Figure 1.--This image of a teenager wearing an open collar and gray suspenders (almost certainly clip-on style) probably comes from the 1980s when the style was considered "hip" among high schoolers and college boys. We think this masy be a show-business image. We notice a similar style in the popular high school film, "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," about the shenanigans of Chicago high school boys playing hooky from school. This film dates from the 1980s. Notice also the chain around the neck and the tousled hair style--other teenage fashions of the 1980s.

We also note the clip-on type of suspenders. These had metal clasps that could be clipped on the waistband of the trousers. They were less substantial than the traditional suspenders, but worked fine for younger boys. Many boys during the 1930s wore clip-on suspenders that were easier to attach and detach and that didn't require separate buttons sewn onto the trousers. These were especially popular for boys. Apparently buttons began disappearing on boys' pants before men's pants. A Sears ad of 1939 shows the popularity of clip-on suspenders for boys which (because of their elastic construction) were featured on the same page as the ads for garter waists. We note that Sears in 1938 offered both types for oilder boys, but only clips-ons for younger boys. We continue to see clip on suspenders through the 1950s. The photographic record shows quite a number of younger boys wearing them in the 1940s and 50s. I recall wearing them as a boy in the early-50s, but did not like them. They became much less popular in the 1960s. Clip-on suspenders were practical because they required no buttons to be sewn into the waistbands of trousers, whether long or short. We see teenagers wearing clop on suspenders in the 1980s. It appears to have been a fashiion statement. Perhaps it was related to the Skinheads in England or the fact that some famous people were wearing them. A reader writes in 2011. "Clip-on suspenders may be making something of a come-back. We are beginning to see them worn with blue jeans and tee shirts on several campuses in the mid-west. I suspect that the style comes from the west coast, probably California." We wonder if the increasing problem of obesity is related. The elasticized clip-on suspenders were popular for two reasons--(1) they were sporty and similar to the adult suspenders worn by many fathers and (2) suspenders were a convenient means of keeping up boys' trousers as opposed to belts. Belts could slip down over boys' slender hips, thus allowing trousers to sag, whereas elastic suspenders avoided this problem. Even so, the trousers are quite long and seem to touch the boys' shoes. We are not sure about the social class conventions.

Construction

We also note the clip-on type of suspenders. These had metal clasps that could be clipped on the waistband of the trousers. They were less substantial than the traditional suspenders, but worked fine for younger boys. Theirpants had very little weight and thus the clip on clasps worked fine.

Chronology

Many boys during the 1930s wore clip-on suspenders that were easier to attach and detach and that didn't require separate buttons sewn onto the trousers. These were especially popular for boys. Apparently buttons began disappearing on boys' pants before men's pants. A Sears ad of 1939 shows the popularity of clip-on suspenders for boys which (because of their elastic construction) were featured on the same page as the ads for garter waists. We note that Sears in 1938 offered both types for oilder boys, but only clips-ons for younger boys. We continue to see clip on suspenders through the 1950s. The photographic record shows quite a number of younger boys wearing them in the 1940s and 50s. I recall wearing them as a boy in the early-50s, but did not like them. They became much less popular in the 1960s. Clip-on suspenders were practical because they required no buttons to be sewn into the waistbands of trousers, whether long or short. We see teenagers wearing clop on suspenders in the 1980s. It appears to have been a fashiion statement. Perhaps it was related to the Skinheads in England or the fact that some famous people were wearing them. A reader writes in 2011. "Clip-on suspenders may be making something of a come-back. We are beginning to see them worn with blue jeans and tee shirts on several campuses in the mid-west. I suspect that the style comes from the west coast, probably California." We wonder if the increasing problem of obesity is related.

Popularity

The elasticized clip-on suspenders were popular for two reasons--(1) they were sporty and similar to the adult suspenders worn by many fathers and (2) suspenders were a convenient means of keeping up boys' trousers as opposed to belts. Belts could slip down over boys' slender hips, thus allowing trousers to sag, whereas elastic suspenders avoided this problem. Even so, the trousers are quite long and seem to touch the boys' shoes. We are not sure about the social class conventions.

Ages

The age conventions for boys wearing clip-on suspenders varied over time.

Conventions

Suspenders used to be considered very proper to wear with dress suits (back in the 1920s and 1930s), and the upper-class rule was never to be seen in shirt-sleeves and suspenders in professional or socially elite venues. But this has all changed since the 1960s and suspenders with jeans, while still a minority fashion, have a certain hip quality now--partly because some rock-and-roll bands often have members wearing them on stage. Larry King has turned suspenders into a kind of trade-mark feature of his show, and that may also have some effect. We think modern kids like them with jeans and either T-shirts or open-collared shirts. I think it might suggest a touch of nostalgia for a blue-collar culture, because of course working men often wear suspenders for factory work, service jobs, and the like.

Created: 10:37 PM 1/6/2011
Last updated: 10:37 PM 1/6/2011