Belt Loops, Side Adjusters or Braces: How to Hold Up Suit Trousers

Most men buy suit trousers with belt loops and never think about it again. Yet there are three ways to hold up suit trousers, and each changes how they look. Belt loops are flexible and familiar. Side adjusters give a clean waist with nothing to bulge under the jacket. Braces, which Americans call suspenders, let trousers hang straight from the shoulders. Here are the pros and cons of each, how braces attach, why rise matters and which dress codes rule out a belt.

Belt, side adjusters or braces: which is best for suit trousers?

Start with the trousers, not the accessory. Well-fitting suit trousers should stay up on their own at the height they were cut for. A belt, side adjusters or braces only keep them there. If you have to cinch a belt to stop the trousers falling, the waist is too big, and a tailor should take it in.

With that settled, the choice comes down to rise, build and occasion. Belt loops suit low and mid-rise trousers and anyone who likes to switch belts. Side adjusters suit a cleaner, beltless look on mid to high-rise trousers. Braces suit high-rise trousers, three-piece suits, formal wear and men whose stomach sits above a low waistband.

What are the pros and cons of belt loops?

Belt loops are the default on almost all ready-to-wear suit trousers, especially in the US. They are familiar, easy and flexible: you can let out a notch after lunch and wear the same trousers with different belts. The downside is the belt itself. It adds a buckle and a band of leather at the waist, which can bulge under a fastened jacket or a waistcoat, and it draws a line across the middle of the body. A belt also holds trousers by tension at the waist, so on a low rise they tend to slip a little over the day.

If you wear a belt with a suit, keep it plain: smooth leather about 1 to 1¼ inches (2.5 to 3.2 cm) wide, a simple buckle and a color that matches your shoes. Our guide to shoes with a suit covers which leathers go together.

What are side adjusters on suit trousers?

Side adjusters are short tabs on each side of the waistband that let you tighten the waist a little without a belt. There are two common types. The buckle type has a fabric tab that runs through a small metal slide. The button type has a tab that fastens on one of two or three buttons. Both sit at the sides of the waistband, where the jacket hides them.

Side adjusters give the cleanest waist of the three options: no buckle, no straps and nothing to catch the eye under a jacket. They suit trousers worn with a waistcoat and are traditional on dinner suit trousers. Their limit is range. They take in the waist slightly, so the trousers must already fit closely; they cannot rescue a waist that is an inch or two too big.

How do braces attach to suit trousers?

Proper braces button on. Each strap ends in a leather tab or a loop of cord with a buttonhole, which fastens to a button sewn inside the waistband. Most braces form a Y or an X at the back, and a typical pair uses six buttons: two pairs at the front and one pair at the back. On trousers cut for braces, the first front button sits over the main pleat or crease, with the second about 3 to 3½ inches (7.5 to 9 cm) from it. The back pair sits about the same distance apart, centered on the back seam.

Buttons inside the waistband are the modern norm for suits. In the early 20th century, brace buttons were often sewn on the outside; they moved inside during the 1930s as belts took over. Outside buttons still appear on some heritage and workwear trousers.

Clip-on braces grip the waistband with small metal jaws. They fit any trousers, which makes them handy, but they can slip, mark fine fabric and look out of place with a good suit. Keep them for casual wear, and choose button-on braces for business and formal dress. A tailor can sew brace buttons into most trousers cheaply.

How do you wear braces with a suit?

What rise do you need for braces?

Braces work best with a mid to high rise, where the waistband sits at or near your natural waist. The straps then run in a short, straight line from the shoulders, and the trousers hang cleanly from the waist down. On low-rise trousers the straps have to run further, the back of the waistband tends to pull up and gape, and the trousers do not hang as well.

Trousers cut for braces are usually made with a little ease at the waist, because the braces, not the waistband, carry the weight. Some have a raised back, called a fishtail back, which rises in a V at the center seam and carries the back brace buttons. Our guide to how suit trousers should fit explains rise and waist fit in more detail.

Can you wear a belt and braces together?

No. Wearing both at once is a well-known faux pas: one does the job of the other, and the belt adds bulk the braces make unnecessary. Choose one. Trousers can have both belt loops and brace buttons, and some tailors add both for flexibility; just use one at a time.

Converting trousers is usually possible. Sewing brace buttons inside a waistband is a quick, cheap job. Removing belt loops is simple too, though small stitch marks may show where the loops were, especially on trousers that have been worn for a while. Adding side adjusters is a larger job, because the waistband has to be opened at the sides.

What do formal dress codes expect?

Formal trousers never have belt loops. They are made to be worn with braces or side adjusters, so nothing interrupts the line between the waistcoat or cummerbund and the trousers. The same goes for morning dress, which is worn with braces.

The same logic applies to any suit worn with a waistcoat. A belt buckle bulges under a waistcoat and can peek out below its points, which is why braces are the classic partner for a three-piece suit. Our guide to how to wear a waistcoat covers how the waistcoat and trousers should meet.

Which option suits your build?

• Slim, with a defined waist: any of the three works. Side adjusters give the cleanest line.
• Fuller through the stomach: braces with a higher rise that sits above the stomach, so the waistband does not roll under it. A belt worn below the stomach tends to slip.
• Narrow hips and a flat seat: braces, because there is little shape for a belt or waistband to hold on to.
• Waist that changes through the day: braces, which let the waist sit with a little ease and stay comfortable after a long lunch.

How do you choose braces?

Classic braces are woven, often in silk, with little or no stretch, and finished with leather or cord ends. Elastic braces are more forgiving but can feel springy. Pick colors that tone with the suit and shirt: navy, burgundy or a quiet stripe for business, and plain black or white for black tie. Since the jacket usually stays on, braces are mostly a private pleasure, but keep them smart for the moment it comes off.

None of the three is wrong for a business suit. Choose belt loops for flexibility, side adjusters for a clean line and braces for the best drape, and keep braces or adjusters for anything formal. For the trouser fronts that work with each, see pleated vs flat-front trousers.

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