Figure 1.-- Here is a valuable (and I believe quite rare) advertisement for the Double Ve Waist (1886) showing a boy and girl both wearing the garment. This is the oldest waist image I have yet discovered. An older sister is wearing the Double Ve Waist, having already buttoned on her lace underskirt and the garters for her black long stockings. She is helping her younger brother get dressed and attaching one of his hose supporters to a button on the lower of the two V-shaped patches with buttons that are located on either side of the waist (hence the name "Double Ve")." Source New York Public Library.

Here is a valuable (and I believe quite rare) advertisement for the Double Ve Waist (1886) showing a boy and girl both wearing the garment. This is the oldest waist image I have yet discovered. An older sister is wearing the Double Ve Waist, having already buttoned on her lace underskirt and the garters for her black long stockings. She is helping her younger brother get dressed and attaching one of his hose supporters to a button on the lower of the two V-shaped patches with buttons that are located on either side of the waist (hence the name "Double Ve"). The manufacturer was Foy, Harmon & Chadwick. We know nothing about this company other than it was located in New Haven, Connecticut. This waist was patented in 1885. The advertisement, however, is dated a year later (1886). Notice that the boy's waist opens down the front. We can't see the closure buttons of the girl's waist because of her stooping position, but her waist may button down the back, which was common practice with waists for girls. Some waists, however, were identical in construction for both genders. In 1886 when this advertisement was published, hose supporters were attached to waists by means of buttons rather than by the safety pins that became standard in the 1910s and 1920s. This waist was for both boys and girls age 3-12 years. The key characteristic was that it supportted stockings and other garments from the shoulders.

Foy, Harmon & Chadwick

The manufacturer was Foy, Harmon & Chadwick. We know nothing about this company other than it was located in New Haven, Connecticut.

Popularity

The Velvet Grip Supporter appears to have been a popular garment. We see it still being sold in the 1910s. We note a 1913 advertisement.

Publication

We are not yet sure in which publication this advertisement appeared. We do note that the New York Public Library has coded the source "SN", but we are not sure what that meant.

Long Stockings Chronology

Long stockings were a somewhat new garment becoming common only in the 1870s. Long pants were the dominant style for boys theough the 1860s. Kneepants began to be worn, but did not beome common until the 1870s and then mostly for younger boys. As kneepants became more common, mothers wanted longer stockings to be worn with them. Thus long stockings became standard wear for boys. Girls also wore them. Except for the younges children, it was ot seen as proper for children to go without long stokings to cober their legs. One factor was warmth in the winter. Another factor was modesty as they were also worn in the summer.

Support Garments

clothing manufcturers began to create garments to hold them up. We do not know when they fitst appeared. Here is one of the earliest adds we have found for stocking supporters. Many specific support garments were developed, including garter waists, suspender waists, and underwaists, among others. The Double Ve Waist is a bit tricky to classify. I think we should call it an "underwaist" to be consistent with our terminology elsewhere on HBC because, although supporters are shown in the image, the ad copy says nothing about their being part of the waist proper. The supporters, I'm assuming, are purchased separately although obviously necessary. This, however, is just a guess because some such waists were sold with the supporters already attached. But if the "Double Ve Waist" was sold in stores with the supporters attached, I think the ad would tell us this, don't you? When catalogues included the garters as part of the purchase price, this was almost always specified.

Double Ve Waist

Here is a valuable (and I believe quite rare) advertisement for the Double Ve Waist (1886) showing a boy and girl both wearing the garment. This is the oldest waist image I have yet discovered. An older sister is wearing the Double Ve Waist, having already buttoned on her lace underskirt and the garters for her black long stockings. She is helping her younger brother get dressed and attaching one of his hose supporters to a button on the lower of the two V-shaped patches with buttons that are located on either side of the waist (hence the name "Double Ve"). This waist was patented in 1885. The advertisement, however, is dated a year later (1886). Notice that the boy's waist opens down the front. We can't see the closure buttons of the girl's waist because of her stooping position, but her waist may button down the back, which was common practice with waists for girls. Some waists, however, were identical in construction for both genders. In 1886 when this advertisement was published, hose supporters were attached to waists by means of buttons rather than by the safety pins that became standard in the 1910s and 1920s. This waist was for both boys and girls age 3-12 years. The key characteristic was that it supportted stockings and other garments from the shoulders.

Domestic Insights

The advertisement illustration here depicts that dressing in the late 19th century was a little complicated for younger children. It also shows that older children helped younger children. This and similar ads usually show older girls helping. I'm not sure if it was usually the older sister (as opposed to an older brother) that usdually helped or if this was just an accepted social convention.

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Created: 5:27 PM 3/3/2005
Last updated: 6:24 PM 3/5/2005