I ran into a well-known local elected official the other day wearing suspenders and a belt.

I'm not sure I'm OK with that.

Oh, I know that 80 percent of middle-aged men in Idaho need suspenders, but mixing means of support is a little like topping a ribeye steak with two scoops of homemade peach ice cream.

See, there are two distinct styles of wearing trousers in this country: Texas-style, which means the belt rides underneath the belly, and Florida-style, which is hiked up under the armpits.

If your trousers are up around your Adam's apple, there's no need for a belt. But if the only things holding up your pants are braided rawhide and a prayer, braces are extraneous.

To wear both suspenders and a belt smacks of no self-confidence, as if you can't trust the end to justify the jeans.

I suspect that the only reason the aforementioned politician was attired in a belt along with suspenders was an excuse to wear his chafing dish-sized buckle.

Of course, it's also possible that the buckle was so heavy it was pulling his britches down.

You can get away with many sins in men's fashion out here in Rockchuck Acres, but wearing your Wranglers down around your ankles isn't one of them.

The only thing that saved him from "What Not to Wear" was a red bandanna stuffed into his hip pocket. Red bandannas, my dad taught me long ago, signify character.

They make other folks want to trust you, though not - after you've blown your nose on your red bandanna and then wiped your brow - want to shake your hand.

A cousin of mine found that out when he took his family to the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The Coliseum - where the track events were held - is in a bad part of town, and this was at the height of the turf wars between two street gangs, the Crips and the Bloods.

Merrill, Serena and the kids took a wrong turn leaving the parking lot and were soon surrounded by young men who did not seem to have a sense of humor about strangers.

Sweating profusely, Merrill took out his handkerchief and daubed his forehead with his red bandanna. Fortunately for them all, it wasn't a blue bandanna.

Now my cousin never goes anywhere without that red bandanna.

Of course, it looks pretty silly wrapped around his head.

Steve Crump can be reached at 208-735-3223 or scrump@magicvalley.com. Hear him live on KLIX-1310 AM at 8:30 a.m. Friday or any time on the Web at http://www.magicvalley.com/opinion/