Figure 1.--This ad extols the superiority of the company's stocking suporters for keeping a child's stockings up.

We note three major types of stocking supporters. Some like the over-the-shoulder type had multiple uses such as holding up trousers. These different types of stocking supporters were manufactured. Many children used more make-shift devices like saftey pins to hold up their sockings. We are not sure how extensively the different types were used. Presumably children from working lass families would be more likely to us the moke make shift arrangements like saftey pins. There are many terms for these devices thus we have created two different lists. One will provide the basic types of stocking supporters, The other will provide an alphabetical listing which will indicate into what basic category each type of stocking supporter falls.

Basic Categories

Our normal categories on HBC are 1) garters (individual garters and hose supporters sold separately without being attached to waists), 2) Garter waists (which includes skeleton waists), 3) Suspender waists, and 4) Underwaists. While these are the basic categories, there is some overlap in the four categories. This is further complicated by the fact that various terms have been used within the four categories for the same or similar garments.

Alphabetical Lists

While their are four principal categories of stocking supporters, many other terms were used. This is because different companies adopted their own terminology. Companies also used the terms differently. We have attempted to use the four basic terms to create some order out of the confusion. These are terms used in contemporary advertisements and trade publications, but not always with the with the consistencythat we would like. If this confusion was not sufficent, there are also different terms used over time and in different countries. Here we will list these different terms and indicate into which general category it falls.

Old Text

Over the shoulder supporters

Some stocking supporters were over the shoulder supporters. They sypported a waist from which suspender-like appendages that were attached to the stockings. The waist could also be used to hold up a boy's trousers or a girl's skirts. The over the shoulder style was reportedly superior to the older style of waist supporters which reportedly caused the child to stoop. Advertising stresses the freedom of movemnent possible when using this stype of stocking supporters. We know that these suspender waists were commonly worn. They were extensely advertized in mail order catalogs during the eatly 20th century. One common brand was the Samson Suspender waist made by the Knother Brothers in New York, but there were many other manufactures. A.W. Wilson was another manufacturer which made the Wldson Hoe Supporter (figure 1). One report suggests that this type was more populasr with boys than other syocking supportetrs be

Created: May 12, 1999
Last updated: 11:24 PM 10/25/2008