Who invented belt loops

Steve Prescott Watauga, Texas Not all historians agree…. Historian and cartographer Pieter S. Burggraaf has just published a ground breaking history of early…. Box , Cave Creek, AZ Skip to content.

As the officers were the model of manhood, civilians re-adopted them, too. When these brave, slim-waist officers perished in the bloodbath of the WWI, their waistcoats became to be seen as the integral part of the folly of the ruling classes, and so they went into steady decline. By WWII, when another wave of war-related shortages hit the civilized world, the waistcoats almost completely disappeared.

OK, but why would suspenders be verboten without the waistcoats? Because suspenders were considered to be undergarments to be hidden from the view, like women's garter belts. As late as there were places in the US legally forbidding the display of suspenders in public as indecent exposure. The historical reason for that is that the suspenders were closely associated with the corsets worn by men, which is, to call it plainly, an exercise in body engineering.

It is what we do; it reminds us what kind of beings we are. The great political thought of our wisest men created the unusual conditions, in which alone "the logical thing" became marginally logical. In less enlightened times, no such thing would be necessary. The cost of this logical thing was measured in two world wars and millions of human lives. The folly of these men was not greater than the folly of any other men, but the belated revenge against them combined with the queer cultural traditions initiated by these same men gave us our belted trousers.

Blessed be the one who girds Israel with strength. We need this strength to survive yet another such "logical thing. Tags: blessings. Post a new comment Error Anonymous comments are disabled in this journal. Post a new comment. Preview comment. Post a new comment 19 comments. Pictures by Mike Bishop. Other Meanings The belt, however, has not only played an important role in military and, later, in fashion but also in dream interpretation in some cultures. Belts were even honoured so highly in the Mongolian culture that their exchange was used to seal alliance.

Similarly, the Franks believed a man seized power over his enemy once capturing his belt. During the Crimean Wars this effect was further exaggerated with a small corset worn underneath the uniform.

Even though men in Europe had started wearing pants in the 16th century, it took until the middle part of the 19th century for trouser waists to fall to a lower line and belt loops to be created.

The belt finally transcended its application as a military tool turning it into an essential accessory. Style of the 50s. Picture by Tiffany Terry. Belts for women throughout history Women started wearing belts much later than men but they did so for the same utilitarian reasons. Women in the Middle Ages carried their purses and fans on their belt; In a way the belt was the predecessor of the modern bag as we know it. However, with the invention of the handbag and the popularity of blouse and long skirt, belts were free to lose its utilitarian character and become more of a style statement.

Waist belts remain popular to this day but ladies have also been using belts for trousers since the s. Advertisers Guest. Jim Boeke of River Junction Traders told me some time ago that pants with loops were only worn by baseball players and cowboys wouldn't be caught daed wearing them. Will Ketchum. USMC for ever. Madison, WI. A belt worn as a part of a team uniform isn't the same as one worn by the rest of the world.

Hardly the norm. The Army put trouser belts on the new uniforms issued in - civilians followed, but only after a fashion, until after the Great War, when belts became a normal part of clothing - but braces stayed popular until WWII.

Scouts Out! The earliest I can come up with a picture of someone other than a baseball player having a pair of pants with a belt loop on them is and is a rodeo cowboy in Denver. Picture of the Butcher Collection Now there are two guys wearing belts, but only one appears to be wearing a pair of pants with a belt loop.