Braces vs Suspenders: What's the Difference?
Posted by Walter Schulz on Oct 6th 2026
Braces and suspenders are the same thing: straps that go over your shoulders to hold up your trousers. "Suspenders" is the American English word, while "braces" is the British English word, also used in Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. The confusion comes from the fact that in the UK, "suspenders" means something else entirely: the straps that hold up stockings or socks, which Americans call garters.
Here is a simple breakdown of the terms, where each word comes from, and the one style dist