A garter belt is a piece of lingerie that goes around someones waist and uses clips or snaps to hold up pantyhose or stockings. It is usually made of lace, but not always. The garter belt started back in the days before elastic when holding up stockings was a lot harder and thus anchoring it around the waist made the most sense. The garter belt is different from a garter, which is an article of clothing comprising a narrow band of fabric fastened about the leg to keep up stockings.

When wearing a garter belt, one needs to use pantyhose or stockings that dont go all the way up the leg, like thigh-high stockings or some other pantyhose designed to be worn with a garter belt. Garter belts are adjustable to fit any leg length and can be worn with fashion stockings or stockings that do not feature a silicone band.

The garter belt is a Western wedding tradition for a bride to wear to her wedding, to be removed towards the end of the reception by the groom. Technically, the purpose of the garter belt was originally to hold up the brides stockings, though since the invention of elastic and pantyhose, they’re no longer necessary. Today, they’re more for the tradition than anything. The garter belt symbolizes good luck to the bachelors in attendance, and whoever is lucky enough to catch it will be the next to get married.

In summary, a garter belt is a piece of lingerie that goes around the waist and uses clips or snaps to hold up pantyhose or stockings. It is different from a garter, which is an article of clothing comprising a narrow band of fabric fastened about the leg to keep up stockings. The garter belt is a Western wedding tradition and is worn for the tradition and good luck.