# Do men still wear sock suspenders? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 8, 2006, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-still-wear-sock-suspenders/383375 "2006-12-08T17:54:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Emilio\_Lizardo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Emilio\_Lizardo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emilio_Lizardo)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-still-wear-sock-suspenders/383375/1 "2006-12-08T17:54:14Z")
I was watching [Intolerable Cruelty](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0138524/) the other night, and in one scene, Edward Hermann takes off his suit, and is seen wearing sock suspenders underneath. A quick google search reveals that such things are still available (although the first few links are all stores in the UK) but are they still considered part of a well-dressed mans wardrobe? I had thought nylon and spandex had pretty much sounded the death-knell for that particular accessory. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-still-wear-sock-suspenders/383375/2 "2006-12-08T17:56:54Z")
Not sure if I’m thinking of the same thing or not, but when I was in the military, I had these suspender-like elastic straps that attached to my shirt tail and the tops of my socks. Wore them with my dress uniform, to keep the shirt tucked in… ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-still-wear-sock-suspenders/383375/3 "2006-12-08T18:03:44Z")
If sock suspenders are what I’m tinking that ate. the only place I’ve seen them is in old episodes of _Monty Python_. They seem to have an awkward and vaguely-risible quality. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-still-wear-sock-suspenders/383375/4 "2006-12-08T18:05:04Z")
Er, " what I’m thinking they are". I can type. Honest. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-still-wear-sock-suspenders/383375/5 "2006-12-08T20:08:01Z")
My boyfriend wears them, but then he’s very old fashioned in that dandy fop way. (They’re actually called sock garters. He wears sleeve garters too.) He finds them very practical in that they hold up his dress socks. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-still-wear-sock-suspenders/383375/6 "2006-12-08T20:13:17Z")
[QUOTE=Zsofia] My boyfriend wears them, but then he’s very old fashioned in that dandy fop way. (They’re actually called sock garters. He wears sleeve garters too.) He finds them very practical in that they hold up his dress socks. [/QUOTE] _Sleeve_ garters? How do those work? ---
**Author:** ![acaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5ac83/32.png) [@acaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/acaos)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-still-wear-sock-suspenders/383375/7 "2006-12-08T21:28:47Z")
Sleeve garters are little attachments that let you roll up your sleeves and keep them rolled up. Often they’re a little strap that’s already part of the shirt; when you roll up the sleeve you bring the strap out and button it to a button just above the elbow to hold the sleeve in place. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-still-wear-sock-suspenders/383375/8 "2006-12-08T22:08:53Z")
Sleeve garters are those things the guy who works at the general store wears in Westerns. They (at least the ones he wears) aren’t the roll up kind, they’re a piece of elastic (just like a garter for a bride) that goes around your upper arm so you can buy shirts that are too long in the sleeve and they take up the slack for you. He finds it very handy because he gets a ton of shirts at thrift stores. ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-still-wear-sock-suspenders/383375/9 "2006-12-08T22:32:54Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] _Sleeve_ garters? How do those work? [/QUOTE] See [photo](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/ee/Homers_Barbershop_Quartet.gif/180px-Homers_Barbershop_Quartet.gif). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-still-wear-sock-suspenders/383375/10 "2006-12-08T22:37:29Z")
[QUOTE=Zsofia] My boyfriend wears them, but then he’s very old fashioned in that dandy fop way. (They’re actually called sock garters. He wears sleeve garters too.) He finds them very practical in that they hold up his dress socks. [/QUOTE] Okay, now I’m all about socks that stay up, but wouldn’t it be easier to just buy elasticized socks? I’m not sure I could find a pair of men’s socks that _didn’t_ have really good elastic. In fact, I just bought a couple pair for my dad. He’s one of those guys who goes a little catatonic if his socks fall down. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-still-wear-sock-suspenders/383375/11 "2006-12-08T22:42:53Z")
I’m one of those guys, too, and no matter how tight they are on my leg, after about fifteen seconds of walking, they’re already drifting down. I might look into some sock-suspenders! ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-still-wear-sock-suspenders/383375/12 "2006-12-08T22:49:17Z")
