For: Garter (stockings)

History

There have been several precursors to braces throughout the past 300 years, but the modern type were first invented in 1822 by Albert Thurston and were once almost universally worn due to the high cut of mid-19th and early 20th-century trousers; this cut made a belt impractical as trousers of the time were made to be worn noticeably higher than modern ones. As modern underwear was not created until the 1930s, the brace tapes on one's Union suit would usually be looped through the braces, linking them to the trousers.

They are regarded as highly fashionable by most men's fashion experts in America and in England, where in 2008, with the revival of the Brideshead Revisited-look, braces have come back in vogue and are being worn again by famously elegant dressers, such as the theater producer Marc Sinden and TV star Martin Shaw. Such braces are usually considered White Collar (US) or Upper Class (UK) wear and are of high-quality, which means that they are made to be attached to trousers by buttons only. The best examples are made by Jermyn Street Gentlemans outfitters, such as Hackett.

It is considered a faux pas to wear both suspenders and a belt at the same time. This is referenced in the film Once Upon a Time in the West. Other films however, such as The Mummy (1999) and numerous John Wayne films, show many characters doing this. But the Wild West was not renowned for its fashion sense.

Braces are also popular with some women, but as more of a fashion statement than for practicalityfact: date=October 2008.

External links

• Suspenders - G. C. Hale
• Improvement in adjustable and detachable straps for garments