As far as fashion faux pas go, it could be said that putting on a pair of trousers is fairly limited in things that could go wrong, but apparently not. Trends in how high or low men wear their trousers seem to be, in part, dictated by a man's age, so move over shoes and watches, if you want to tell a lot about a man, check where his waistband sits.

Before, a gentleman's hairline was the sure-fire signifier of age, nowadays it is suggested that a man's waistband falls and rises throughout his lifetime, depending on different stages of fashion which come and go with age.

A quick glimpse of any music television channel will probably confirm the obvious fact that men wear their trousers at their lowest when they are 16 but, interestingly, the belt line is on average at its highest when a man hits 57, before gradually lowering again. To put this into context, many boys wear their trousers, or more likely jeans, literally hanging off of their backside, far below their waist in a style originating in American prisons where belts are not allowed.

Perhaps even more bizarre though is at the opposite end of the spectrum, where men have been found to wear their waistbands just seven inches below their armpits.

It is believed the waistline started to fluctuate amongst men in the start of the 20th century, when slightly roomier suits came into common use and braces started to become less popular. It seems that in the years since, men have not really been too sure where their waist is exactly.

As much as Simon Cowell was relentlessly mocked for his ludicrously high worn trousers, it turns out he was, in fact, wearing them absolutely correctly, as a man's waist is the narrowest part of his body between the chest and the hip. Fortunately most suits are designed to be worn at the natural waist or just below, with the intention that the jacket hides the waistline to preserve the modesty of the slightly more portly gentleman, however rebellion plays its part too.

After years of being dressed by their mothers and obeying the rules of trouser wearing, teenage boys are prone to wearing their trousers round their hips instead, or even lower, once they start to choose their own clothes. Fortunately, most men snap out if this phase by their late 20s and start wearing trousers properly again.

There are other factors which have contributed to this fascinating phenomenon too though; body shape for example. Men who are fit, healthy and confident in their body may well be entirely aware of where their waist sits, but an overweight man might struggle to determine the thinnest bit of his torso and therefore has the critical decision to make: wear the trousers above or below the belly?

Predictably, most men would choose to wear their trousers under their stomachs instead of doing the seemingly obviously thing of just buying new mens jeans or trousers which fit their body shape properly.

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