BRACES FOR MEN

Because your pants shouldn't be around your ankles. That's one reason, but they've become quite the fashion item as well. Trouser braces were first worn in the 18th century as an undergarment, but since the 1960s have become an overgarment for fashion purposes and can be worn in a variety of social scenarios.

As long as you aren't wearing both braces and a belt, you can mix and match braces in all sorts of ways. The most common top to wear trouser braces with is a coloured shirt, but there's no reason you can't rock a regular tee with men's suspenders either. They now come in various materials, colours and prints so you can buy a whole range if you like. If you are looking for a pair or two of cheap braces, choose colours and fabrics that match your most common shirt type.

Braces can be awesome. When someone walks into a room full of confidence wearing trouser braces, they're memorable. If you can create an aura around you wearing braces, you are creating a personal brand of sorts.

Both are fine with whatever look you're going for. Braces with buttons tend to be cleaner and tidier and if there aren't any buttons on your pants, you can sew them on yourself. Clips can look hip with the major downside being that they may damage the waistband of your pants over time.

Braces did have the nerdy reputation, which is totally fine. But it's not the look everyone wants to rock. If you want the hipster look, consider these tips when buying braces.

Matching the fabric. No clear cut rules here. But we suggest you either match the fabric of your braces matching with the rest of your outfit or choose a completely contrasting fabric. Rocking the leather braces? Then the colour should be matching with your shoes.

An X, Y or H pattern at the back. The pattern on the back is for additional support and strength. The only reason to wear an H pattern is if you're rocking lederhosen or fighting fires. The X and Y patterns are best for fashion purposes.

Width of fabric. You can find fabric widths of all ranges with the safe options in the 1.25 - 1.5 inches range. If you're looking for functional braces, you'll want wider fabric. Less than 1.00 inch; and you're wearing braces for trendy reasons only.

Especially the leather men's suspenders have emerged lately as a big hit. Even though you can get the braces in a lot of different fabrics, it is still the classic leather brace men want. Why? Because they are timeless and add a lot of charisma and extra sharpness to your look.