Figure 1.--Here we see an informal domestic snap shot from the Spencer family in Pittsburgh. This one taken in 1898 shows Charles and Elizabeth in white dresses and Mark, the oldest boy, before he put his shirt on. You can see the underwaist that he is wearing over an union suit. The sleeveless underwaist apparently has waist buttons for his knee pants and garter tabs for the supporters that hold up his long black stockings. Click on the image to learn more about the Spencer family.

The first underwaists we note are in the late 19th century. We are not sure how long stocking were held up in the mid-19th century. During this period long stockings were mostly worn by younger boys and girls. We assume makeshift arrangements were used like pins. Our information on the mid-1850s is limited by the relative rarity of surviving advertising. Another factor is that lithography allowing the pribting of illustrations was still quite basic. The first ad for a underwaists we have archived on HBC comes from a 1886 advertisement. This corresponds to the growing popularity of kneepants and long stockings. Knee pants and long stockings were standard boys wear in the 1890s. Girls also wore long stockings. Thus period catalogs offer underwaists and stocking supporters.

The 1850s

Boys mostly wore long pants in the 1850s. We do notice younger boys wearing fancy suits like Zouave suits with bloomer knickers. These were normally worn with long stockings, often stripped stockings. We are not sure how long stocking were held up in the mid-19th century. During this period long stockings were mostly worn by younger boys and girls. We assume makeshift arrangements were used like pins. Our information on the mid-1850s is limited by the relative rarity of surviving advertising. Another factor is that lithography allowing the pribting of illustrations was still quite basic.

The 1860s

We begin to see some boys weating kneepants in the 1860s. Long pants were still more common, but kneepants were worn in the 1860s. Often they were very long kneepants often made with hems at calf level. As a result, the stockings did not have to be very long. We do not know of any underwaists or other stocking supporters made in the 1860s.

The 1870s

The 1880s

Knee-length kneepants became common in the 1880s and more boys were wearing kneepants. The popularilty of kneepants and long stockings created a need for devices to hold up long stockings which were also worn by girls. The first underwaists we note are in the late 19th century. This corresponds to the growing popularity of kneepants and long stockings. We notive the Double-Ve Waist. This is the earliest underwaist we have archived on HBC. Almost certainly earlier examples, but examples of waists before 1885 are much harder to find than after 1885. The first stocking sypporters we find are these underwaists also referred to as waists.

The 1890s

Knee pants and long stockings were standard boys wear in the 1890s. Girls also wore long stockings. Thus period catalogs offered underwaists and other stocking supporters providing us a good record of what was available at the time. Of course they were also sold in stores. We notice a Double- Ve Waist in 1892. We noticed this same style in the 1880s. We notice the EZ-Waist. The image here shows a boy wearing an underwaist in 1898 (figure 1).

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Created: 11:01 PM 7/16/2005
Last updated: 12:47 PM 7/17/2005