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{{short description|Stocking supporter}}
{{otheruses}}
[[File:Garter (cropped).tif|thumb|Sketch of a garter.  The band goes around the leg, and the hook on the lower side attaches to the top of the stocking.]]
A '''garter''' is an article of [[clothing]] comprising a narrow band of fabric fastened about the leg to keep up [[stockings]]. In the eighteenth to twentieth centuries, they were tied just below the knee, where the leg is most slender, to keep the stocking from slipping. The advent of [[elastomer|elastic]] has made them less necessary from this functional standpoint, although they are still often worn for [[fashion]]. Garters have been widely worn by men and women, depending on fashion trends.

==Garters in fashion==
[[Image:Mlle. Rhea Flask LC-USZ62-99952.jpg|thumb|right|Hip flask tucked into a garter during [[Prohibition in the United States|Prohibition]]]]

In [[Elizabethan]] fashions, men wore garters with their [[hose (clothing)|hose]], and colourful garters were an object of display. In [[Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Twelfth Night (play)|Twelfth Night]]'', "cross braced" garters (a long garter tied above and below the knee and crossed between), as worn by the character [[Malvolio]], are an object of some derision. In male fashion for much of the 20th century a type of garter for holding up socks was used as a part of male dress; it is considered somewhat archaic now.

===Use in wedding traditions===
[[Image:Bride getting dressed.jpg|left|thumb|Bride putting on a garter]][[File:Wedding garter in plastic holder.jpg|thumb|A wedding garter around an upturned wine glass]]

There is a Western wedding tradition for a [[bride]] to wear a garter to her wedding, to be removed towards the end of the reception by the [[Bridegroom|groom]]. This garter is not normally used to support stockings. This practice is often interpreted as symbolic of [[virgin|deflowering]], though some sources attribute its origin to a superstition that taking an article of the bride's clothing will bring good luck.<ref name="TossGarter" />{{Unreliable source?|date=July 2024}} In the Middle Ages, the groomsmen would rush at the new bride to take her garters as a prize.<ref>Friedman, Albert B., and Richard H. Osberg. "Gawain's Girdle as Traditional Symbol." The Journal of American Folklore 90.357 (1977): 301-15. {{JSTOR|539521}} {{doi|10.2307/539521}}</ref>

[[File:Millieicaro Bridal Garters 2048x2048.jpg|thumb|right|Jewelled wedding garter]]

Today, the practice of removing the bride's garter is traditionally reserved for the groom, who will then toss the garter to the unmarried male guests. This is performed after the tossing of the bouquet, in which the bride tosses her bouquet over her shoulder to be caught by the unwed female guests. According to superstition, the lady who catches the bouquet and the man who catches the garter will be the next man and woman among those in attendance to be married (though not necessarily to each other).<ref name=TossGarter>{{cite web|title=The Tale of the Tossing of the Garter and other customs |url=http://www.wedalert.com/content/articles/tale_tossing_of_the_garter.asp |access-date=2006-10-14 |publisher=WedAlert.com|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100114090546/http://wedalert.com/content/articles/tale_tossing_of_the_garter.asp |archive-date=2010-01-14 }}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=July 2024}}

===Use at high school proms in the United States===
{{Or section|date=July 2024}}
Prom garters were common in the 1960s and 1970s and often conferred on the date as a souvenir.{{Fact|date=July 2024}} If the date received the garter, it was typically hung from his rear-view mirror.{{Fact|date=July 2024}}

At least since the mid-2000s,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=prom+garter|title=Google Trends|website=Google Trends|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140119222930/http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=prom+garter|archive-date=2014-01-19}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=July 2024}} it has become common in [[US culture]] for young women attending a high school [[prom]] to wear a garter, usually designed to match the style and color of the young woman's dress.{{Fact|date=July 2024}} The prom garter may be worn throughout the evening and is sometimes given to the young woman's [[dating|date]] as a souvenir.{{Fact|date=July 2024}} A young woman may also choose to keep the garter rather than give it away, as a token of her prom night.{{Fact|date=July 2024}} 

