Sansabelt
Sansabelt is a brand of men's trousers. The trousers have a wide webbed elastic band sewn into the waist, which is intended to make a belt or suspenders unnecessary, hence the name (sans a belt).
History
The Sansabelt slack was invented by Silver Manufacturer, located in East Chicago, Indiana, which subsequently sold the company and their patent to Jaymar-Ruby, an Indiana-based clothing company, in 1959. Jaymar-Ruby's Sansabelt brand was acquired by Hartmarx in 1967 and the last sansabelt pants were produced in the early 90's. On 24 January 2009, Hartmarx Corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Peter Schwadel, President of MPS & Partners, Inc., purchased the license to Sansabelt in February 2013.
References in popular culture
On the American television Good Eats episode "Ear Apparent", when making creamed corn, host Alton Brown remarks "Back before the days when I started seriously eyeing the Sansabelt pants rack, I used to put lots of cream in here. Sometimes a quart for one batch." In episode "Mussel Bound" he says "But I gotta tell ya, I'm already Sansabelt challenged here, (...)" when explaining why he is not going to use butter or cream to thicken a sauce.
In the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off, a Jaymar/Sansabelt store can be seen in the background at the end of the parade scene.
In the first episode of Wings (NBC TV series), Roy Biggins is accused of having fashion passing him by since he is still wearing Sansabelt pants.
In the Janet Evanovich book, Plum Lucky, the narrator states "They were middle-aged thugs, dressed in bowling shirts and Sansabelt slacks. Their hair was slicked back. Their shoes were scuffed and run down at the heel. Their guns weren’t as big as ours."
In the show "Roseanne", episode "The Fifities Show", Becky tells her father Dan (played by John Goodman), "Thanks, daddy, you're the best". Roseanne replies "That's why he wears the Sansabelts in this family".
In the fashion-parody film Zoolander, Derek Ben Stiller learns that male models throughout history have been brainwashed into committing many high-profile murders. He is told that the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy was due in part by JFK's involvement in the Cuban trade embargo, which "halted the shipment of Cuban-manufactured Sansabelt slacks, a very popular item at the time."
See also
References
- Jaymar-Ruby Inc at MacREA’s Blue Book (dot) com