Figure 1.-- This is a photo of a boy's vintage Leibchen from about 1940. A vintage German "garter shirt" or Strumpfhalterhemd of the type worn by hundreds of German girls and boys up to about the age of 12 (or even 14)for supporting thigh-length long stockings. Some Leibchen had buttons down the front or in back, but the later versions (like this example) were simply slipped over the head and worn like an undershirt. The four elastic hose supporters were adjustable for length so that the stockings were held in place tautly on the legs without sagging or wrinkling.

This is a photo of a boy's vintage Leibchen from about 1940. A vintage German "garter shirt" or Strumpfhalterhemd of the type worn by hundreds of German girls and boys up to about the age of 12 (or even 14)for supporting thigh-length long stockings. Some Leibchen had buttons down the front or in back, but the later versions (like this example) were simply slipped over the head and worn like an undershirt. The four elastic hose supporters were adjustable for length so that the stockings were held in place tautly on the legs without sagging or wrinkling. Two supporters were attached at the front and two others at the back but toward the sides so that the wearer didn't experience the discomfort of having to sit on the rubber button and wire loop clasps. These were unisex garments worn equally by boys and girls who needed garter waists to hold long stockings up underneath briefly cut short trousers or dresses. Originally many garter shirts had straps that fastened to the bodice by buttons and to the stocking tops by additional buttons sewn onto the stockings. But commercial Liebchen with professionally manufactured hose supporters (as in the present example) became more and more common during World War II and the postwar period. Boys more or less abandoned wearing long stockings with short trousers during the middle- and later-1950s, although they continued to be worn in some rural areas of Germany. Tights became available in the very late-1950s and in some cases replaced children's long stockings, but many parents preferred long stockings as more economical and practical since children could unfasten the garters and roll down the stockings without getting undressed.