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Bloomfield, Vermont - April 15, 2011

There's a not a whole heck of a lot in Bloomfield and that's how many of the 250 or so people in this Essex County town on the Connecticut River like it.

"It's beautiful," Darlene Belknap said.

But what is here inside Debanville's-- the town's only store-- makes this place a one of a kind.

"It's my living," Belknap said.

She sews suspenders.

"I think a lot of people would like to wear them but they think my grandfather did that, I don't want to do that," Darlene Belknap said.

Her small business is 19 years old.

"I get to be my own boss," she noted.

The idea came from Belknap's late husband. He was a salesman for a logging equipment and clothing company, dealing in other companies' suspenders.

"And he'd have all these complaints because the suspenders were Made in China and people were upset because they weren't lasting," Darlene Belknap recalled.

So the couple figured they could make a product that's a cut above the rest. Strong, wide elastic and high-quality American hardware are the selling points of Walking Boss Suspenders. The name comes from a relative who three generations ago, was a walking boss: The word for a supervisor who traveled between logging camps. "And tell the men cutting the logs what they had to do that day," Belknap explained.

While iconic interviewer Larry King and TV nerds Mork from Ork and Steve Urkel have put suspenders front and center, it's everyday, hardworking men who are the brand's top customers; farmers, carpenters, painters, and more.

Belknap sells around 1,000 pairs a month to wholesale store accounts and direct to internet shoppers all across the country and internationally.

"Just more comfortable," Gary Curtis said.

Gary Curtis packages the suspenders and wears his every day.

"My first pair, she re-sewed them," he said. "I only wore them about 10-12 years. And the back started coming apart, so I brought them in and she re-sewed them for me. And I'm still wearing them. My hunting pants."

But could Reporter Jack Thurston pull off the look?

Thurston (modeling suspenders): So what do you think?

Belknap: Whoo-hoo! You're stylin' baby.

They're comfortable if you can get over worrying you'll stick out.

Thurston: So, I don't look like Santa Claus?

Belknap: No!

Thurston: Or Steve Urkel?

Belknap: Closer to Urkel.

"They serve the purpose. They hold your pants up," Belknap said.

Thurston: Could I be the next Larry King?

Belknap: You could be the next Jack Thurston.

Thurston: I'm already him.

Belknap: Oh. well, do you really want to be Larry King?

Thurston: Well, I'd like his paycheck!

There's no counting how many people Darlene Belknap has saved from having their pants fall down, but the Northeast Kingdom can be sure her Made in Vermont suspenders have helped put this small town on the map.

"Very proud!" Belknap said.

A pair of suspenders costs between $16 and $20 online or in stores around the region. Click here to visit the Walking Boss Suspenders website.

Jack Thurston - WCAX News