In some cases, young people may participate in a "garter and tie" dance (often hosted by the high school as part of the prom{{Fact|date=July 2024}}), during or after which either the young woman herself or the young woman's date removes the garter and exchanges it for the date's tie.{{Fact|date=July 2024}} The giving or taking of the prom garter may or may not have the same sexual implications that are associated with wedding garters; however, the giving of the prom garter is often interpreted as publicly designating the pair as a romantic couple.{{Fact|date=July 2024}}

==<span class="anchor" id="garter belt"></span><span id="suspender belts"></span>Suspenders or garter belts and stockings==
[[File:Garter belt (drawing).jpg|thumb|A garter belt attached to stockings]]
[[File:Leg Fetishism.jpg|thumb|A woman with her suspenders visible]]

Suspenders or suspender belts, also known as "garter belts" in American English, are an [[undergarment]] consisting of an elasticated material strip usually at least {{convert|2|to|3|in|cm}} in width; it can be wider. Two or three elastic suspender slings are attached on each side, where the material is shaped to the contours of the body.  The suspenders are typically clipped to [[stocking]]s with metal clips into which a rubber disc is inserted through the stocking material effectively 'locking' the stocking in place.  These are normally attached to a length of elastic allowing for adjustment. 

Suspender (garter) belts are usually worn at the waist or just slightly below to prevent the belt from sliding down as it is pulled downward by the stockings. Some undergarments such as [[corselet]]tes or [[Girdle (undergarment)|girdles]] may come with suspender slings attached.

By the late 20th century and into the 21st, [[pantyhose]] or [[tights]] were more widely worn than stockings.<ref name="Barber">{{cite book |last1=Barber |first1=Jessica M. |editor1-last=Blanco F. |editor1-first=José |title=Clothing and Fashion: American Fashion from Head to Toe |date=November 23, 2015 |publisher=[[ABC-Clio]] |page=268}}</ref> And some stockings, referred to as [[hold-ups]], have a band of silicone rubber molded to the stocking top to keep them up without suspenders. But suspenders continue to be used by people who prefer stockings to tights, and doctors may advise patients with a history of [[Candidal vulvovaginitis|thrush]] or [[cystitis]] to avoid tights; the trapped heat and moisture can exacerbate any infection present.{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}} 

While most commonly used for regular stockings, suspender belts can also be used for medical support hosiery worn due to varicose veins or poor circulation.

Stockings are often considered to be sensual or erotic, both in person and in photographs, and some people enjoy dressing up for special occasions in attractive suspender belts or [[Basque (clothing)|basques]].

===In ice hockey===
[[Ice hockey]] players use suspenders for holding up [[hockey sock]]s.<ref>{{cite web |title=How to Keep Hockey Socks Up? |url=https://www.freshgear.com/hockey-faqs/how-to-keep-hockey-socks-up-2/ |website=Fresh Gear |access-date=November 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231126202639/https://www.freshgear.com/hockey-faqs/how-to-keep-hockey-socks-up-2/ |archive-date=November 26, 2023}}</ref> As these socks are essentially woollen tubes, they need to be kept from rolling onto ankles. The socks can be held up by either hockey tape or hockey suspenders, which function like stocking suspenders.{{cn|date=November 2023}}

==History==
===18th century===
[[Image:Boucher toilette (detail).jpg|thumb|left|''La Toilette'', (detail) François Boucher, 1742]]
[[File:White velvet garters with floral pattern - DPLA - 98629ee2552866620a5d367481ebbc71 (page 1) (cropped).jpg|alt=White velvet garters with floral pattern, from the collection of Conner Prairie|thumb|White velvet garters with floral pattern, from the collection of [[Conner Prairie]]]]

Garters in the 18th century could be elaborately decorated and were sometimes embroidered with names, dates, mottoes, or humorous phrases. Prior to the invention of elastic, they were fastened by buckles, or threaded with spiral springs to grip the wearer's leg.<ref>{{cite journal | title=The History of Ladie's Machine-Made Hosiery | author=Williams, Sheila | journal=Antique Collector | year=1983 | volume=54 | issue=12 | pages=84}}</ref>

===19th century===
[[File:Garter, Chippewa (Native American), early 19th century, 50.67.37.jpg|thumbnail|Early 19th century Chippewan garter, [[Brooklyn Museum]]]]

Some women wore stockings with a plain elastic garter or narrow material tied tightly, not suspenders, or by simply rolling the top of the stocking, because it seemed more practical or they could not afford classic corsetry, thus creating a kind of predecessor of the modern [[hold ups]]. This was particularly common among servants and housemaids, particularly until the mid-1920s when the more modern suspender became readily available.

