Figure 1.--Eaton in 1917 offered several styles of garter waist in the Spring and Summer Eaton's catalog of 1917, p. 199. Four different items are advertised here, including ones for bbies as well as older children.

Eaton in 1917 offered several styles of garter waist in the Spring and Summer Eaton's catalog of 1917, p. 199. Four different items are advertised here. It is interesting to note that this is a spring and summer catalog and yet shows both the boy and girl wearing garter waists over long underwear. Many children and adults in Canada wore long underwear even during the summer, but the illustration may have failed to differentiate between summer and winter advertisements.

Eatons

T. Eaton's was a well known Toranto department store. Their catalogs provide a good indication of the styles popular in Canada at the time. This Canadian retailer began publishing mailorder catalogs in 1881, at least that is we begin noticing them. We have catalogs from the 1970s, although we do not know about the company's current status. The 1970s catalgs were full of clothes which look like American styles. Timothy Eaton, founder of the huge all-Canadian department store chain bearing his name, was an Irish immigrant born on a tennant farm in northern Ireland. He was born in 1834 and followed his brothers to Canada in 1854. His brothers had opened a small dty goods store in St. Marys. Timothy Eaton began his business with a small dry goods business in Toronto during 1869. He built a giant retail store in Ontario’s capital city along with a country-wide mail-order business and a big new branch store in Winnipeg, by the time of his death in 1907. The Winnipeg branch was the first of many branches. Eaton Company business establishments eventually spread all across Canada when Timothy’s family successors extended the Eaton empire. Timothy masterminded the company during the crucial period of its early development, spanning nearly 40 years. It was Timothy who implemented the concept of the "Department Store", in Canada, a concept which were already flourishing in London, Paris, and New York.

Stocking Suporters

The boys and girls wearing long stockings in the second half of the 19th Century held them up with various styles of stocking supporters. I believe that boys did not wear these supporters commonly in the first half of the 19th Century because kneepants were not nearly as common. Boys wearing long trousers did not commonly wear stocking supporters. It was not until the 1870s when kneepants became more commonly worn that stocking supporters became widely worn. Both boys and girls wore them. They were several different styles, including over the shoulder and waist styles. They were not very comfortable especially for boys involved in strenous outdoor activities. Notably Lord Baden Powell when he designed the first Boy Scout uniform chose kneesocks so cumbersome stocking supporters would not be necessary.

Seasonality

General French Supporters

Eaton in 1917 offered General French Supporters. The name is interesting. I don't know the origin but you can see that I speculate about it. Some of our Canadian readers may be helpful here. "General French" may be something like the Americah "Dr. Parker" who also gave his name to a garter waist and who seems to be rather obscure. Just as a guess, I think it is possible that General French may have designed a type of shoulder garters for soldiers in the late 18th or early 19th centuries when knee breeches were still worn as part of dress uniforms because 18th-century gentlemen (soldiers included) needed a way of keeping up long over-the-knee stockings. Today, when court dress is worn in England and other countries, or when knee breeches are required for certain legal and royal formalities such as the ceremony of receiving the Order of the Garter, men wear silk tights under their breeches. But tights had not been invented for boys in 1917. So I suspect that a clothing manufacturer designed a garter waist for boys (and perhaps also for girls) that used a system of support historically worn in the military. This style of shoulder garters survived (with a few modifications) into the 1940s. The General French Supporter is a style of over-the-shoulder garter waist. The General French style garter waist functions only as a support for stockings. Note that there is no waist band with buttons for attaching other clothing. The garment simply slips over the shoulders and is held in place by two front straps (and probably back straps as well) to keep it from slipping off the shoulders. The supporters hang free from the shoulders and supposedly don't restrict bodily movement. A boy model is shown in the advertisement, but this waist could also be worn by girls. Note that the waist is advertised also as a means "to keep [the] body erect." This idea too fits with the possibility of a military origin. Modifications of this style of shoulder garters continued to be worn up through the early 1940s. We see similar suporters in America. Some examples are Sears 1939 catalog and Sears 1942-43 catalog. The ad copy in the Eaton's catalog read. "General French Supporters. They will keep body erect and hold the hose. Straps are made to fit the body. Sizes Small, for ages 3 to 5; Medium, for ages 6 to 8; Large, for ages 8 to 12. 26-914. Each 25 c."

Infant's Supporters

Even very small children wore long stockings. Eton's offered stocking supporters for infants. The ad copy read, "Made with rustproof parts, White webbing. 26-915 Per pair. 10 cents." These are pin-on hose supporters for babies of either gender. The safety pins of the garters were usually pinned to diapers or a baby's undershirt. The illustration shows the supporters pinned to a knitted shirt.

Combination Supporters

Stocking supporters were also sold with the mrketing pitch that they improved posture. Thus this item was described as a "combination" supporter, mening it both served to hold up long stockings and as a back brace. The Eaton's ad copy read, "Shoulder Brace. The brace is made with the adjustable loop clasp, and has felt buttons. Comes in White. 3 sizes. 26-912 Children's Price 15 c. 26-913 Misses' or Ladies' Price 20 c." These are another style of shoulder hose supporters, wearable by either children or older girls and women. The only adjustment seems to be in the elastic section of the garters themselves. This style of waist also persisted into the 1940s but was unpopular with children because it tended to make them stoop over if the garters were too short and pulled on their shoulders. But this style had the advantage of being cheaper. Notice that it came in sizes for adult females as well as for children of both genders.

Children's Waist with Garters

The Eaton's ad copy read, "Tape buttons attached in two rows for all undergarments, with 1-inch elastic hose supporters. Sizes 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12. For boys and girls. White only. 26-911. Price 25 c." This style of garter waist is a variation on the familiar "Dr. Parker style" waist. It has adjustable shoulder straps, a waist band with two rows of waist buttons for attaching underpants, bloomers, or perhaps outer garments such as knee pants and skirts. Both boys and girls wore this waist, obviously. For similar styles sold in America, see a Ward's 1902 catalog for a combination belt and supporters and a Ward's 1922 catalog.

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Created: 9:41 PM 4/4/2006
Last updated: 9:41 PM 4/4/2006