Figure 1.--This German boy near Kiel in 1957 was a little older than most boys wearing long stoclings in the 1950s, at least with short pants. Also black long stockings were not very common at the time. His mother suggested he wear them because it was a chilly day. Actually he looks quite modern as they look like modern Spandex tights sometimes worn by atheletes.

The photo here shows a German teenager (about 13 or 14 years old) riding his bike and wearing black long stockings with lederhosen (figure 1). The picture was taken in 1957 near Kiel, a city in the north of Germany near the Baltic Sea and hence rather chilly. Notice that the image here is a little different from the one shown under “German Long Stockings: Age”. The image on the page devoted to “Age” shows only a single garter clasp on each leg whereas the present one shows that he is actually wearing a support garment with two hose supporter clasps on each leg. It is clear that the same boy is involved and that the two photographs were taken at the same time. The difference in the garter detail is probably to be explained by a different angle of the camera combined with a slightly different position of the boy on his bicycle. The present photo raises the issue of whether the boy is wearing a Strapsleibchen (or stocking shirt) with four garter clips attached , or the alternative, a Strapsgürtel, which was a male garter belt similar to a woman’s garter belt (without feminine adornments of course) or the modern garter belt worn by men and boys for playing hockey. We know from the personal experiences of several of our German readers that older boys who wore long stockings often switched from Strapsleibchen at about age 12 to the more adult garter belts. The typical boys’ Strapsleibchen during the 1950s usually buttoned down the front (although sometimes in back) and had four commercial elastic supporters attached, two in the front and two on the sides a little toward the back or actually in back. The placement of the garters was designed to prevent stockings from sagging and to hold them up evenly and tautly on all parts of the leg. See a vintage example, probably from the 1950s. Also the Leibchen shown in the film “Aimee and Jaguar” note figure 2. Strapsgürteln, on the other hand, could have the garters placed a bit more randomly depending on the make and style. Since this boy seems to have two garters in front rather than one in front and the other toward the rear and side, it seems likely that he is wearing the Strapsgürtel rather than a Strapsleibchen.