Dear Miss MacDonald,

Thank you for the excellent news. I have just finished reading the Spring 2003 contents. Have a look at “United States Boys’ Clothes; Individual Experiences [1930s- 40s]” The first picture shows a young boy in about 1935 wearing stockings and a hint of garter. The text gives a lot of information on Sears Catalogues showing unisex stockings and stocking supporters. Click on US — long stockings inter war era [1919-45] and go down to the school scene under the photographic record, click and figure 2 shows a close up of a 1933 photo of a mixed school class, with at least one boy showing his stocking top and garter!

Under the 'Personal Experiences' section I enclose a copy of that part related to New York. As you will see the complaint is that boys' stockings were never long enough, and “it was hard for us boys to understand why we were outfitted in such dreadful stockings and garters, while the girls enjoyed much longer and warmer stockings fastened tauntly by four garters.” Under the 'Teasing' section a girl gets hold of a boy by his garter strap and leads the embarrassed boy round the group saying, “Oh, look at Johnie's garters - aren’t they cute?” My experiences north of New York state in the 1950s were similar, except that I was taken pity on by my elder sisters, and allowed to wear their long stockings with a proper suspender belt which was very practical and comfortable.

An early example for me of feminine power was when two boys who had annoyed some of the girls were found behind the games pavilion, bound hand and foot with lengths of sash cord, and stripped of their school uniforms. The head girl, acting on a tip-off found them, and led them to the head mistress past the girls lining the school windows. The sight of these boys hanging their heads as they walked in front of the head girl looking ridiculous in their woollen union suits and stocking supporters was a sobering reminder of girl power and control. Neither boy was ever disrespectful to girls again!
Best regards,

John

I received this letter by mail, and with it was a print-out from the 'Historical Boys' Clothing' site, which is on the 'Links' page. It now costs US$25 per year to access the whole site, because the site is now so large. I empathise with that - the cost is quite reasonable for what the site has to offer. It is not an exploitative site.

Before the Second World War, and for a few years after, young boys wore stockings with garters attached to a garter belt. They eventually complained about this uncomfortable attire, because it was seen as sissy and effeminate, and wanted to move on to 'knickers' (i.e. long trousers) as soon as possible. The boys kept in stockings and garters for the longest were often teased by other children. I quote the passages referred to from the 'Historical Boys' Clothing' site:

"It was very common for boys up to the age of 6 or 7 years to wear short pants and long stockings. By then there was very serious rebellion by boys against what they began to see as wearing girls' clothes.

"Of course, not all boys switched to knickers at the same time--it depended on your mother. Some mothers didn’t take their sons pleading for knickers very seriously. Of course for us boys it was a matter of great urgency. So when you went to school, or were at play, some boys were in stockings and shorts and others in knickers. The last boys to make the switch were the object of some ridicule in which, I might add, the girls happily participated.

"At our school, boys and girls often played together, especially the younger children. I remember one incident when all but one or two of the boys had switched to knickers. A girl walked up to one of the holdouts, whose garters were plainly visible below his shorts, attached to his ill-fitting stockings. She took one of his garter straps in her hand and led the embarrassed boy around the group, saying to each, “Oh, look at Johnnie's garters, aren’t they cute?”

"The ribbing was really pretty cruel. Fortunately, I escaped the worst of it. The girls at our school could be tough, and they knew we couldn’t pop them like we could another boy who tried the same stuff, or retaliate in kind."

Interesting memories. Readers should refer to the earlier letter, with pictures from the Sears catolgues, published in January 2002: