Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1922-02-24
GARTERS ONCE COSTLY
ARTICLE OF ATTIRE
Women Wore Decorations
Worth Fortunes on Legs
In Early Days.

The restoration OF ST. Georges
OAapel 1T Windsor by the knights OF
Ne Garter recalls the fact that this
sseful article has had romantic past.
rhe garter dates from moro pic
hiresQuc days. Its origin Is shroud-
"A in mystery. II is probable that X
had its genesis ut the sa,ne umo that
stockings were introduced. 1t 10 pos
ahae that II was " even earlier origin
tor primitive races guiltlcsa os nose
have nesn found wearing decorative
bAnds Of grxsa. skins. threads OF nbre
simple or adorned by feathers, shells.
beada. or other ornaments on one or
nth legp above or below the knccs.
II 10 generally supposed. however.
Nat beth gartsrs and stockings had
th~ir origin In Spain. and were intro
0uced into England at very early
peric<i. There In frequent mention OF
them hy Shakespeare and earlier poets
and drafnatiets, and mt these particu-
lar periods the garter formed an i'm
portant article Of mems as well ms or
women's attire.
The most historic and famous OF
Uartora In undoubtedly that OF tho
Countess OF Salisbury--the picking up
Of which by Edward Ill. at ball In
tho middle OF the fourteenth century
led To the foundation OF the Most
Noble Order OF the Garter"
Prom being comparatively simple
and uncostiy articles Of attire. design
~<I originally merely to serve useful
purpose, extravagance WAS ultimately
tntrodpccd In them both M regards
the material used and the adornment
Of these articles.
A writer of the Restoration period
speaks Of court ladies as fair. frail
be~utios who life their petticoats TO
show the xsilsnts the fortunes hung
around their legs as garters." This
love ~ display WAS evidently. how
ever. not confined 10 the ladies OF the
Restoration. for n sarcastic poet OF the
middle ~ the eighteenth century
wrote,
Make your petticoats short
That a hoop eight yards wide
May decently show
How your garters are ty'd.
The gartcrs worn by men In the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries
often took the form OF richly ern-
twoidcrcd scarves. fringed with point
lace or gold. and tied In a bow Mt the
aide ot the knees. At a later period
they werc often adorned with diamond.
paste. or steci buckles. and were broad
OF narrow according 20 fashion.
A. In perhaps only natural, the pos
nAhlitIes OF the garter M an article
ar adornment and one upon which
es,ravasence could be lavished. soon
attracted the attention OF French
fsshicn makers. Upon the garter the
brain OF woman and OF artists con-
c~ntrnted TO make II an article not
oniy usef,ii but original. graceful and
poetic. Soon II was turned into an
adcrnment adorable and often costly,
hidden from profane eyes. but rejoiced
IN By the soul Of woman. Its varieties
wsrs innumssub,e.
Al this period there were fashions
In sarters which gave 70 tho princess
6ows Of nne silk ribbon adorned with
gold and fine lace and even gems
tlicse FOR the duchesees were OF velve,
tied In enormous bows. while the mar
ashss had hers made OF muslin OF
silk of different colors and moro SIM
ply adorned jewelers. devoted thei,
energies and artistic instincts to tn,
production ~ beautiful buckles, clasp,
and decorations for garters. Thes,
we're attached 20 strips OF ribbon o,