Gentlemen's garter ad, 1924

In 1924, an ad in the Boston Globe reminded the lads to pull up their socks.

How did your garters look this morning? (Oct, 1924)

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

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http://goodsharer.com/ Aloisius

Stylish.
Kaleberg

Socks needed garters back in the 20s (and before) because no one had invented elastic stretch thread. It wasn’t until 1930 that Percy Adamson knitted himself a pair of garter-less socks using Lastex thread with a latex rubber core. Supposedly, he took off his shoes and socks (at 366 Broadway) and swore he would knit himself a pair of stretch socks or walk home barefoot. Lastex was one of the big business successes of the Great Depression. We take stretch fabrics for granted these days, but you can imagine how big a change this was.
Yep

Ah, back when something was elevating the socks in Boston.
SomeGuyNamedMark

Wait, I should be wearing men’s garters?
- jerwin
  
  If you’re trying to wear cut off trouser legs under your grubby macintosh, a garter belt is still your best bet.
retepslluerb

Guys. NSFW tag, please.
Donald Petersen

The circumstances under which that precise pose would customarily be achieved while exposing ones shoes, socks, and garters… well, it paints a sordid picture.

Underneath “Boston Garter” does it read “Violent Grip”?
joeposts

Darn hipsters!
Antinous / Moderator

Anyone who jokes about my flashes is going to get kicked so hard his kilt will lose its pleats.
http://profiles.google.com/frankozaki Frank Ozaki

i’ll say it: that’s hot.
http://www.youtube.com/user/Freethinkersanon Christopher

“Mister Robinson, are you trying to seduce me?”
- http://www.pattayamail.com John Thomas
  
  A pedant writes…. “you’re trying to seduce me… aren’t you?”
vrplumber

I didn’t realize one could spontaneously develop a foot fetish at my ripe old age.
Rich Keller

By today’s standards, those would be so, I don’t know, nerdy? All I can say is, “honi soit qui mal y pencilneck.”
http://www.facebook.com/joel.emmett Joel Emmett

DEATH. TO. SOCKS.

SOCKS = EVIL INCARNATE.
- IronEdithKidd
  
  I pity the fool that attempts to wear steel-toe work boots without socks.
- SomeGuyNamedMark
  
  Not in the winter
http://bbc.co.uk/chinese cycle23

Business socks? Again?

Good news: Cinco has a product for that. Thanks, Cinco!
http://www.facebook.com/people/James-Agenbroad/100002463876063 James Agenbroad

As opposed to shirt garters http://www.absoluteties.com/shirtgarters.html …still popular with Marines.
- Antinous / Moderator
  
  I’ll just continue looking untidy, thanks.
smallteam

Perfect for a “wide guy” with a “wide stance?” (Not that there’s anything wrong with that….)
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IH3CQ7VQW6OVWD2OW367WYETXU William

These should be brought back. Our (men’s) selection of interesting clothing is so freaking limited.
http://twitter.com/gkiltzVA Glen Kiltz

Things were different before the development of modern elastic.