A vote for belted trousers

[uppercase]

Doesn't everyone wear belts today?

Is there really anyone left who wears braces?

Seriously.

[alden]

I wear braces with all my trousers with two exceptions. I have bespoken a few pair of jeans recently and wear them with a belt. Summer linen odd trousers are also worn belted.

My aim is to be as comfortable as possible in life and wearing braces is more comfortable than belts. To add to all the confusion,I have zero concern for being stylish and that alone allows me to embody my own style.

Cheers

Michael

[Marwood]

I wear both, although all but one of my suits has at least one pair of braced trousers. Braces are more comfortable and more stylish. Belts I prefer for trousers and sports coat or with 2 piece suits.

[Costi]

In fact I rarely wear braces (and belts not at all): my pants just stay up. I hardly ever need to use my side adjusters. Why add unnecessary things?

[Gruto]

Why add unnecessary things?

Why bother wearing a lounge suit? A track suit covers you, and it has fine elastic adjusters

[Costi]

A belt is no improvement to a pair of trousers that stay up without one.

[Merc]

i like the way belts look tho

[hectorm]

A belt is no improvement to a pair of trousers that stay up without one.

I think a belt is an improvement to a pair of suit trousers that already has a waistband with loops. May be the loops themselves are not necessary in the first place, but if there are loops and your waist is going to be seen somehow, I would generally say: wear a belt even if your trousers stay in place without it.

[uppercase]

I couldn't abide trousers with braces in the English style; it would give me shingles. How retro can you get?

Belts are good enough aren't they?

I think that side tabs might be nice but who wants to be strapped up like a horse by braces? Why all the contraptions?

[Costi]

A belt is no improvement to a pair of trousers that stay up without one.

I think a belt is an improvement to a pair of suit trousers that already has a waistband with loops. May be the loops themselves are not necessary in the first place, but if there are loops and your waist is going to be seen somehow, I would generally say: wear a belt even if your trousers stay in place without it.

It's as simple as having trousers made without loops. But removing the loops on ready-made trouser is not a solution. They need to be CUT so that they will sit on your waist without belts or braces. If your weight / circumference doesn't vary much, even side adjusters are superfluous. After all, bespoke trousers can always be let out or taken in an inch if required.

[Costi]

I couldn't abide trousers with braces in the English style; it would give me shingles. How retro can you get?

Retro is a fashion statement. Some wear braces for show, just to be "retro". But really nothing beats the comfort of a good pair of trousers CUT for braces and worn hanging from the shoulders - you really feel very free inside them and not strapped at all.

Belts are good enough aren't they?

Not for me! I feel strapped with a belt.

I think that side tabs might be nice but who wants to be strapped up like a horse by braces? Why all the contraptions?

The best solution is beltless, braceless trousers cut properly, that need no assistance to sit where they are supposed to. In case they don't, I'll pull the side adjusters. If that doesn't do it, I use braces. If they can't take braces, I don't wear them. I have yet to make a long due decision to give away all the trousers cut for belts that I haven't worn in years anyway. No way back, I'm just fooling myself that I might ever wear them again...

[uppercase]

Here you go: no belts, no braces. Just a high rise, well cut trouser: the basis of everything.



Agnelli was one of those awkward youths who looked better as they got older.

Some men do that.

I don't know which I would prefer: good youth/sagging age or awkward youth/improving age. It's not the clothes: he seems to always have dressed nicely in suits throughout.

Any ideas on what makes Agnelli look better and better with age?

[hectorm]

It's not the clothes: he seems to always have dressed nicely in suits throughout. Any ideas on what makes Agnelli look better and better with age?

A couple of things to start with:
i) when young, Agnelli´s face already had old man features which made him look a bit awkward. As he got older, his features matched his age.
ii) when young, his body frame was frail in comparison with his leonine head. With age, the two got in better harmony.

[Costi]

Here you go: no belts, no braces. Just a high rise, well cut trouser: the basis of everything.

Yep!

I don't know which I would prefer: good youth/sagging age or awkward youth/improving age. It's not the clothes: he seems to always have dressed nicely in suits throughout.

NOW you wonder about that?!

Any ideas on what makes Agnelli look better and better with age?

What you drink is what you get: the older, the better

[Costi]

Hectorm, on the other hand - put Agnelli's suit on another man who lacks the attitude: they will lose their charm instantly, even if they fit and everything else.
Look at him, even in this early picture: the intense regard, chin upright, shoulders back, chest forward - the body attitude, the confidence, the aplomb... that's why he wears anything so well.