Figure 1.-- |
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The issue of restriciveness of stocking supporters is one that has to be considered. Many of our HBC pages on garter waists, underwaists, suspender waists, and the like have raised the question of health issues--posture correction, for instance, as well as the "restrictiveness" of
supporters for long stockings. One of the most popular styles of garter waists bore the name of the "Dr. Parker waist"--supposedly because it was either designed or endorsed by a medical authority named Parker with the implication that a child's health and posture had been
taken into account.
One of the most popular styles of garter waists bore the name of the "Dr. Parker waist"--supposedly because it was either designed or endorsed by a medical authority named Parker with the implication that a child's health and posture had been
taken into account. We see them offered in both Americam and Canadian catalogs.
The Stein Company which manufactured Hickory hose supporters and garter waists for children also produced a shoulder brace (1940) to correct round shoulderedness in boys and girls. At an earlier point we note a similar product called the Knickbocker Shoulder Brace. The same company also offered the Per-fit shoulder brace.
The issue of the wisdom of dressing children in various support devices for holding up long stocking became a medical issue at the turn of the century in the United States, and was discussed by an M.D. called E. H. Bradford, who wrote an article in The prestigious New York Medical Journal (26
October 1901), pp. 679-774, entitled "Costume Deformities." Dr. Bradford studied sources in historical art and sculpture for various kinds of fashions throughout history that resulted in actual
deformities of the human body--distortions of the natural physique produced by wearing certain kinds of clothing. He writes:
"The difficulty of preventing the sagging of long stockings has
resulted in the use of hose-supporters which exert a strong pull upon
the waist and upon the shoulders if the waists are furnished with
shoulder-straps, as is usually the case with children. It is difficult
to determine exactly the amount of pull exerted in this way, but it is
evidently considerable, as is shown by the need of strong clasps upon
the hose supporters. The supporters are usually attached to the
stocking when the knee is flexed or the body bent forward, and the mere
straightening of the figure causes a strong pull upon the waist and
shoulders, and this pull increases and varies with the activity and
movements of the child. In corsetted women with full hips this strain
is borne upon the pelvis, but in children the pull comes entirely upon
the thorax and is at times too great a strain upon the growing muscles,
often causing distorion. Even where hose-supporters are not worn, the
weight of skirts, if buttoned on to a waist, falls upon either the
pelvis or the shoulders. Where the hips are not large and the waist is
loose, enough drag comes upon the child's shoulders from weight and
friction of the clothes to favor a faulty attitude [= posture] in
weak-muscled children. . . . The injurious effect of the drag of the
clothing upon the upper part of the figure is also seen in the
flattening of the chest caused by the pressure of the upper part of a
loose waist pulled down by hose-supporters attached to the front, and
by the weight of the skirts. [Interestingly, Dr. Bradford does not
mention the weight of knee pants also buttoned on to waists, but knee
trousers were probably much lighter than skirts.] The loose waist slips
down as far as the shoulder-straps will allow, and its upper edge
presses upon the sternum, thereby flattening the chest. . . . [T]here
is no doubt of the destructive effect of corsets or corset-waists [see
for instance the Ferris Corset waist, made for boys as well as girls.] upon the normal shape of the trunk and of the desirability of minimizing this in growing [boys and] girls. . . . Where muscular
fatigue is added to the other causes of round shoulders, namely, the
drag of the skirts and the pull of the hose-supporters, it is not
strange that in growing children the attitude [i.e., posture] needs
correction."
Dr. Bradford does not suggest any immediate solution to the problem of
deformity caused by the wearing of waists with heavy skirts and hose
supporters attached. But his objections to the customary waists and
hose supporters worn by virtually all children of both gender until
their middle teen years in 1901 seems to have had some effect on the
design of children's underwear in succeeding decades. The fact that such discussion appeared in prestigious medical journals show that the doctor's advise was taken seriously.
