Accessories for the Modern Man Part 1

A gentleman has never really been known for his adornment of jewellery.
A gentleman’s accessories were always simple and functional.
This post will not be about ties, shoes, watches and pocket squares (although possibly that might get a whole post by itself) but it will include some of the accessories I personally use on a daily basis. Sure some of these accessories might be old fashioned or dated, but their actual usefulness cannot be ignored.

BELT

The belt is one of the most common accessories. It usually consists of a flexible strap of leather or fabric and is worn around the waist to hold up your trousers.
Some belts are also used to carry items in hands reach. A perfect example of this would be a police officer’s belt.

BRACES

Braces (known as suspenders in the USA) are the alternative to the belt. Compared to the belt, braces are the more traditional way of holding a gentleman’s trousers. The braces go over the shoulder and down the front of the trousers and attaches to the waistband with either clips or a button.
Traditionally braces were considered underwear and inappropriate to show off in public but these days they come in a multitude of colours and designs if you felt like showing them off.

From experience I have found wearing braces more comfortable than a belt. Braces allow free movement of the shirt and eliminate the bunching up of fabric.
The braces allow the trousers to actually hang off the end while a belt just bunces everything together. I have also notice that with a belt, as soon as I put my wallet and phone in my pocket, my trousers drop unless I tighten my belt. I do not have this same problem with braces.
Brace buttons are now a regular alteration whenever I pick up a new pair of dress trousers or dressier chinos. If you are not quite ready to take that plunge, give one of the clip braces a try.

SOCK SUSPENDERS

Do you keep tugging at your sock all day because they keep sliding down your leg? Is wearing over the calf socks not even an option? Then the sock suspenders are probably what you need.
Most will categorise sock suspenders or sock garters as dated or old fashioned.
Some might even consider them a fashion faux pas.

Their literal job is to hold up your socks and from experience they do the job.
It takes some getting used to but after a while you don't even notice you are wearing them. Once again traditionally these are considered underwear and the opposite sex might see them as a turn off (unless they like the whole vintage look) so maybe leave them at home if you have date that might involve taking off your trousers.

SLEEVE GARTERS

Do you keep pulling up your sleeves? Did you just purchase a cotton dress shirt and it hasn’t shrunk down to the right sleeve length yet?

Sleeve Garters came into use in the late 19th century. Back then all ready to made shirts came in one sleeve length. The sleeve garter allowed a gentleman to customise the sleeve length. Today shirts come in all shapes and sizes. Despite having a multitude of fits and sleeve lengths, not every shirt you own will have the perfect sleeve length. Of course you could have the sleeves shortened but a cheaper alternative would be to use sleeve garters.

I personally use sleeve garters when purchasing new cotton shirts.
According to Turnbull and Asser cotton shirts generally require 3-4 washes before they shrink to their actual size. Before the 3-4th wash, the sleeves are still a bit long on me but the sleeve garters allow me to shorten the length.

These are only a few of the accessories I wear.
I hope you enjoyed this post, don't miss out on part 2.

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