[QUOTE=Speaker for the Dead] I’m one of those guys, too, and no matter how tight they are on my leg, after about fifteen seconds of walking, they’re already drifting down. I might look into some sock-suspenders! [/QUOTE] I’ve found that paying a bit more for better socks makes a difference, too. Nothing worse than droopy socks. ---
**Author:** ![FormerMarineGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/65b543/32.png) [@FormerMarineGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FormerMarineGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-still-wear-sock-suspenders/383375/13 "2006-12-08T22:50:06Z")
I wear them to this day. Every Marine in some sort of service uniform (not cammie type or nor dress blues) wears them to keep his shirt ‘bloused’ and not hanging out of his trousers. I carried it over and wear them to work on a daily basis. You can buy them all over EBay and military stores using the term ‘shirt stays’. ---
**Author:** ![FormerMarineGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/65b543/32.png) [@FormerMarineGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FormerMarineGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-still-wear-sock-suspenders/383375/14 "2006-12-08T22:51:24Z")
[QUOTE=FormerMarineGuy] I wear them to this day. Every Marine in some sort of service uniform (not cammie type or nor dress blues) wears them to keep his shirt ‘bloused’ and not hanging out of his trousers. I carried it over and wear them to work on a daily basis. You can buy them all over EBay and military stores using the term ‘shirt stays’. [/QUOTE] [Forgot a link, if anyone is interested. The first picture on the upper left is the ones normally worn.](http://www.militaryclothing.com/IBS/SimpleCat/Shelf/ASP/Hierarchy/051E.html). ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-still-wear-sock-suspenders/383375/15 "2006-12-08T22:57:24Z")
[QUOTE=Zsofia] Sleeve garters are those things the guy who works at the general store wears in Westerns. They (at least the ones he wears) aren’t the roll up kind, they’re a piece of elastic (just like a garter for a bride) that goes around your upper arm so you can buy shirts that are too long in the sleeve and they take up the slack for you. He finds it very handy because he gets a ton of shirts at thrift stores. [/QUOTE] I have some of these for the rare occasions when I wear cuff links. My arms are rather short and ordinarily I just fold the cuffs back on themselves when I want to wear long sleeves. But If I want to have cuff links, and because of the arrangement of the two holes in the cuffs, I have to wear the sleeves full length, hence the use of what I call arm-bands. ---
**Author:** ![kinoons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a698b9/32.png) [@kinoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kinoons)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2006, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-still-wear-sock-suspenders/383375/16 "2006-12-09T03:52:42Z")
I wear them everyday at work as well. I believe I am the only one too. Holdover from the days I wore military uniforms, have to keep my dress shirt tucked in. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2006, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-still-wear-sock-suspenders/383375/17 "2006-12-09T16:39:37Z")
You guys are talking about two different things. The ones the military guys wear go from your shirt to your socks. Real sock garters go above the bulge of your calf and have little clippies, just like a lady’s garter belt, that hook to your socks. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2006, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-still-wear-sock-suspenders/383375/18 "2006-12-09T16:43:31Z")
[QUOTE=Kalhoun] I’ve found that paying a bit more for better socks makes a difference, too. Nothing worse than droopy socks. [/QUOTE] \*\* gonzomax\*\* has pretty big calves. He stretches the shit out of socks. Actually, sock-suspenders could be the final feather in his I-Look-Like-An-Old-Man Cap. Lord knows his pants are pulled up high enough. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2006, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-still-wear-sock-suspenders/383375/19 "2006-12-09T16:47:15Z")
When I was a young lad in short trousers and long socks (required school uniform till you were 13 back in the 60’s) we wore another sort of “suspender” . This was a loop of elastic worn just below the knee and concealed by the turned-over top of the sock. ---
**Author:** ![notthatagain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@notthatagain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notthatagain)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2006, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-still-wear-sock-suspenders/383375/20 "2006-12-09T16:52:18Z")
And the there’s the “Hints from Heloise” method: Immediately prior to putting one’s socks on, wet a bar of soap, apply a band of soap around your leg where the tops of your socks will rest. Put on your socks, and providing your legs aren’t going to perspire, socks stay up! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-still-wear-sock-suspenders/383375.md?page=2)