Figure 1.--Here we see two German boys, presumably brothers, wearing suspenders in 1931. These were the "y"-type button suspenders. Notice the difference in widths. Also notice that the short pants were not even made with belt loops.

Another important suspension device was elastic suspenders (braces). The German term for suspenders is "Hosenträeger". This was the way older boys and adult men held up their trousers through most of the 19th as well as the early 20th century. We are not yet, however, sure about the chronology. A reader who collects old photographs tells us that she does not note suspenders at the turn of the 20th century in her collection. Younger boys also wore them. In fact in German school portraits we see boys wearing quite a variety of trouser supension devices. The popularity of the different devices varied over time. Suspenders were certainly one of the devices use and we see boys wering them in many school portraits. We even notice H-bar suspenders. They were not very common, but we do see examples. One example is an unidentified primary school in 1954. A related item was the leather halters often worn with Ledersonen, but sispenders were elasticised. They also tended to be more narrow than halters, but we also see wide suspenders. The Width varied chronologically. We see both button-on and metal clip suspenders. A good example of the button srspenders is an unidentified boy in the 1910s. The button-on suspenders declined in popularity during the 1930s, in part because belts became more common. We see them done in colorful vertical stripes.

Terminology

Another important suspension device was elastic suspenders (braces). The German term for suspenders is "Hosenträger".

Chronology

Suspenders were the way older boys and adult men held up their trousers through most of the 19th as well as the early 20th century. We are not yet, however, sure about the chronology. Our information is especially limited for the 19th century. This is not only because our Germnan arechive is limited, but because boys very commonly wore suits with jackets when going to the phoyographic studio. And there were other ways to hold up boy's pants, especially button-on styles. We have much more information on the 20th century because of a more extensive archive. A reader who collects old photographs tells us that she does not note suspenders at the turn-of-the 20th century in her collection. We think this is a misnomer, in part because other methods were used for younger boys, such as button-on styling. We also notice suspender pants (with the straps made in the same material as the pantss), H-bar pants, and Lederhosen haltars (used fof both Lederhosen andc regular pants). And often the suspenders were covered up. What we do not see in the early 20th century is belts used for trouser suspension. We do not even notice belt loops on boys' pants at the turn of the century through the early 1930s. We believe that suspendrs were very widely used during this period, although they were often covered up. Suddebly this changed in the 1930s. We begin to see boys wearing belts and trousers had belt loops. And by the end of the decade, belts were more important than suspenders, although suspenders did not disappear. We are not sure why this changed occurred beginning in the mod-1930s. Nor or we sure why it tool place so rapidly. We believe the NAZIs and the Hitler Youth (HJ) were probably the reason. Hitler Youth uniforms included both short and long pnts made with beltloops. And the belt and belt buckle were an important part of the uniform. The NAZIs made particiption in the HJ compulsory at age 10 years. This mean that boys got used to wearing belts and most especually liked the belt buckle. Apparently HJ boys wearing belts, also wanted them for their other pants. We are unsure how parents adapted to all of this, but given the rapid change, they seem to have followed what the boys wanted. We do not know if NAZI authoritie applied any pressure on clothing manufactutrers. We see suspenders after the War, but they were increasinly rare in the post-War era.

Age

Younger boys also wore them.

Popularity

We see in German school portraits boys wearing quite a variety of trouser supension devices. The popularity of the different devices varied over time. Suspenders were certainly one of the devices use and we see boys wering them in many school portraits.

Types

Suspenders were elasticised. They also tended to be more narrow than halters, but we also see wide suspenders. The Width varied chronologically. We see both button-on and metal clip suspenders. A good example of the button srspenders is an unidentified boy in the 1910s. The button-on suspenders declined in popularity during the 1930s, in part because belts became more common. We even notice H-bar suspenders. They were not very common, but we do see examples. One example is an unidentified primary school in 1954.

Halters

A related item was the leather halters often worn with Ledersonen. The reason for the H-bar construction on halters and some elasticized suspenders is to keep the shoulder straps from slipping off young, narrow, sloping shoulders. It is the same principle that dictates chest straps on many garter waists--i.e., to keep the straps from slipping off.

Colors

We see them done in colorful vertical stripes.

Utility

One point about the popularity of suspenders for boys is that they allow boys to wear trousers with looser waists. So if you inherited a pair of shorts from your larger older brother and the shorts were a bit too large in the waist to stay up on their own, the suspenders solved the problem. Also suspenders are more comfortable for many men and boys because there is more room and no constricting tightness at the waist. This is why hockey players always wear suspenders with their shorts--for greater freedom of movement in skating. In Europe and England tailors often recommend suspenders with suits because the trousers hang more evenly and look better. The trouser hem is kept even in front and back, whereas with belts, the trousers (long trousers of course) sometimes are too long in back and fray because they come too far down over the shoes or drag on the ground.

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Clothing styles] [Countries] [Girls]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [Essays] [FAQs] [Glossaries] [Images] [Links] [Registration] [Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]

Created: 5:54 PM 11/11/2008
Last updated: 5:27 PM 8/26/2011