Figure 1.--This ad appeared in 1914. The firm involved in this advertisement is the Kabo Corset Company, which had outlets in Chicago, New York, and San Francisco. The Kabo hose supporters were made in three different grades, 25 cents, 15 cents, and 10 cents a pair, representing deluxe, medium, and economy qualities. Price differences were also affected by the typical sizes--small, medium, and large.

Another of the several manufacturers of children's hose supporters--less well known than the famous Hickory and Velvet Grip brands that dominated the market during most of the 20th century was Kabo Garters. It is interesting that so many firms made and advertised supporters for children, a standard item of boys' and girls dress for at least half a century. This ad appeared in 1914. The illustration is a bit of an advertising odity because the girl is pictured with shot socks that would not require a garter.

Kabo Corset Compamy

The firm involved in this advertisement is the Kabo Corset Company, which had outlets in Chicago, New York, and San Francisco. We do not know much about the company at this time. Children's garters seem to have been a side line. The business seems to have been primarily focused on ladies corsets.

Construction

The Kabo hose supporters were made in three different grades, 25 cents, 15 cents, and 10 cents a pair, representing deluxe, medium, and economy qualities. Price differences were also affected by the typical sizes--small, medium, and large.

Hose Suporters

Children's hose supporters got heavy use and had to be replaced as they either wore out or were outgrown. They were generally sold by age groups. Children's supporters were made for boys and girls up through the age of 12 or 13. There were larger sizes for Misses (teenage girls) and Ladies. Teenage boys also wore hose supporters for long stockings in the early decades of the century, but generally did not wear pin-on garters. They wore suspender waists or garter waists that usually had the supporters already attached.

Kabo Ad

The Kabo ad here appeared in 1914. It is interesting that so many firms made and advertised supporters for children, a standard item of boys' and girls dress for at least half a century. Curiously in this ad, there is no illustration of the garters, although the design of supporters had been pretty much standardized by 1914 when this ad appeared. They nearly always had an elastic strap at the top with a safety pin for attaching to the underwaist, a buckle for length adjustment, and two pendants in a Y shape with a fastener for the stocking tops at the ends. These devices appeared in the United States during the late-19th century. Children's supporters were usually available in two colors--black and white. None of this is apparent in the advertisement, however, and was probably just taken for granted by viewers. The appeal is to children's neatness since the "child's appearance depends much on the tidiness of the stockings". The Kabo supporters "keep the stockings smooth; and they last wonderfully." One curious incongruity is the illustration of two school children sitting on either end of a school bench with a blackboard in the background, meant obviously to appeal to the mothers of schoolboys and schoolgirls who would be buying supporters for their children. But the girl appears to be wearing white ankle socks rather than long stockings and therefore wouldn't need hose supporters. The boy's legwear in the drawing is more ambiguous, but he also seems to be wearing socks with his above-the-knee knickers. He might be wearing high boots with white stockings, of course, but most schoolboys of the period wore black long stockings with their knickers. Bare legs for school wear would have been most unusual among the better classes of boys. (We do begin to see boys wearing ankle socks to school with knickes in the late 1930s, but this was not common earlier.) It rather looks as though the Kabo Corset Company just used an already available illustration of a boy and girl in school and paid no attention to the fact that the children aren't wearing the long stockings that would have required the kind of garters being advertised. Or the artist paid no attention to the product being sold. This is a real oddity.

Ad Copy

The brief text of the Kabo ad read, "A child's appearance depends much on the tidiness of the stockings. Kabo Garters keep the stockings smooth; and they last wonderfully. Three grades--25c--15c--10c; ask your dealer. Kabo Corset Co. Chicago, New York, San Francisco."

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Cloth and textiles] [Clothing styles] [Countries] [Topics]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Glossaries] [Satellite sites] [Tools]

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Sailor hats] [Flat caps] [Buster Brown suits] [Sailor suits] [Eton suits] [Rompers]
[Tunics] [Smocks] [Pinafores] [Kneepants] [Knickers] [Underwear]

Created: 3:11 PM 1/24/2007
Last updated: 3:12 PM 1/24/2007