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Here is a 1910 advertisement illustrating Kern's Supporter Waists. The ad appeared in the Oshkosh Daily Northwestern (November 30, 1910, p. 16), and shows two different models. Kerns called them Supporter Waists. They were actually a type of garter waists. It looks superficially as though one model is for boys and other for girls, but this is misleading. Both styles were sold for both genders. No ages are given in this particular advertisement, but we know from other ads that the Kern's Perfect garter waists (some were ordinary underwaists with supporters attached and are not
shown here) were made for both boys and girls from 2 to 14 years of age. For many years Sears and Roebuck sold the Kern's garter waists, offering different styles over the years. Kern's garter waists were still being offered in Sears catalogues into the 1950s. The Kern's garter waists were the main national competitor to the Hickory waists (manuactured by Stein of Chicago and sold nationally as well as by Montgomery Ward).
Stocking supporters were commonly advertised in local newspapers during the early 20th century.
Here is a 1910 advertisement illustrating Kern's Supporter Waists. The ad appeared in the Oshkosh Daily Northwestern (November 30, 1910, p. 16), and shows two different models.
HBC has archived quite a few advertisements during the period from 1937 to 1945 for garter waists sold by Sears and Roebuck. Most of these models are labled as "Kern's Dandy," "Kern's Daisy," "Kern's Button-on Sateen Waist," or simply "Kern's Garter Waist" or "Kern's Child's Waist." I have now discovered where the name "Kern's" comes from. This name refers to the Frank Kern Manufacturing Comany of Mattoon, Illinois, which specialized in making boys' and girls' hose supporters. The company goes back to at least 1914 in Mattoon, Illinois. About 1931 the company was bought out by two Neoga business men, Trace Higgins and Harry Hill. Neoga is a nearby town in Illinois. In 1942 the company went into backruptcy, and a Mrs. Oakley of Neoga, who had long been an employee of the company, became the receiver. After the company was sold again, Mrs. Oakley remained the manager of the Frank Kern Manufacturing Co and entered into an arrangement with A. Stein & Co. of Chicago (who made Hickory Garters, a related product) for the Kern Co. to do work on contract for Stein & Co. So Hickory Garters and Kern's Garter Waists are historically related products.
This category applies to a broad variety of devices for holding up long stockings. Theoretically it would apply to any garment worn on the upper body used for this purpose (including underwaists, pantywaists, and suspender waists). But HBC uses the term to apply specifically to waists with hose supporters already attached, even though in some cases these supporters are detachable. Most of these garments are designed to have the strain of the garters carried by the child’s shoulders. Some have waistbands and some do not, but all are worn under the outer clothing and therefore as a species of children’s underwear. One of the first such garments we notice was in the Sears 1902 catalog Sears refers to a "combination belt and supporter, but the garment was essentially a garter waist. The use of different terms somewhat complicates the assessment if the garments. Interestingly, even when the wearing of long stockings was supposedly declining in the late 1930s and early 1940s, a proliferation of styles of garter waist became very prominent in the Sears and Wards catalogs of this period. We have more different styles for this period than for any other on HBC. A good example is the Sears 1939 garter waists.
Kerns called them Supporter Waists. This is an example of how manufacturrs used a variety of different terms for these garments. They were actually a type of garter waists.
It looks superficially in the ad as though one model was for boys and other for girls, but this is misleading. Both styles were sold for both genders. The first style, labeled "Perfect 77" is a shoulder garter waist and is designed only for the support of long stockings. It has cross pieces across the chest to keep the straps from slipping off the shoulders but has no waist band for the support of additional clothing. The second style, labled "B. Waist" is the Kern's version of the well-known Dr. Parker waist but without the Parker designation. It consists of suspender
straps that support a waist belt from which the supporters are suspended. There are buttons on the waist band for support of "skirts" or knee trousers plus a cross strap across the chest to prevent the
shoulder straps from slipping. These are only two different styles out of "twenty" manufactured by the Frank Kern Company, named for the founder and inventor, Frank Kern, a prominent citizen of Mattoon,
Illinois.
No ages are given in this particular advertisement, but we know from other ads that the Kern's Perfect garter waists (some were ordinary underwaists with supporters attached and are not
shown here) were made for both boys and girls from 2 to 14 years of age.
For many years Sears and Roebuck sold the Kern's garter waists, offering different styles over the years. Kern's garter waists were still being offered in Sears catalogues into the 1950s. The Kern's garter waists were the main national competitor to the Hickory waists (manuactured by Stein of Chicago and sold nationally as well as by Montgomery Ward).
The ad copy read, "The KERN'S Perfect Stocking and Skirt Supporter for growing Children on sale at the Notion Department of S. Heymann Co., Oshkosh, [Wisconsin]. [illustration on the left: "Perfect 77 Retails 25 cents"; illustration on the right: "B Waist Retails 25 cents"]. The KERN'S Supporters have been a source of satisfaction to thousands of Mothers and Children for the last 27 years. They conform to every movement of the body, thereby insuring comfort and health to the wearer. We manufacture twenty different styles, ever pair guaranteed to fit and to please. Manufactured by The Frank Kern Co., Mattoon, Ill."
Notice that this ad for Kern's stockings supporters compares interestingly with a German catalogue (1900s) for similar products. A reader writes, "In the German catalogue the stockings barely cover the knees. In this Kern's ad, the stockings are somewhat longer (but of course the date is about a decade later). However, notice HBC's images of the Spencer boys in Pittsburgh at the turn of the 20th century.
The Spencer boys wear long stockings (with supporters) that are much longer and reach considerably higher on their legs. I don't think the German fashion would have been very different at least as regards the length of black long stockings. So I find the date 1900 for the German catalogue (if that is our best guess) somewhat problematic."
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