.

I wonder if WW2 may have had something to do with that? Didn't servicemen wear those webbed belts with the little brass roller buckle. Maybe returning GI's got accustomed to belts and never went back.

 

[BruceTracy]

I wonder if WW2 may have had something to do with that? Didn't servicemen wear those webbed belts with the little brass roller buckle. Maybe returning GI's got accustomed to belts and never went back.

I've read that theory somewhere before...maybe even more than once. IIRC I think Flusser wrote it in Dressing the Man.

 

[BruceTracy]

I don't like the bulk of a belt buckle when I'm wearing a suit. Honestly, with my tailored suits I don't wear either. The pants are tailored to me and fit perfectly well without belt or suspenders.

You don't even use side tab adjusters?

 

[Viola]

I don't know about etiquette of it but you gotta show the bracers if you're doing the PI/reporter bracers with long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled to the elbow look!

Shoulder-holster optional.

Also pretty nice with any sort of western/adventurer look. See The Mummy and Firefly for modern examples.

I think bracers make more of a statement than a belt does normally, unless the belt looks like you just won the WWE Heavyweight Title or something. Whether the bracers are a good statement or a bad statement depends on the overall look and the wearer.

And of all the menswear looks I do wear, bracers can't be one. But I'm a fan of it on the guys. At least to mix it up occasionally.

 

[MisterGrey]

I also prefer a belt as you can take your jacket off in public when you've got one, which I wouldn't want to do if I had braces on as I think the proper etiquette is never to show them.

I've heard this before, but I think it was either a trend or only applies to formal wear; it's definitely not the standard, otherwise there wouldn't be so many examples of patterned/fancily colored suspenders from the Golden Era and prior. After all, what's the purpose of having patterned or niftily colored braces if only the wearer knows what they look like?

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I personally like braces. I think they're very stylish and sure do make a statement. Soemtimes a belt can, mine does with Eagles, Confederate Flags, Cannons, and a Chevy Belt Buckle styled after the 50's emblem, but Braces just catch the eye. They have a certain class and style about them that can't be matched.

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

I agree with you Tom, but the funny thing is; braces were considered almost as underwear in the day. "Vests" or waistcoats were to cover the braces.

I personally like both braces AND belts just for the styles, and I wear them together even at the risk of being accused of not trusting my own pants. lol