Figure 1.-- One very popular brand of stocking supporters in America was Hickory. Here we see vintage Hickory brand supporters for children. Notice the safety pin at the top which is the means of fastening them to the pin tubes of underwaists or waist union suits.

One very popular brand of stocking supporters in America was Hickory. Here we see vintage Hickory brand supporters for children. They were manufactured by Stein and Co. of Chicago and were a household name known to every American family with boys and girls to dress for school. Hickory garters were sold nearly everywhere--Sears and Wards advertised them in their catalogues, and magazines such as Parents, Good Housekeeping, Boys' Life, The Ladies' Home Journal, etc. ran ads for them in their pages. Local newspapers all over the country advertised them as the strongest and most reliable supporters available, able to take the wear and tear, the constant tugging and wrenching of children engaged in active play and games.

Company

One very popular brand of stocking supporters in America was Hickory. Here we see vintage Hickory brand supporters for children. They were manufactured by Stein and Co. of Chicago and were a household name known to every American family with boys and girls to dress for school. >br>

Marketing

Hickory garters were sold nearly everywhere--Sears and Wards advertised them in their catalogues, and magazines such as Parents, Good Housekeeping, Boys' Life, The Ladies' Home Journal, etc. ran ads for them in their pages. Local newspapers all over the country advertised them as the strongest and most reliable supporters available, able to take the wear and tear, the constant tugging and wrenching of children engaged in active play and games.

Fastening

Notice the safety pin at the top which is the means of fastening them to the pin tubes of underwaists or waist union suits.

Garter Waists

They could also be used with the well-known Dr. Parker garter waists which had attachments for such garters when the original ones that came with the waist wore out or lost their elasticity.

Construction

Hickory supporters were made of strong elastic webbing, had a rounded buckle that allowed children or mothers to adjust them for length, and there are two pendants with rubber buttons and wire loop clasps for attachment to the tops of long stockings. These were designed to preserve stockings from tears and thus reduce the need for darning.

Color

Black appears to have been the most popular color, although Hickory supporters were also available in white and occasionally also in gray.

Sizes

They were made to fit boys and girls from ages 2 to 14 and were a necessary article of clothing boys who wore long stockings with knee pants or shorts or above-the-knee knickers as most boys did during the 1920s and earlier. In this photograph we see two pairs which are relatively short--presumably for children of about six to eight years old. The longer pair seems appropriate for boys and girls of about twelve to fourteen. Hickory supporters were also worn by women in their later teens and twenties.

Chronology

Hickory supporters and garter waists were regularly available in the United States up through the 1940s, after which they became obsolete when most children ceased to wear full length stockings to school. They lasted longer (into the 1950s) in Canada and in parts of central Europe.