The History of Suspenders - From Suspender Clips to HIKERS®
The Struggle to Keep Our Pants Up is Nothing New
Holding up our pants is an age-old problem, and suspenders, belts and various other contraptions have been competing for our preference since humans started wearing pants. New to suspenders entirely? Start with our plain-English explainer, What Are Suspenders? (And What Are They For?), then come back for the history.
The Invention of Suspenders
Suspenders for men first hit the fashion scene in the 1700s in France, and like HIKERS® Co. Suspenders, they were originally made to be worn as an undergarment. In fact, it wasn’t until the 1930s that men started pushing the norm and wearing them over their shirts.
The first-known French suspenders were merely ribbons tied to buttonholes, but what most of us think of as modern suspenders were first created from boxcloth (a tightly-woven wool) in 1822 by British fashion designer Albert Thurston. Men’s fashion of the day called for extremely high-waisted pants that couldn’t be held up by a belt. So Mr. Thurston created an H-back design that attached with leather loops, and later modified them to feature both the commonly found X- and Y-back designs. You can still buy the original boxcloth braces design today.
Improving the Design with Suspender Clips
About fifty years later, an American by the name Mark Twain (aka Samuel Clemens) complained that suspenders were uncomfortable and applied for a patent for his invention, “Adjustable and Detachable Straps for Garments." This new contraption attached to everything from underpants to corsets and was eventually modified with metal suspender clips so as not to require buttons to attach.
Doctors Began Recommending Suspenders
Doctors have been professing the health benefits of suspenders for almost a century. In 1928 a Chicago doctor named Dr. V. S. Cheney said, “There are more big stomachs caused by the wearing of a belt than any other one thing I know of," urging people instead to practice "posture, exercise and the wearing of suspenders." Learn more about the health benefits of suspenders.
Suspenders Fall In and Out of Fashion
By the early 20th century, suspenders fell out of fashion as men’s pants started riding lower and belts took over. However over the years popular actors, such as Humphrey Bogart, iconic movie characters, like Alex DeLarge (A Clockwork Orange), Gordon Gekko (Wall Street), Annie Hall, and Steve Urkel (Family Matters), kept the look alive in popular culture. And hip hop stars and modern-day hipsters have continued to popularize the formal wear style suspenders.
Many men have come to associate suspenders with dressing up for corporate jobs or formal occasions and don’t consider them as an everyday item. Or, they think only grandpas, poseurs, or nerds would ever wear them.
Belts Are More Popular than Suspenders
Most people consider belts to be the most convenient way to keep your pants up, and they are certainly more popular than suspenders. Almost all pants and shorts come with belt loops, making them an almost required fashion accessory, particularly if you want to wear your shirt tucked in. Many men wouldn't be caught dead without their shirt tucked in and a belt around their waist.
Belts Don’t Work for Everyone
For a great many people, belts either don’t work or they are downright unhealthy. If you’re someone with no butt or hips, belts don’t have anything to rest on and you’re forced to cinch it too tightly. Or maybe you need to carry heavy things in your pockets or around your waist. Belts don’t work very well in those instances either. There are so many reasons belts don’t work.
Plus, tight belts (and pants for that matter) act as a tourniquet around your waist and can cause all sorts of health problems.
Modern Undergarment Suspenders Are Bulky
As people struggled with keeping their pants up without a belt, inventors developed ways to hide suspenders under clothes. These undergarment suspenders were designed to remain hidden, at all costs. Let’s face it, most of them are pretty ugly. Even though they’re intended to be invisible, because of their bulk, you can often easily make out the ace-bandage style straps and bulky clips and metal adjusters. Unlike with women who are accustomed to wearing bras that are often visible under their clothes, most men don’t want anyone to know they’re wearing an undergarment. Heck, they don’t even like the word undergarment.
And Now There’s HIKERS® Co.
Many people would benefit from wearing suspenders, but suspenders probably aren’t even on their radar because we think of them as old fashioned or too formal. The struggle to keep our pants up, without compromising our fashion sense, is real.
HIKERS® Co. Suspenders are the reengineered suspenders made to be worn with jeans or shorts, under or over your shirt. For everyday wear, HIKERS® Co. Suspenders are the blue jeans of suspenders, made for casual people who want to look good and be comfortable. Upfitter® Belt Loop Suspenders hook onto the belt loops you already have and are our best-seller; HIKERS® Button Fly Suspenders, the original, hook onto the waist button. Both are made in your size, with flat hooks and no buckles.
Suspenders history FAQs
When were suspenders invented?
The earliest suspenders appeared in 1700s France as ribbons tied to the buttonholes of breeches. The suspenders most of us picture, a strap of boxcloth with leather button loops, date from 1822, when Albert Thurston began making them in London for the very high-waisted trousers of the day, which a belt could not hold up. Thurston's firm still makes braces to that design.
Who invented suspenders?
No single person. The French ribbon version has no named inventor. Albert Thurston is credited with the modern braces design in 1822. In the United States, Mark Twain, under his real name Samuel Clemens, patented an adjustable and detachable strap for garments in 1871, the idea that later turned into clip-on suspenders. The reengineered hidden kind, made in your size with no buckles, is HIKERS® Co.'s contribution, two centuries on.
When were suspenders popular?
From the 1820s through the 1920s they were simply how men's trousers stayed up; there was no belt loop to put a belt through. They were considered underwear for most of that time and worn under a waistcoat or jacket. Since the 1930s they have lived on in formalwear, in the trades, and in bursts of popular culture, from Humphrey Bogart to Wall Street to Family Matters.
When and why did suspenders go out of style?
The 1920s and 1930s. Trousers started shipping with belt loops and lower waistlines that gave a belt something to rest on, and the belt won on convenience: no buttons to sew, nothing over the shoulders, and easier to wear with a tucked shirt. Suspenders never disappeared; they retreated to formal occasions and to the men whose belts did not work.
What is the difference between suspenders, braces and galluses?
They are the same thing. In the United States they are suspenders, in Britain they are braces (where suspenders means garters for socks or stockings), and galluses is an older American word, still heard in the South and Appalachia. Whatever you call them, they hold your pants up from your shoulders instead of squeezing your waist.
Are suspenders coming back in style?
The visible kind comes and goes with fashion. The useful kind never left, and it has been reengineered. Hidden suspenders are made in your size with flat hooks and no buckles, so they disappear under an untucked shirt and work on the pants you already own. Upfitter® Belt Loop Suspenders from HIKERS® Co. hook onto your belt loops and are the best-seller; HIKERS® Button Fly Suspenders are the original. The plain-English explainer is What Are Suspenders?, and the hardware differences are in How HIKERS® Co. Suspenders Differ From Traditional Suspenders.
