Suspender Shorts: Alternatives and Related Styles


Figure 1.--This photograph shows a rural American school somewhere in the Smokey mountains during 1913. One boy hold hi kneepants up with suspenders. Another boy wears bif-front overalls. We are not sure why they are so short. Most overalls had long pants. Could he have possibly outgrown his overalls?

There were various styles similat to suspender shorts. Suspender shorts had sewn on susnder straps in the same material as the shorts themselves. Normally the suspender straps were sewn on to the back of the shorts and attached with buttons at the front. Some suspender shorts were made completely detachable, buttoning at the front and back. The two major alternatives were bibfront shorts and completely detachable suspenders, often done in an elasticized material. Bibfront shorts were very popular for younger children. They were less common with older boys. Many shorts were made with button attachments. Suspenders with clasps were also used. These detachable suspenders didn't carry so much juvenile connotation, as they used a standard method for keeping trousers up. I've seen pictures of young teens wearing them in the 20s or 30s.

Characteristivs of Suspender Shorts

There were various styles similat to suspender shorts. Suspender shorts had sewn on susnder straps in the same material as the shorts themselves. Normally the suspender straps were sewn on to the back of the shorts and attached with buttons at the front. Some suspender shorts were made completely detachable, buttoning at the front and back.

Alternatives

The two major alternatives were bibfront shorts and completely detachable suspenders, often done in an elasticized material.

Bib-front shorts

Bib-front shorts were very popular for younger children. They were less common for older boys). Many shorts were made with button attachments. HBC at this time has few details on bib-front short pants. We believe that they appeared in the 1920s. They were particularly popular in Europe, especially France. We also note them in America through the 1940s, but afterwards they were only worn by todlers. Even in Europe they were worn by youngr boys. Common materials included corduroy and later denim. They are similar in many wys to suspender short, although bif-front shorts were mostly a style for playwear and not commonly wore for dressy occasions as suspender shorts could be worn. A French reader reports that the small size were buttoned at the back and the other in front. Bib-front shorts like suspnder shorts did not havet flies. Most bib-front shorts were cut. He reports that in France, short pantss for boys generally did not have flys until about size 8-10 years.

Suspenders

Suspenders with clasps were also used. to hold up a boy's pants. The British term is bracers. These detachable suspenders didn't carry so much juvenile connotation, as they used a standard method for keeping trousers up. I've seen pictures of young teens wearing them in the 20s or 30s. Suspenders are another classic approach to holding up trousers. As with other items on HBC there are differences between English and American English. Suspenders are referred to as "braces" in Britain and the buttons to attach them to were always called brace buttons. To the civilised British, "suspenders" are used for keeping up socks and stockings. Susenders/braces are also used to hold up kilts. Suspenders have come and gone several times bending to the winds of fashions. At times they have been seen as old-fashioned, but they never titally disappeared. One U.S. reader reports, "I remember wearing suspenders, not a belt, with dress pants in the 1960s. Couldn't have been very old, 5 or 6. I think when I was in first grade, some other boys wore suspenders, too. To be sure, though, for most of my school years, boys wore belts, not suspenders." Suspenders became very fashionable in the 1990s, but now attract less attention. Suspender shorts do not seem to have been as popular in Bitain as on the Continent, but boys did wear suspenders (braces) with their shorts. A British reader writes, "In Britain we used to call them braces and I would say that 50 percent of boys short trousers for the average 11/13 year old would have brace buttons as well as belt loops. Many of the older style shorts I have seen confirm this. Most boys would have been embarrassed if they were called suspender shorts....just as we disliked the term boys knickers.....we thought that suspenders and knickers were for old ladies!!!!!"






HBC






Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Return to the Main suspender shorts page]
[Return to the Main trouser suspension pages]
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Clothing styles] [Countries]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Glossary] [Satellite sites] [Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]



Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Peter Pan collars] [White kneesocks] [Sailor suits] [Short pants suit] [Shortalls]
[Eton suits] [Knee socks] [Rompers] [Smocks]



Created: December 12, 2003
Last updated: December 12, 2003