During the world's first long-distance journey by [[automobile]] in 1888 [[Bertha Benz]], the wife of automobile inventor [[Carl Benz]], used a garter to insulate a broken wire of the [[Benz Patent-Motorwagen]] Nr. 3.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lienhard |first1=John H. |title=Bertha Benz's Ride |url=https://engines.egr.uh.edu/episode/2402 |website=The Engines of Our Ingenuity |publisher=[[University of Houston]] |access-date=November 26, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=First car ride in the world |url=https://www.dpma.de/english/our_office/publications/ingeniouswomen/berthabenz/index.html |website=Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt |access-date=November 26, 2023 |date=July 25, 2023}}</ref> In remembrance of the historic road trip, today's official German scenic byway [[Bertha Benz Memorial Route]] follows the tracks of Bertha Benz from [[Mannheim]] via [[Heidelberg]] to [[Pforzheim]] ([[Black Forest]]) and back.<ref>{{cite web |title=Repairs with a hairpin and a garter |url=http://www.bertha-benz.de/indexen.php?sub=2&col=b&inhalt=pers_reparaturen |website=Bertha Benz Memorial Route |access-date=November 26, 2023}}</ref> Stockings have also been used as an emergency replacement for a car's fanbelt.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Arendt |first1=Paul |title=Emergency Role for Panty Hose |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1990-12-02-9004090675-story.html |access-date=November 26, 2023 |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=December 2, 1990}}</ref>

===20th century===
During World War II, [[Women's Auxiliary Air Force]] members were issued inexpensive suspenders.<ref name="MacDonald2002">{{cite book|author=Joan MacDonald|title=Our Mornings May Never be: Memoirs of a WAAF Sergeant-- and Beyond|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6EYv018fUAEC&q=WAAF+garter+belt&pg=PA27|access-date=2014-01-06|year=2002|publisher=General Store Publishing House|isbn=978-1-894263-73-3|page=27}}</ref>

From the 1940s to the 1960s, suspenders became a common, popular alternative to the [[Girdle (undergarment)|girdle]], especially among teens and young women. Amid concerns girdles might cause abdominal flabbiness, suspender belts offered a more practical and comfortable choice when used to hold up [[stockings]]. Then, by the early 1960s, the introduction of pantyhose offered a new alternative to garter belts and girdles.<ref name="Barber" /> This change in fashion coincided with the female empowerment movement and the sexual revolution.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Barford |first1=Vanessa |title=The re-re-re-rise of the corset |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-18409752 |website=[[BBC News Online]] |access-date=November 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231023224140/https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-18409752 |archive-date=October 23, 2023 |date=June 19, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Allyn |first1=David |title=Make Love, Not War: The Sexual Revolution: An Unfettered History |date=April 5, 2001 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |page=105}}</ref>

Since the mid-20th century, men's adult magazines featuring images of women in underwear reached mass-market popularity. These magazines evolved from [[Pin-up model|pin-up posters]] and often showcased models in suspenders and stockings, usually with [[Slip (clothing)|slip]]s, [[petticoats]], [[corsets]], or a [[bra]] and knickers or [[panties]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Snodgrass |first1=Mary Ellen |title=World Clothing and Fashion: An Encyclopedia of History, Culture, and Social Influence |date=March 17, 2015 |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |page=457}}</ref> Most images have an erotic element and are sometimes presented as [[fetish fashion]] and a form of [[pornography]]. Like jewelry, the purpose of garters and other lingerie in adult media is as a statement of excess and to draw attention to certain parts of the wearer's body.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kaite |first1=Berkeley |title=Pornography and Difference |date=November 22, 1995 |publisher=[[Indiana University Press]] |page=121}}</ref>

