# Ever worn suspenders? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 28, 2015, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-worn-suspenders/721068 "2015-05-28T20:38:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-worn-suspenders/721068/41 "2015-05-29T09:30:08Z")
I voted “Something Else” - Yes, when dressed as Frank-N-Furter for a RHS party… I do wear braces, though, now and then. Mostly when I’m feeling _Oi!_ ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-worn-suspenders/721068/42 "2015-05-29T10:40:01Z")
I wear my tux several times a year, and always wear suspenders with it. I wear a suit less often, but that too. Whenever I buy a suit, I always have suspender buttons attached. With my body, they keep my pants up much better than belts. Back in the 80s, I even wore them with Levi’s, but that was then. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-worn-suspenders/721068/43 "2015-05-29T11:28:12Z")
They’re called **BRACES** (1) in non-US English, and I wear them a lot. Never the clip-on kind, though; they’re a bit childish, real men sew buttons onto their trousers. Or buy trousers with buttons already attached to the waistband. If people are finding them uncomfortable, I expect it’s because: (A) People tend to perceive anything unfamiliar as “uncomfortable” - you get used to braces, and they’re _more_ comfortable than a belt pinching your middle. (B) You might be trying to wear them clipped onto low-rise trousers; they work a lot better on mid-to-high rises, with the added bonus that you’ll look a lot better than you would with stupid low rise trousers hanging off your hips.(2) (1) Suspenders, in non-US English, are what holds up womens stockings. (2) Low rise trousers look terrible, and are the main thing people are going to point to when, in a decade or two, people are making fun of the idiotic things people wore back in the noughties/teens. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-worn-suspenders/721068/44 "2015-05-29T13:22:20Z")
I have extremely sensitive nipples (and no use for it), so even the idea of having tightened straps going anywhere near them, moving and chafing ever so little, is too much. My father used to love wearing suspenders over his big belly and man boobs, so the apple did drop far. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-worn-suspenders/721068/45 "2015-05-29T14:35:17Z")
Never as an adult. My Mom occasionally had me wear them when I was a little kid. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-worn-suspenders/721068/46 "2015-05-29T15:02:43Z")
Yeah, the “something else” is too catch-all. When I was a little kid, my standard “Sunday School”, etc. dress has suspenders. I even had pants with button holes on the waist for the button kind, but I always used the clip kind. Very typical back then. I’ve seen family photos of others doing the same. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-worn-suspenders/721068/47 "2015-05-29T15:24:03Z")
Yes, wore a suit with [braces](http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=trafalgar+braces+%26+suspenders&qpvt=trafalgar+braces+%26+suspenders&qpvt=trafalgar+braces+%26+suspenders&FORM=IGRE) (specifically the SEP Barbershop quartet ones on the ([saturday evening post trafalgar braces suspenders - Bing](http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=saturday+evening+post+trafalgar+braces+suspenders&view=detailv2&&&id=36139ED6ECB71471DAA4B22006B7B78A1D30C97E&selectedIndex=3&ccid=BDeEgApN&simid=608006411498029659&thid=JN.wCkVp0taDjJtIx44mbiZFw&ajaxhist=0))) on Sun nite to dinner & graduation event. Since my jacket didn’t come off until I got home I don’t think anyone knew but me. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-worn-suspenders/721068/48 "2015-05-29T15:29:53Z")
It used to be my everyday attire when I worked construction. Tool belts can drag your pants down. I wore suspenders to avoid butt crack. A lot of guys in construction crews wore them. I wear them today anytime I strap on my tool belt. The last time was a few months ago helping a friend remodel his family’s moldy bathroom. We ripped it out to the studs. New greenboard drywall and a laminate tub/shower surround… ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-worn-suspenders/721068/49 "2015-05-29T15:38:29Z")
Yes, for a rain suit. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-worn-suspenders/721068/50 "2015-05-29T15:47:52Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > They’re called **BRACES** (1) in non-US English, and I wear them a lot. Never the clip-on kind, though; they’re a bit childish, real men sew buttons onto their trousers. **Real** men [hammer](http://www.duluthtrading.com/store/product/antique-gold-buttons-91150.aspx?processor=content) them on. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-worn-suspenders/721068/51 "2015-05-29T15:54:56Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Wearing them now. I have several pair from Duluth Trading. Since, due to a genetic condition I have no ass, suspenders are a necessity. Belts don’t make it. It’s either suspenders or rivets. They get worn under my usual Hawaiian shirt. Fashionista. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-worn-suspenders/721068/52 "2015-05-29T16:03:05Z")
I wear suspenders (braces) with my tuxedo, occasionally with a suit, and while deer hunting. My Woolrich wool hunting pants are just too heavy for a belt to have any hope of keeping them up, so I wear them with the big 2" wide braces. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-worn-suspenders/721068/53 "2015-05-29T16:20:19Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > **Real** men [hammer](http://www.duluthtrading.com/store/product/antique-gold-buttons-91150.aspx?processor=content) them on. I’ve done that too, but I prefer buttons. Not that much more difficult to do, and a _lot_ easier to fix if you screw up. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-worn-suspenders/721068/54 "2015-05-29T16:42:57Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Fashionista. Just an asymptote on the Fashion Curve. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-worn-suspenders/721068/55 "2015-05-29T17:27:52Z")
> [@Toxylon](#): > > I have extremely sensitive nipples (and no use for it), so even the idea of having tightened straps going anywhere near them, moving and chafing ever so little, is too much. Wow, can you imagine what it would feel like if the clamps were on your nipples? Be sure and don’t accidentally do that! ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-worn-suspenders/721068/56 "2015-05-29T18:31:45Z")
I wear “[Cinch Up](http://www.sears.com/welch-mens-elastic-cinch-up-x-back-suspenders/p-0000000000000000349100000000000006298838P?hlSellerId=3491&sid=IDx20110310x00001i&kpid=SPM9961227118&kispla=SPM9961227118&kpid=SPM9961227118)” suspenders. 2 inch wide black elastic with steel metal buckles. I avoid the brass buckles because I don’t want to look like a war reenactor. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-worn-suspenders/721068/57 "2015-05-29T19:42:17Z")
I trained to be a firefighter for about a week (I dropped out of school pretty quickly). Suspenders were part of the turnout gear (firefighter uniform). ---
**Author:** ![Maxgussam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Maxgussam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maxgussam)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-worn-suspenders/721068/58 "2015-05-31T00:29:28Z")
These are my favorite. I wear them with the Carhartt logger dungarees. [http://betterspenders.com/cgi-bin/imcart/display.cgi?cat=1](http://betterspenders.com/cgi-bin/imcart/display.cgi?cat=1) ---
**Author:** ![Nefario](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/59ef9b/32.png) [@Nefario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nefario)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-worn-suspenders/721068/59 "2015-05-31T01:21:56Z")
> [@Strainger](#): > > With a tuxedo but also with a marching band uniform. I guess that counts, I did both as well but still marked “not a user”. Sorta related, I as a kid and my Dad ofter wore overalls with “galluses” - VERY confortable! I once worked with a heavy guy that wore loose pants and suspenders for comfort; the memory keeps me from going there although some days it seems attractive. ---
**Author:** ![VernWinterbottom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c67d28/32.png) [@VernWinterbottom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VernWinterbottom)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-worn-suspenders/721068/60 "2015-05-31T02:46:31Z")
With virtually all long pants. It came about by first wearing “real” button-on suspenders with period costumes. Then, as a middle-age belly started to develop, I found that slightly looser pants with suspenders worked better for me than a belt, especially when I’m in between standard waist sizes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-worn-suspenders/721068.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-worn-suspenders/721068.md?page=4)