Both boys and
girls continued to wear garter waists, underwaists, and hose supporters
up through the mid-1940s, but support garments gradually became lighter
in weight and more flexible, partly because the weight of the clothing
to be supported also became lighter. Most children began wearing
cotton stockings rather than the heavier woolen ones. The trousers and
skirts were also lighter in weight and could be buttoned onto waists
with less strain on young bodies. Hose supporters were made of less
thick elastic and had greater flexibility and more stretch than earlier
products. So strain on shoulders, chests, and waistlines was naturally
reduced.
Some of the improvements in children's waists and garters may have been
initiated by the manufacturers in the following ways. Perhaps the
objections of medical authorities such as Dr. Bradford in 1901 had at
least an indirect effect on the clothing.
(1) Waists gradually became lighter and less restrictive. Some were
made in athletic styles with large arm holes, and the reinforcement
straps were strenghened to relieve pressure on the shoulders. See the
illustration of Sears underwaists in 1929.
(2) Many older-style waists had the supporters attached in front which
caused the pull of the garters to make the child bend forward. See the
so-called Fuller Waist with the supporters attached in front.
By the end of the first decade of the 20th century, most underwaists
were designed so that the supporters could be attached to the sides
(supported by straps under the armpits) so that there was less strain
on the shoulders. The underwaists sold by Wards in 1926-27 illustrate this
point.
(3) Although shoulder-style garter waists (with the strain of
supporters borne entirely by the shoulders) were still manufactured and
sold, they seem to have been less popular than garter waists designed
with built-in belts or waistbands. The use of a belt with supporting
shoulder straps helped prevent the garters from pulling the child's
frame forward and made it easier for him to stand upright. See the
garter waists sold by Sears in 1939.
These Sears garter waists were called "Free Play" waists that were
designed to be much less restrictive to the movements of active boys
and girls. Notice the lighter weight of these waists.
(4) Manufacturers, such as Wards in 1936, started to stress the point
that their modern waists were sturdy enough to resist "the strain of
'garter pull'."
The implication here is that the newer style garter waists were more
comfortable and designed to minimize the drag of hose supporters on
young bodies.
What emerges from these examples is that the wearing of waists and hose
supporters by boys and girls from the 1880s until the mid-1940s caused
comment by pediatricians and those in the medical profession concerned
with the relation of fashion to children's health. Dr. Bradford
represents a common opinion among American doctors that the fashion of
children's waists and hose supporters was potentially damaging to
growing bodies. On the other hand, the manufacturers of children's
underwear were alert to the criticisms of the medical profession, and
got doctors such as Dr. Parker to design or at least endorse a style of
hose supporters for boys and girls that was not damaging to their
bodies. And as the 20th century got into the 1920s and 1930s, styles
of waists and hose supporters became available for children that
satisfied mothers' concerns about health and specifically posture.
Interestingly, some garter waists were advertised as actually promoting
good posture in children.
For example, Sears offered a style of shoulder garter waist (Kern's
"Dandy")in 1937 that actually claimed to "allow perfect freedom of
movement" and that served in addition "as a shoulder brace." Shoulder
braces also continued to be sold to prevent round shoulders in boys and
girls. So the question arises, were garter waists and hose supporters
the cause of bad posture (as Dr. Bradford asserted) or were
garterwaists (like the Kern's Dandy sold by Sears) a means of
preventing round shoulders?
Both the American and Canadian mail order catalogs (together with related advertisements) show the concern that manufacturers of support garments for long stockings had about health issues (such as posture) connected with the practice of children wearing hose supporters. Round shoulders as a result of the strain of garters, garterwaists, suspender waists, and the like was one concern. A
related concern was the effect of making a boy or girl stoop forward from the pull of the supporters and the possibility of damage to growing muscles in the upper body. So relieving the strain on young shoulders and waist lines (Dr. Bradford's warning) seems to have been a major objective in the design and manufacture of support garments.
Related Pages:
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[White knee socks]
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