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One of the most prominent items advertised in the Ladies' Home Journal for the years 1911 and 1912 were three different competing types of suspender waists and hose supporters for boys. All three variations appear repeatedly in successive copies of the magazine, and it is clear that the manufacturers were trying to convince mothers to buy them for their sons--especially their teenage sons. We think the reason for this new specificity about suspender waists in 1911-12 is that these garments were a relatively new invention at the time--a genunine innovation in boys' wear--and the three competing firms were trying to corner the market on garments that were just beginning to catch on and that were much more popular with boys than the conventional underwaists, skeleton waists, and pin-on supporters that had dominated the market theretofore. In earlier years boys wore pretty much the same kind of support garment
Suspender waists were a support garment to hold up other garments. So-called “suspender waists” were invented at the turn of the 20th century and were popular mainly with boys who wore knee pants and needed a way of supporting their long stockings—almost always black. Although some models of the suspender waist (such as Kazoo) were manufactured in styles that could be worn also by girls, the main wearers of these waists were boys. They were called “suspender waists” because they combined trousers suspenders with hose supporters and had leather suspender attachments for holding up knee pants in addition to hose supporters for long stockings. The style did not last very long and was most popular during the 1910s. N.B. Suspender waists are not to be confused with the older style of garter waists (such as the Dr. Parker waist) which also had suspender-like straps over the shoulders, a waist belt (sometimes with waist buttons for outer clothing), and hose supporters.
As the oldest still publishing, most respected women's service magazine in the country, The Ladies' Home Journal has always focused on issues of crucial importance to millions of women. Since its first issue in December 1883. This long history make The Ladies Home Journal and invaluable source of information on American fashion trends. Its covered an incredibly wide range of topics beyond just fashion, from the latest medical research and consumer news to parenting know-how, workplace survival, good skincare, nutrition facts and much, much more. It was The Ladies Home Journal who sucessfully merged the elements and produced the right formula, becoming the top ladies magazine in America. The Ladies' Home Journal both empowered women and applauded their growing power. We also notice patterns offered in the magazine.
One of the most prominent items advertised in the Ladies' Home Journal for the years 1911 and 1912 were three different competing types of suspender waists and hose supporters for boys. All three variations appear repeatedly in successive copies of the magazine. We suspect that other magazines may have been used as well, especially Good Housekeeping.
The three ads attached here all contain much more complete information about these garments than is shown elsewhere on HBC, and even when the information isn't entirely fresh, the new images illustrate how these garments were worn in much clearer and specific ways than in the images loaded earlier. I think the reason for this new specificity about suspender waists in 1911-12 is that these garments were a relatively
new invention at the time--a genunine innovation in boys' wear--and the three competing firms were trying to corner the market on garments that were just beginning to catch on and that were much more popular with boys than the conventional underwaists, skeleton waists, and pin-on supporters that had dominated the market theretofore. In earlier years boys wore pretty much the same kind of support garments to hold up long
stockings as their sisters--either standard underwaists with supporters pinned to garter tabs (see the Velvet Grip ad for 1909) or else skeleton waists (combination waist belts with supporters attached) that later came to be known as garter waists. All boys were required to wear these more or less unisex garments because, like their
sisters, they all wore long stockings and needed supporters to hold them in place. But in the early 1910s an alternative, designed specifically for boys' needs, became popular. This was the so-called suspender waist--originally a strictly male garment that combined suspenders for trousers with hose supporters for long stockings--and
that appealed to boys, especially older boys, because it was more masculine and less like a woman's corset than what they had always known as smaller children. If they wore a suspender waist to hold up their stockings, they would be dressing more like their fathers (who wore trousers suspenders as a matter of course) and less like their
sisters and baby brothers who continued to wear underwaists with pin-on supporters. We note the Wolverine suspender waist as early as 1905, but it was made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and apparently wasn't well enough marketed to catch the public's attention. Then the patent was apparently sold to the Harris Company in New York, and the garment
suddenly became much better known.
Experimentation in the method of long stocking support seems to have
begun about a decade earlier in the 1900s. This may have been inspired by the older boys that were wearing knee pants and lng stockings by the turb of the 20th century. It is clear that the manufacturers were trying to convince mothers to buy them for their sons--especially their teenage sons. HBC has already recorded ads for the Wilson garter, for the Kazoo suspender waist, and for a similar product made by the Harris Suspender Co., the same companies as those represented in these three advertisements. We note different competing companies and products. We notice products from both the A.M. Wilson Company, the Harris Suspender Company, and the Kazoo Suspender Company.
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