Trouser Suspension: Suspender Pants


Figure 1.--This is a commercial postcard. Unfortunatrely we have no information about it. Apparently it was German, but we are unsure about the date of the card. .

Suspender pants were pants of various types with suspender straps made in the same material as the pants. We notice many boys and men wearing suspenders in the 19th century to hold up their pants. Fashion designers in the early 20th century conceived of the idea of actually attaching straps in the same material as the pants to hold up pants. Unlike actual suspenders which were worn by men and boys, these susenders pants were a destinctively boys' style. Skirts were eventually made for girls with comparable straps, but we believe suspender pants for boys campe first. We do not have a complete chronology yet, but the style appears in the 1910s, and becomes a major style in the 1920s. We see suspender rompers, shorts, and long pants, but suspendrr kneepants and knickers were not very common as a result of chronological trends and age appropriate conventions. This was primarily becaude kneepants were going out of style just as suspender pants were becoming popular. Knickers in Europe were seen as a style for older boys as thus the suspender staps were not needed.

Definition

Suspender pants were pants of various types with suspender straps made in the same material as the pants. We notice many boys and men wearing suspenders in the 19th century to hold up their pants. Fashion designers in the early 20th century conceived of the idea of actually attaching straps in the same material as the pants to hold up pants.

Chronology

We do not have a complete chronology yet, but the style appears in the 1910s, and becomes a major style in the 1920s. We note suspender pants in America in what look to be the 1920s. Many available images, however, show a varied pattern. We note one 1944 image of German-Polish boys. Quite a number wear H-bar shorts. There seem, however, to ve more boys wearing actual suspenders than suspender pants where the shoulkder straps were in the same material as the oants. Although the pattern varied from country to country, we note suspender panyts being commonly worn through the 1950s, but the popularity of the style declined in the 1960s.

Ages

Unlike actual suspenders which were worn by men and boys, these susenders pants were a destinctively boys' style. We see a few Swedish boys about age 10 wearing suspender pants in 1952.

Types

We notice several differentvtypes of suspender pants. Suspender shorts appear to have been the most common in most countries, but there were other types of suspender pants commonly worn. We see suspender rompers, shorts, and long pants, but suspendrr kneepants and knickers were not very common as a result of chronological trends and age appropriate conventions. This was primarily becaude kneepants were going out of style just as suspender pants were becoming popular. Knickers in Europe were seen as a style for older boys as thus the suspender staps were not needed.

Suspender Rompers

We have noted suspender rompers, especially in the 1940s nd 50s. We have not noted boys weaing rompers pants with standarard suspenders. We have noted rompers with suspender straps in the same material as the romper bottom, rather like suspender shorts. They seem particularly popular in France, but we have noted them in other European countries as well. we notice them in Canada, but not very commonly. They wremade s both dressy garments as well as play garments.

Suspender Kneepants

We have noted many boys wearing kneepants with suspenders. We have not noted biys wearing suspender kneepants with the suspender braces or straps in the same material as the pants. We believe this is primarily because kneepants went out of style in the late 1910s and early 20s before the fashion of susprbder pnt, especially suspender short became common.

Suspender Shorts

Suspender shorts were short pants held up by suspenders either sewn on the shorts or attached by buttons. The suspenders are not elasticised, but usually made of the same material as the shorts. The shorts themseves were usually cut briefly as the style was mostly for little boys. They were more popular in Europe, especially France and Germany, than in America, but younger boys did war them. The suits for younger boy often had suspender short pants.

Suspender Knickers

We have never noted suspendr knicker. This does not mean that they never existed, but they do not appear to have been common. Knickers were worn with suspenders, but they were standard suspenders, not those made in the same material as the knicker pants.

Suspender Longs

We also note suspender long pants. We know they were worn in America. We notice them in the 1940s. A good example is 1940s child star Butch Jenkins. I'm not sure to what extent they were worn in other countries. There were even suspender jeans in America during the 1950s, but these were most commonly jeans with standard suspenders, not suspender straps made in denim material. Sone did have denim straps. A HBC reader writes, "I wore suspender jeans in the 50s, and the straps WERE made of denim." An example here can be seen in the 1955 Ward catalog. School photographs in the 1950s show only a few Swedish boys wearing suspender longs. Suspender long pant were most common in America. They were also generally seen as winter wear.

Country Trends

We notice suspender pants being worn inm many different countries. The chronological trends and the types of suspender pants varied substantially from country to country. Suspender pants appear to have been most common in Germany and Austria as well as several other European countries. They were not equally popular throughout Europe. We tend to see them less in Scandinavia and Britain than in many other countries. We see Swedish boys wearing suspender pants, but a review of school photographs suggest that they were not very common. A good example here is a Swedish school class in 1952. They were also worn in America, but to a lesser extent than in Europe. We notice them being worn in Japan, but suspender skirts for girls seem to have been more common than susprnder pasnts in Japan.

Gender

Skirts were eventually made for girls with comparable straps, but we believe suspender pants for boys came first.






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Created: 9:09 PM 9/15/2004
Last updated: 12:40 AM 12/23/2007