Who else remembers this???

Hi everyone,

My husband recently brought home the contents of an old sewing box from the flea market. He was actually interested in a music cabinet. The previous owners had stored their sewing things in it.

I’d like to show you one of the items from it today. My husband says that as a child he still had to wear something like this so his stockings wouldn’t slip down. Who among you still remembers something like this, and what was it like to wear?

Best regards, Ina




Ina, not only did your husband have to wear something like that, I did too, because tights only came onto the market in the 1960s. Before that, it meant layers of undershirts and stockings that were buttoned onto those monstrosities 🤪

Best, Inge

I have something like that in my collection for the lady of the house.

For her silk stockings

Yes, I had one of those too. However, the elastic bands were attached to an “undershirt.”
What was it like to wear? Well, when it was cold and you were wearing a skirt, the wind would whistle in at the top. In the photo, you can see the gap a bit (arrow).

I know these things from my father. He wore them with his socks, even as an adult.

Like Ruth, I remember the garters on the camisole very well. Oh, that was awful.

Luckily, spandex was invented in 1959, and clothing could then be made from it. What a cumbersome contraption to keep stockings from slipping down. It wasn’t comfortable, it didn’t look nice, and of course it didn’t really stay in place either. But that’s just how it was back then.

Thank you so much for sharing your memories in words and pictures.
Warm regards, Ina

We used garter straps attached to a “Gstältli” (a kind of hip belt)! They were awful—and on top of that, the itchy wool stockings… No wonder there were big arguments about knee socks every spring!

Oh yes, I remember that too, even though—thankfully—it was only for a short time. I hated it and was glad when pantyhose came along later. My mom, though, kept wearing her stockings with garters for quite a while. I never understood that.