Suspender Shorts: Style


Figure 1.--This America boy, probably photographed in the 1940s or early 50s wears suspender shorts that are unusually crossed at the front. It almostvlooks as if he has them on backwards. Click on the inage tonsee the entire car.

Suspender shorts were short pants held up by suspenders either sewn on the shorts or attached by buttons. The shorts are made without elasticized waists or belt loops. The suspenders themselves are not elasticised, but usually made of the same material as the shorts. The shorts themseves were usually cut briefly as the style was mostly for younger boys. The suspenders are deemed appropriate for younger boys without prominent waists to keep their pants up. Suspender shorts were designed with the suspenders to cross in the back and fall straight down in the front, buttoning at the waist. HBC has noted, however, that some boys wore them differently. We are not sure if they were made this way, or more likely if the boys just did not put them on correctly. We known that the suspenders in some suspender shorts were completely detachable. Some may have come attached in the back. Normally the suspender shorts buttoned to the front. Some suspenders shorts had prominent, large buttons in contrasting colors.

Attachment

Suspender shorts were short pants held up by suspenders either sewn on the shorts or attached by buttons. Commonly the suspenders were sewn on to the back and buttoned to the front. Some may have beem completely detachable, buttoning on both the back and front, but we have only limited information on this.

The Shorts

The shorts are made without elasticized waists or belt loops. The shorts themseves were usually cut briefly as the style was mostly for younger boys. The suspenders are deemed appropriate for younger boys without prominent waists to keep their pants up.

The Suspenders

The suspenders themselves were not elasticised, but usually made of the same material as the shorts. The suspenders varied un length. Some were reasonably long. Others were quite short which pulled the shorts up above the boy's waist. The suspenders also varied in width. Generally they were quite narrow, about 1/2 inch, but ome were wider, occasionally nearly a full inch.

Arrangement

The suspenders usually crossed at the back. The great majority of the suspender shorts that I have seen crossed at the back and then came straight down the front parallel to each other. Occasionally HBC has noted that they were worn crossed at the front. We do not know if they were made this way, or if the boys just put them on incorrectly.

Buttons

Usually the buttons were normal size and in a color matching the shorts. Some suspenders shorts had prominent, large buttons in contrasting colors. This was normally a style for a younger boy.







HBC






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Created: November 28, 2000
Last updated: July 20, 2001