Figure 1.--

The most common type of posture control devices was thus the shoulder brace. The main purpose of both braces is to correct or prevent "round shoulders" (We can make out this phrase in the text for the male brace). In the early decades of the 20th century there was a great deal of concern about "round shoulders" and keeping the shoulders back. This was especially emphasized as a desideratum for boys, but it was more general than this, so that shoulder braces were advertised for adults (men and women) as well as for children (boys and girls). These braces are meant to be both corrective and preventive in nature. A reader writes, "I can recall that as a boy in the early 1930s my father was always telling me to "keep your shoulders back." Many of the garter waists that were sold from about 1910 to 1945 promoted the idea that wearing a garter waist with shoulder straps was good therapy for the posture and that posture improvement was a secondary advantage of such garter waists." See for instance "Kern's Dandy" garter waist sold by Sears in 1937 which claims that the waist acts also as a "shoulder brace". We believe that in most cases such claims were specious. Tape shoulder straps for stocking support (as shown on the models of stocking supporters advertised on this page as well as on many other garter waists) would have little actual benefit in keeping a boy's shoulders back. This would be like prentending that wearing modern suspenders rather than just a belt to hold up trousers would benefit a person's posture--a basically untrue claim. But the obsession with posture, especially in growing children, is a culurally interesting phenomenon.

Popularity

The most common type of posture control devices was thus the shoulder brace. We note numerous examples of these devices advertised in catalogs and magazines in the late 19th and early 20th century. A good example is Knickerbocker Shoulder Brace in 1900.

Purpose

The main purpose of both braces is to correct or prevent "round shoulders" In the early decades of the 20th century there was a great deal of concern about "round shoulders" and keeping the shoulders back. This was especially emphasized as a desideratum for boys, but it was more general than this, so that shoulder braces were advertised for adults (men and women) as well as for children (boys and girls). These braces are meant to be both corrective and preventive in nature. A reader writes, "I can recall that as a boy in the early 1930s my father was always telling me to "keep your shoulders back." Many of the garter waists that were sold from about 1910 to 1945 promoted the idea that wearing a garter waist with shoulder straps was good therapy for the posture and that posture improvement was a secondary advantage of such garter waists." See for instance "Kern's Dandy" garter waist sold by Sears in 1937 which claims that the waist acts also as a "shoulder brace".

Chronology

Ads for shoulder braces to improve posture seem quite common at the turn of the 20th century. A good example is the Knickerbocker Shoulder Brace, which was advertized in The Youth's Companion (October 25, 1900). The ad illustrates the obsession with keeping children's posture erect. A latter example is the A. Stein Shoulder Brace in 1940. After World War II we see far fewer ads for these devices.

Evaluation

We believe that in most cases such claims were specious. Tape shoulder straps for stocking support (as shown on the models of stocking supporters advertised on this page as well as on many other garter waists) would have little actual benefit in keeping a boy's shoulders back. This would be like prentending that wearing modern suspenders rather than just a belt to hold up trousers would benefit a person's posture--a basically untrue claim. But the obsession with posture, especially in growing children, is a culurally interesting phenomenon.

Organization

We've been thinking about how to archive shoulder-braces At least two of our examples (the early Knickerbocker example and the much later Japanese shoulder brace--2000s) both seem to be worn as outer garments--i.e., over shirts or at least T-shirts. So our first impulse to class these garments with underwear was probably misleading. We were inclined to this view because the children's, men's, and women's shoulder brace in the 1918 Eaton catalog were shown on the same page with hose supporters and garter waists. In some cases shoulder braces might have been worn as underwear, but I suspect this would have been somewhat uncomfortable and impractical. We have thus decided that these shoulder braces and other posture correction devices should have a separate section in HBC.

Created: 7:08 PM 6/28/2005
Last updated: 7:08 PM 6/28/2005