After the release of ''[[Bull Durham]]'' in June 1988, garter belt and stocking sales increased at [[Victoria's Secret]] and [[Frederick's of Hollywood]] stores. The lingerie retailers attributed the jump in sales to the black lace garter [[Susan Sarandon]] wore in the film.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Abcarian |first1=Robin |title=Garter Belts on the up and Up |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1988-07-27-8801170961-story.html |access-date=November 23, 2023 |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=July 27, 1988}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Sarandon Gives the Garter Belt Shot in the Arm |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1988/08/06/sarandon-gives-the-garter-belt-shot-in-the-arm/ |access-date=November 23, 2023 |work=[[Orlando Sentinel]] |date=August 6, 1988}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Lingerie: New Snap For Garters |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,968110,00.html |access-date=November 23, 2023 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=August 15, 1988}}</ref> Other films that year, like ''[[Dangerous Liaisons]]'' and ''[[Working Girl]]'', also fueled the intimate apparel industry.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Faludi |first1=Susan |title=[[Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women]] |date=1991 |publisher=[[Crown Publishing Group]] |page=200}}</ref>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:BostonGarterLigas.jpg|Boston Garter sock garters for men from the beginning of the 20th century from the permanent collection of the [[Museo del Objeto del Objeto]]
File:Jarretelgordel (ST658 5 01) - Kostuum - Onderkleding - MoMu Antwerp.jpg|Garter belt, between 1955 and 1965, [[ModeMuseum Provincie Antwerpen]]
</gallery>

===Contemporary practices===
Suspender belts continue to be worn for their original purpose of holding up stockings. As of the 21st century, suspenders are available in a variety of styles, most commonly in white, 'fleshtone' beige-pink, or black with a [[satin]] finish. These are often now made from a mixture of [[nylon]] and [[spandex]]/[[lycra]], being more readily available in retail stores.

Variations of the suspender or garter belt include [[panties|knickers]] with suspender attachments reminiscent of images of the 1960s and [[corsets]] or girdles with small loops inside the bottom edge for attaching suspenders. Knickers are normally worn on top of the suspender belt as this makes it easier to remove them to use the lavatory/bathroom. If worn underneath the belt, undressing may be rather complicated if using a public facility.

==Order of the Garter==
{{Main article|Order of the Garter}}
[[File:Order of the Garter of Franz Joseph I of Austria.jpg|thumb|250px|The garter of the [[Order of the Garter]] of Emperor [[Franz Joseph I of Austria]]]]

The Order of the Garter, which is the oldest and highest British order of chivalry, was founded in 1348 by [[Edward III of England|Edward III]]. The Order consists of [[British monarchy|the reigning monarch]], who is Sovereign of the Order, the [[Prince of Wales]], and up to 24 Knights Companion, plus any honorary members from the British royal family or foreign monarchies.

The origin of the symbol of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, a blue 'garter' with the motto ''Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense'', is not known, as the earliest records of the order were destroyed by fire; however, the story is that at a ball possibly held at [[Calais]], [[Joan of Kent|Joan, Countess of Salisbury]] dropped her garter and King Edward, seeing her embarrassment, picked it up and bound it about his own leg saying in French, "Evil [or shamed] be he that thinks evil of it." This story is almost certainly a later fiction.{{fact|date=August 2019}} This fable appears to have originated in France and may have been invented to discredit the Order.{{fact|date=August 2019}}

It is thought more likely that as the garter was a small strap used as a device to attach pieces of [[armour]], it was appropriate to use the garter as a symbol of binding together in common brotherhood, whilst the motto probably refers to the leading political topic of the 1340s, Edward's claim to the [[Kingdom of France|throne of France]].

The [[patron saint]] of the Order is [[St George]], the patron saint of soldiers and also of England, and the chapel of the order is [[St George's Chapel]] in [[Windsor Castle]].<ref>[http://www.heraldicsculptor.com/Garters.html/ Order of the Garter information] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070205042205/http://www.heraldicsculptor.com/Garters.html/ |date=February 5, 2007 }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Sleeve garter]]
* [[Suspenders]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
* {{Commons category inline|Garter belts}}
* {{Commons category inline|Garters}}

{{Corsetry}}
{{Lingerie}}
{{Weddings}}
{{Parties}}
{{Men's undergarments}}
{{Historical clothing}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1930s fashion]]
[[Category:1940s fashion]]
[[Category:1950s fashion]]
[[Category:1960s fashion]]
[[Category:Belts (clothing)]]
[[Category:Fashion accessories]]
[[Category:History of clothing]]
[[Category:Hosiery]]
[[Category:Lingerie]]
[[Category:Medieval European costume]]
[[Category:Wedding clothing]]