<P> Suspender belts continue to be worn for their original purpose of holding up stockings . Suspenders today 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 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 . </P> <P> A famous "garter" in English is the Order of the Garter, which traces its history to the Middle English poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight . In the poem, Gawain accepts a girdle (very similar in function and connotation to a garter) from the wife of his host (while resisting her pretend carnal temptations) to save his life and then wears it as a mark of shame for his moral failure and cowardice . King Arthur and his men proclaim it no shame and begin, themselves, to wear the girdle to indicate their shared fate . At that point, however, the garter was a larger garment that was used as a foundation . </P> <P> The Order, which is the oldest and highest British Order of Chivalry, was founded in 1348 by Edward III . The Order consists of Her Majesty The Queen who is Sovereign of the Order, His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales and 24 Knights Companions . </P> <P> 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, will probably never be known for certain as the earliest records of the order were destroyed by fire; however, the story goes that at a ball possibly held at Calais, 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 . This fable appears to have originated in France and was, perhaps, invented to discredit the Order . There is a natural unwillingness to believe that the world's foremost Order of Chivalry had so frivolous a beginning . </P>

What's the thing on the bride's leg called