Figure 1.-- Here we have the image of the original box in which the Sterling Skeleton Waist was shipped to clothing stores. The box actually contained the waist, which the seller didn't bother to display, but the image is very illustrative of an article of vintage underwear obviously sold and worn by New Zealand boys and girls in the first decade of the twentieth century. The box and its contents were found in the attic of an old building that was being demolished and that used to be a men's and boys' clothing store. The location was Ashburton, New Zealand, a town in the Canterbury province of the country on the South Island near Christ Church.

Here is an interesting bit of new information about garter waists in New Zealand at the turn of the 20th century. Long stockings were commonly worn in New Zealand. Trends were similar to Britain with the exception that it was much more common for New Zealand boys to go barefoot. We do note a Sterling Skeleton Waist being sold in the early 20th century. We think it may have been imported from the United States rather than made in New Zealand.

Sterling

We know almost nothing about the Sterling brand except that it must have been an American company rather than located in New Zealand. The box specifies the "color" as white, and if the waist had been manufactured in New Zealand the spelling would have been "colour."

New Zealand Clothing Styles: Early 20th Century

Boys' styles in New Zealand at the turn of the century were probably very similar to those of England and the United States in the 1900s. We know that boys wore knee pants with long black stockings in all these places and therefore needed to hold their stockings up with stocking supporters. This American style of waist must have been literally exported to New Zealand. The basic design of the Sterling waist here is very similar to the skeleton waists advertised by Wards in 1915.

Skeketon Waists

The term "Skeleton Waist" (later referred to more commonly as simply a "garter waist") was used to describe a support garment for long stockings and knee pants, that unlike the standard underwaist, was an athletically abbreviated and lighter-weight garment consisting only of shoulder straps and a waistband to which hose supporters were attached. These were more popular than underwaists with boys because they were lighter in weight and somewhat more masculine--less like the "panty waists" worn by girls and younger boys. There was, however, usually no gender distinction with the skeleton waist, which could be worn by both boys and girls. The age-range was usually from about 4 to 12 years although some boys as old as 14 wore them also. The basic style with a few modifications continued to be worn up through the middle 1940s in the United States.

Box

Usually we feature catalog pages to discuss stocking supporters. Thge boxes and other packafing for these garments also orovide some useful information. Here we have an image of the original box in which the Sterling Skeleton Waist was shipped to clothing stores. The box actually contained the waist, which the seller didn't bother to display, but the image is very illustrative of an article of vintage underwear obviously sold and worn by New Zealand boys and girls in the first decade of the twentieth century. The box and its contents were found in the attic of an old building that was being demolished and that used to be a men's and boys' clothing store. The location was Ashburton, New Zealand, a town in the Canterbury province of the country on South Island north of Christ Church. I can't make out all the letters in the vertical writing on the left, but the two borders, right and left, give information about the Patent with the numbers. The dates here are 1895 and 1900. This means that the waist dated from after 1900--i.e. some time, probably, in the 1900s. The numbers, I think, are Patent numbers.

Chronology

The skeleton waist here is undated, but it was patented in 1900. That means that it was produced during or somewhat after 1900. We have no way of knowing hust when. It is likely that it was during or very shortly after 1900. Oterwise they would not have featured the date so prominantely. Trying to sell these skeleton waists in the 1920s, for example, would have given the impression tht they were old and out of date.

Construction

The shoulder straps are adjustable like conventional suspenders. The belt around the waist closes in front with a single button, and the supporters are attached in front but close to the sides. Some skeleton waists had the garters attached in front while others attached them at the sides so the supporters would be over the hips. There are additional buttons on the belt for buttoning on trousers or possibly underpants.

Color

Skeleton waists were usually made of white webbing, but the elastic hose supporters, which are usually detachable, could be had in either white or black. The color specified on this box is white. Charles

Created: 5:32 PM 3/2/2007
Last updated: 5:32 PM 3/2/2007