Figure 1.-- The Worth Skeleton Waist for girls and boys was widely sold all over the United States during the 1900s. There are numerous newspaper ads for this garment, made for both boys and girls from age 2 to 12. The waist was made by the Worth Manufacturing Company, 176-178 St. Clair St., Cleveland, Ohio. The advertisement shown here appeared in a weekly small-town newspaper called The Ireton Weekly Ledger published on June 3, 1904, page 5, in Ireton, Iowa. The dry goods store that sold the waist was the E. W. Black store of Ireton, Iowa. Among the many different brands of children's underwaists sold in America during the early decades of the 20th century, the Worth waist has an unusual design.

The Worth Skeleton Waist for girls and boys was widely sold all over the United States during the 1900s. There are numerous newspaper ads for this garment, made for both boys and girls from age 2 to 12. The waist was made by the Worth Manufacturing Company, 176-178 St. Clair St., Cleveland, Ohio. The advertisement shown here appeared in a weekly small-town newspaper called The Ireton Weekly Ledger published on June 3, 1904, page 5, in Ireton, Iowa. The dry goods store that sold the waist was the E. W. Black store of Ireton, Iowa. Among the many different brands of children's underwaists sold in America during the early decades of the 20th century, the Worth waist has an unusual design.

Advertisments

The Worth Skeleton Waist for girls and boys was widely sold all over the United States during the 1900s. There are numerous newspaper ads for this garment, made for both boys and girls from age 2 to 12. The advertisement shown here appeared in a weekly small-town newspaper called The Ireton Weekly Ledger published on June 3, 1904, page 5, in Ireton, Iowa.

Store

The dry goods store that sold the waist was the E. W. Black store of Ireton, Iowa.

Worth Manufacturing Company

The waist was made by the Worth Manufacturing Company, 176-178 St. Clair St., Cleveland, Ohio.

Skeleton Waists

The term skeleton waist was frequently used for a style of garter waist that consisted of shoulder straps, a waistband (sometimes with additional buttons for other garments and sometimes without), and hose supporters suspended from the waistband. Advertisers sometimes used the term to refer to a garment designed like the Dr. Parker garter waist (Eaton's and Ward's used this term sometimes) or the Kern's Child's waist or Kern's Daisy waist (Sear's terms). The word "skeleton" simply means that the garter waist is reduced to its minimum constituent elements, having as much open space on the upper body as possible. One kind of underwaist was even referred to as a "skeleton" model by Wards simply because its armholes are cut very low and because it uses less material than the traditional underwaist. So, in this case, there is a certain overlapping of the term between garter waists and underwaists. Logically speaking, suspender waists (such as the Kazoo or Samson models) might also be thought of as "skeleton waists" because of their open construction, but in HBC terminology, the "skeleton waist" is classified as a garter waist.

Construction

Among the many different brands of children's underwaists sold in America during the early decades of the 20th century, the Worth waist has an unusual design. The suspender straps join in front in a V shape and are attached to a waist band with buttons for trousers and skirts. Thinner straps are arranged in an M design on the front of the waist and are attached to the larger straps to stabilize them. The arrangement of large and small straps creates a kind of harness on the boy's upper body, but there is a solid piece of white fabric inside the V straps to which the straps are attached to give the garment greater stability. There are two tabs for hose supporters located in front rather than on the sides (as was common in other kinds of underwaists). The supporter tabs appear to be little tape extensions attached to the bottom of the waist band. In this illustration, interestingly, the supporters are made of black elastic, whereas the upper straps and waistband are obviously white. The back of the waist (not shown) is similar in construction to the front.

Ad Copy

The ad copy read, "Look at the Picture. It shows the "Worth" Skeleton waist for babies, boys, girls and ladies. It's the very waist you've longed for because it meets every requirement--has more good points than we can mention here. You can undress a child by unbuttoning three buttons--no other waist is as simple. All weight hangs from the shoulders and the waist cannot slip off. for children it is made in sizes 2 to 12 years. No buckles to rust. Buttons will not come off. Laundering is an easy matter. Ask to see the "Worth" the next time you are in the store. Price 25 cents."

Illustration

The boy in the illustration appears to be about 10 years old. Notice that he is wearing the waist on top of the typical union suit with long sleeves and ankle-length legs, made of a mottled grey (probably partly woolen) fabric. The long stockings, out of sight in the illustration, but clearly present because of the black supporters whose tops we see, would have been worn over the long underwear.

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Created: 7:41 PM 5/21/2008
Last updated: 7:41 PM 5/21/2008