"Ribbon tabs" with  garters:

 

A ribbon-like covering seems to be used with many garments where garters are exposed. Mostly I've seen them used for the front garters on garments with 4 garters, and sometimes they also appear on the front and side garters when the garment has six garters. Initially, I didn't pay too much attention to this feature. Then I began to realize that the use of these ribbons was variable and didn't seem to follow any discernable pattern with regard to type of garment, style, or quality. Their purpose was not clear, and they were only rarely mentioned as a feature in the ad copy.

 

My first thought was that the ribbon on top of a front garter might help to soften the outline of a garter showing through an outer garment. Some examples are shown here.

 

I wondered if the use of ribbons was a function of "fashion" - and thus, their frequency of appearance may change over time. When ribbons have been present over the past 4 decades, they generally are wide enough to cover the garter. Sometimes there are two ribbon ends. Then, I observed some precursors to wide ribbons shown in the 1936 Sears. I included a magnified image of the garter showing the ribbons. They appear to be little tabs. Seeing this example, I thought that one of the functions might be to help the lady grasp the garter when it is under tension, to unhook it.

 

 

However, if it's really essential for that purpose, then why aren't they always provided?

 

I've only found three times when garter-ribbons are referenced in the copy. On page 294 of the 1958 Sears, the black taffeta open bottom corselette with 6 garters is only shown from the back.

 

JC Penny advertised a garter belt in several catalogs in the early 1980's (one example shown from page 319 above), until at least 1985. The copy for that item (and later, another garter belt in JC Penny), stated that the garters had ribbon coverings or were "ribbon covered".  

Since the front of the corselette is not visible, the copy states that it is provided with "ribbon tabs" for the front garters. Since the style is stated to be the same as item A (also in this extract) then the visible ribbons on the front of that item probably match the black corselette. Many examples are available showing the ribbons on top of the garter - suggesting that their function may be to soften the garter outline in the woman's outerwear.  

   

However, in contrast to that practice, there are many examples where ribbons were attached under the garter. Was this to act as more of a cushion against the woman's leg? The following three examples clearly show the ribbon underneath the garter.  

These are three additional examples. The girdle and panty girdle have ribbons under the garters shown in 1960 by Montgomery Ward. The 1965 Otto catalog from Germany clearly shows this arrangement for an open bottom girdle. The shading and contrast was a matter of style in this catalog.  

Another interesting variation appeared in the 1960s. When manufacturers began to make panty girdles with hidden garters, sometimes they were shown with ribbons on the outside of the panty leg (presumably over the top of the garter attached inside the leg).

These illustrations from the 1960 Aldens catalog clearly show the ribbons with a panty girdle with hidden garters. The example from page 305 even uses double ribbons.  

   

Eileen Rockwell-Black used this same configuration in the drawings for her 1970 patent. The ribbons were not mentioned as part of the patent.  

Most advertising makes a point of stating that garters for such garments are hidden. However, in the example above from Lane Bryant in 1958, the garter also appears to be visible under the ribbon. This means that the stockings would have been pulled up over the panty leg and attached. Were there actually some pantygirdles where the woman pulled her stockings up over the leg of her girdle?  

 

These are two additional examples from the 1965 Montgomery Ward catalog (p227). On that same page, there is another long-leg (20") panty girdle that does not show ribbons on the legs (and the copy says that the garters are hidden). These two are 17" and 18" respectively. Was the leg length a factor in use of ribbons?

 

As I looked for images to illustrate these various points, I found some garter arrangements for panty girdles that I've never heard of previously. The illustration from the 1960 Aldens catalog clearly shows that the garters were placed on the outside of the panty leg!