Figure 1.--This photograph was taken in New York City sometimne around 1910. The boy is getting a drink of water from a fire hydrant. I'm unsure if he is wearing suspenders or knickers which have attached suspender straps.

Both men and boys have worn suspenders, but pants with the suspenders attached were a specailized style for boys. There were a variety of different types of suspenders. Some were separate items. Others were an integral part of the construction of the garment.

Classic Suspenders/Braces

Suspenders are another classic approach to holding up trousers. As with other items on HBC there are differences between English and American English. Suspenders are referred to as "braces" in Britain and the buttons to attach them to were always called brace buttons. To the civilised British, "suspenders" are used for keeping up socks and stockings. Susenders/braces are also used to hold up kilts. Suspenders have come and gone several times bending to the winds of fashions. At times they have been seen as old-fashioned, but they never titally disappeared. One U.S. reader reports, "I remember wearing suspenders, not a belt, with dress pants in the 1960s. Couldn't have been very old, 5 or 6. I think when I was in first grade, some other boys wore suspenders, too. To be sure, though, for most of my school years, boys wore belts, not suspenders." Suspenders became very fashionable in the 1990s, but now attract less attention.

Suspender Pants

Some boys pants came with the suspenders attached. Some could be buttoned on and others were attached in the back and buttoned on the front. Suspender pants were especially popular in the 1940s and early 50s. Suspender shorts were the most common, but there were suspender longs as well. We also note suspender long pants in America. There were even suspender jeans in America during the 1950s. Suspender long pant were most common in America. In Europe the suspender pants were usually short pants.