It's A Hold Up: The Return Of Braces

Today, we're seeing something of a resurgence in younger, stylish, sartorial types embracing braces, no doubt helped by the commensurate resurgence in high-waisted 50s-style trousers. If the demise of braces could point the finger of blame at anything over the course of the last few decades, it would be the proliferation of slouchy trouser styles. Why the need for a device that lifts the trousers, when all everyone wants to do, it seems, is wear styles hanging off their hips? 

"If you haven't ever been down to our waistcoats and accessories boutique in the Piccadilly Arcade, we would very much recommend popping down and letting Agata guide you through our collection of braces. You'll find plenty of classic moire silk styles alongside more unique and colourful variants."

Formal trousers look infinitely smarter when held up correctly around the waist, with a clean pressed line down the front and a slight break at the shin.

The first suspenders can be traced all the way back to 18th century France, in the form of basic strips of ribbon attached to the buttonholes of trousers. Trousers back then did not have belt loops, and any concept of a belt was purely decorative and most likely military in origin. President Benjamin Franklin is said to have been an early adopter but discreetly so - in those days, braces would have been worn beneath garments, rather than over them as a styled accessory. Visible suspenders were, in fact, considered rather gauche, even up to the early part of the 20th century, when a town Long Island, NY attempted to ban any man wearing them without a coat, on the subjective grounds of sartorial indecency. Residents were having none of it, however, and the ban was swiftly quashed.

The suspenders heyday of the late 19th century would not have happened were it not for the business acumen of one Albert Thurston, who had the nous to manufacture in 1820 what we recognise today as braces. The trend then was for not only high-waisted trousers, but very high-waisted trousers, rendering belts useless. Thurston used neat little leather hoops to attach to buttons on the waistband of trousers, a method still in use today. Interestingly, one of the first U.S. patents for suspenders was filed in 1871 by a Samuel Langhorne Clemens, who otherwise went by the pen name Mark Twain.

To see our full collection of braces, head down to our dedicated waistcoat and accessories boutique in the Piccadilly Arcade where you'll find many styles to add to your collection.