I'm a big fan of the work clothes from Duluth Trading Company. My lastest score is a set of $16 suspenders that I can highly recommend. They are uncommonly comfortable, because the straps are two inches wide. They attach to your pants with buttons, not clamps. I hate clamps. They loosen, they break, and they're ugly. The harnesses that hold the straps onto the buttons of your pants are nicely made of leather that is a good balance between handsome and sturdy. My galluses are an attractive red. (They also come in navy.) These braces are best used with a $4 set of brass buttons to attach to your pants. And best of all -- best of all -- these buttons are actually rivet-like affairs. You don't sew them on. You put them on your pants by taking a little nail that comes as part of the kit, pushing it through the waistband of your pants from the back, then sticking that nail into the brass button that you wear on the front, and whamming it home with a hammer. I can't tell you how entertaining I find it to tailor my clothes with a 16-ounce hammer. I wish all my clothes were this satisfying.

These suspenders are best used, I think, with the Skillers 12-oz. Brown Duck Work Pants with the removable knee pads and the nail pouches that fit inside your front pockets when empty. (I think they�re better than Carhartt -- how's that for heresy?)��

I wonder how pissed my wife will be when I hammer my next set of buttons into my suit pants.

--Joel Garreau

Duluth Trading Button Suspenders
Item No.90107

Eight-pack of Brass Buttons
Item No.90203

Skillers 12-oz. Brown Duck Work Pants
Item No.20993