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We note a complicated design for a child's underwaist (both boys and girls) submitted for a patent in 1883. The designer was a woman, Mary E. Higgins, who presumably lived in Michigan. The patent number recorded is MI 288,803, and the patent was registered November 20, 1883. I believe this is the earliest underwaist we have recorded on HBC.
Underwaists were another type of support garment. Underwaists (sometimes called panty-waists) were worn by younger boys and girls to support additional underwear (such as bloomers or panties) or outer clothing (such as trousers or skirts). These bodices tended to be worn by boys only until about age 10, although some models came in ages for boys as old as 12. Some models were specifically for girls and others for boys, but the great majority of styles could be worn by both boys and girls. They tended to be made of elastic knitted fabric (and therefore rather form-fitting) or of cambric material and a bit looser. They nearly always were equipped with reinforcement straps, waist buttons, and garter tabs for attaching hose supporters. The popularity of underwaists declined in the later 1930s and early 1940s although they were still available, usually in the preferred knitted style, up until about 1945. When long stockings stopped being worn by school children, the main function of the underwaist ceased to exist.
We note a complicated design for a child's underwaist (both boys and girls) submitted for a patent in 1883. The designer was a woman, Mary E. Higgins, who presumably lived in Michigan. The patent number recorded is MI 288,803, and the patent was registered November 20, 1883.
Shortened length pants appeared in the mid-19th century and by the 1880s had become quite popular for boys. American boys commonly wire them with long stockings. Thus devices to hold them began to appear in the 1880s. I believe this is the earliest underwaist we have recorded on HBC. Inderwaists of course were used to hold up other garments in addition to long stockings.
Ths underwaist buttons down the front and fits the upper body rather closely but is expandable by cross-lacing down the back. A triangular piece of material is fastened on each side over the hips with tabs at the tip and hose supporters attached. But, apparently, the supporters are fixed directly on the tabs and seem to have no provision for an elastic strap to allow for flexibility. It therefore must have been somewhat uncomfortable to wear. Notice also that the high position of the supporters on the upper leg would necessitate very long stockings reaching all the way up the thigh of the child. There are additional tape patches in front on either side. I am not sure what the function of these is, but they must be there so that some outer garment could be fastened there by means of sewn-on extra buttons or safety pins. I don't think these could be for extra garters because safety pins on hose supporters were a later development. The earliest hose supporters
were sewn onto garments or buttoned on. Young women may have worn underwaists to some extent in 1883 although women and older girls (after the age of about 16) mostly wore corsets or corset waists. This is primarily a child's garment, and the fact that it buttons down the front would mean that it would be suitable for boys. Some later underwaists were reversible, i.e., they could be buttoned in back or in front depending on the gender of the child, but that clearly is not the case here. The lacing obviously must go at the back. The material of this underwaist is not specified. The usual material was cambric, a cloth or great sturdiness that would hold up well under laundering and
take the strain of stockings and other clothing fastened to it. After looking at the other designs for children's bodices,
shoulder braces, and "garment supporters," I've slightly revised my
opinion of this garment. I commented originally about the supporters
being very short on this waist with the implication that the stockings
worn with it would have to be extremely long. On closer inspection of
the drawings, I now think that we see here only the garter tabs with a
button to which separate hose supporters could be attached. In other
words, the drawing does not show actual hose supporters but rather only
the tab and button to which the supporters, purchased separately, could
be fastened. Notice that there is only a button at the end of the two
tabs, not the conventional button and loop clasp for attaching to
stocking tops. This explanation seems to make more sense.
Since this is merely a patent document, we do not know if this waist
was commerically manufactured, although it probably was.
Theeoretically, I suppose, it could have been patented merely as a
pattern or design for sewing at home.
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