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I recently read an older post by Simon Crompton in which he sets out why he does not wear braces. I found his thoughts and his arguments interesting, and much of what speaks against braces for him I feel to be a drawback too. So why do I wear them anyway? Braces have the great advantage that they keep the trousers from sliding down. The trousers hang from the shoulders and are not fixed at the stomach, hip or waist by a belt. Which rarely works in any case. On most builds, trousers meant to be held in place by a belt or side adjusters slide. Unless they are so tight that they would stay up without a belt. The correct trouser length matters to me not only with a suit, because trousers that slide are always an annoyance. So I always wear suit trousers with braces. Trousers I combine with a jacket or a blazer I wear with braces when they would otherwise slide. Whether trousers slide, though, depends not only on the waist measurement but also on their cut and on the right balance.
What balance means
Balance, in tailors’ language, means that the garment is the same length at the front and the back, and the same at the sides. For the balance of trousers it also matters how the waistband runs in relation to the stomach and the hollow of the back. If the stomach protrudes and the small of the back is hollow, a well-balanced trouser should sit lower at the front, under the stomach, than at the back, where it covers the seat and sits in the hollow. When the trousers hang from braces, the waistband can be the same height front and back, on a straight waistband, or higher at the back, on a fishtail back. The fishtail is very comfortable, since it hugs the body without constricting. But of course a trouser like that is not to everyone’s taste. Which brings us to another argument against braces: they look unattractive. Whether that is true depends on several things. The cut of the suit and above all the cut of the trousers. Also the shirt, the figure, and personal style. To say flatly that braces do not look good would be overstating it. A great many men dress in such a way that the belt has no positive effect and braces would have no negative one. But I have very often seen that trousers cut to be worn with braces go down very well.
Standing out, or not
Nobody thinks badly of a man who uses braces. You do stand out with them, though. Which Simon Crompton lists as a drawback. He does not want to be “the one with the braces”. And it is true. You are quickly put in a box. The one with the braces. The one with the bow tie. The one with the hat. But that risk exists with the smallest deviation from average taste. Probably everyone reading this blog and getting this far into the article is already in a box. The one with the clothes obsession. The one with the expensive shoes. Braces are not going to make much difference there. Anyone whose concern is to stand out as little as possible even in classic clothes may indeed find braces too conspicuous. Still the question stands: why should I do without braces if I think it right to wear them?
What really is inconvenient
A very important point Simon Crompton raises is the inconvenience braces bring, above all when you wear them under a suit with a waistcoat, or want to put a slipover or a sweater on over the trousers. Because if you then want to drop the trousers, you first have to take off jacket and waistcoat, or pull a sweater over your head every time. I find that fairly irritating too, but it has not yet been able to talk me out of braces. Rather out of wearing sweaters or slipovers over trousers with braces; in the colder months I use waistcoats or cardigans. Otherwise it is objected that braces are warm in summer, which is also true and does not stop me wearing them. In exchange the trousers can be a little wider at the waist because of the braces, which is pleasant in the heat too. And braces add bulk at the back under a very thin jacket. That bothers me a little, but I live with it. In exchange they give me a very good feeling of security, because I know the trousers will never slide and will always be the right length. And even when I put a lot in my pockets, which I often do, none of that ballast will change the fact that the trousers break just once, lightly, on the shoe.
