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Long stocking supporters continued to be commonly featured in the major mail order catalogs. Long stockings were still commonly worn in the United States, but increasingly by younger boys. Children were increasingly wearing knee socks and ankle socks. I think the same trend was occurring with girkls, but perhaps somewhat less pronounced. We note ads in both the Sears and Wards catalogs in 1936. We note different types and styles of stocking supporters. Long stockings were worn primarily for warmth and thus were seasinally more common in the Fall and Winter.
Ward's in its 1936 Spring-Summer catalog offered four styles of garter waists. They included both Hickory and Dr. Parker waists. The major purpose of these waists was to hold up long stockings. They were also considered to be beneficial for posture.
We note Ward's Fall and Winter catalogue for 1936-37 (p. 143). This ad shows two kinds of underwaists for boys and girls. The purpose was primarily to hold up long stockings. As long stockings were becoming less common, by the late 1930s you begin to see fewer ads, but throughout the 30s they still appeared in the major catalogs.
Sears offered Three different grades of pin-on supporters and two types of garter waists for children in its 1936-37 Fall-Winter catalog. Sears described them as "Free Play Supporters", stressing thatt they would not inhibit movement. They also rather curiously described them as a sholder brace. They were considered helpful for good posture. The illustrations show younger children wearing them, presumably because older children were increasingly wearing knee socks and ankle socks. The principal purpose of these garments f course was to hold up long stockings. This was apparently understood because long stockings were hardly mentioned in Sears the ad copy.
Penney's Store, in the Mason City Globe-azette, Mason City, Iowa (August 11, 1936), page 9. I thought it was a bit unusual to have ads for boys' and girls' school clothes as early as the August 11. But the ad says "Mothers! Choose what your Boy or Girl will need for School, EARlY, when the stocks are new. Only 28 Days til School". Indicative of the Great Depression, Penney's offers even relatively inexpensive items on its "Penney's Lay-Away Plan." One of the most
prominent items on a page too complicated to reproduce entirely (page 9 of the Mason City Globe Gazette) were supporters for long stockings.
There were other J.C. Penney ads in the same Mason Globe-Gazette (August 11, 1936), but on a different page. This one is for supporters and boys' gym shirts--an odd combination. The ad was for Children's Supporters, 19 cents a pair. These are obviously for both boys and girls. No age sizes are given, but children's supporters were normally made in even sizes from 2 to 12. The color is not specified but there appears to be a choice between black and white, which was
standard. In the illustration the two garters are not a pair--one is white, the other is black. Mothers often preferred black for boys. The ad copy read, "Checker brand! Of mercerized lisle elastic with rubber buttons and
nickel brass trimmings. 7/8 inches wide."
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