Figure 1.--This German boy wears rompers. The photograph is undated, but HBC would estimate that it was taken about 1930. It looks to be from some sort of advertisement. Note the white kneesocks. |
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HBC has noted some photographs of German boys wearing rompers. HBC has, however, virtually no information on German rompers. We have no writen sources converning German rompers. We have noted photographs of German boys wearing rompers. We noted a NAZI propaganda film made by Goebels at the Lake Wanderssee resort near Berlin in 1944 to try to prove how undisturned life in Berlin was by the war. One boy about 4 years old wears yellowish-colored rompers. This shows that rompers were worn in the 1940s. The image here, however, looks like it might be a 1930s image--but that is only a guess. Rompers were worn by younger boys up to about 4-5 years of age. As far as I know it was always a style for pre-school children. HBC is unclear as to the chronology of rompers in Germany. They seem to first appear in the 1920s and were worn through the 1960s, although by the 1960s the age range probably decined to 3-4 years. We are also not sure just in which country they originally appeared. We note American boys wearing them in he early 20th century. Rompers appear to have been more popular in France and Italy, but some German boys did wear them. The colors and material involved have varied widely. They seem to have been primarily a play garment, but some dressier versions have also been noted.
HBC has noted some photographs of German boys wearing rompers. HBC has, however, virtually no information on German rompers. We have no writen sources converning German rompers.
The German and Austrian term for romper is Spielhöschen . It is the term used for a children's play suit with puff pants. The general term for a small's child's play suit is Spielanzug, but this included many play outfits in addition to rompers. A reader explains, "Concerning rompers in German, there is no real translation. All the little garment alike pants with buttons; bib, very short pants for baby, the mothers say "Spielhöschen". HBC has noted the use of "Spielanzug". A reader reports that the most commonly used word for rompers in German is "Spielhöschen". He indicates that it is much more used in the popular language than "Spielanzug," (written allways with the upper case S and not the lowercase s).
HBC is unclear as to the chronology of rompers in Germany. They seem to first appear in the 1920s and were worn through the 1960s.
I do not yet know how common they were in the 1920s and 30s. The image here, however, looks like it might be a 1930s image--but that is only a guess. We have noted photographs of German boys wearing rompers. We noted a NAZI propaganda film made by Goebels at the Lake Wanderssee resort near Berlin in 1944 to try to prove how undisturned life in Berlin was by the war. One boy about 4 years old wears yellowish-colored rompers. This shows that rompers were worn in the 1940s.
We do not have precise age information as our archives of German boys wearing rompes islimited. Rompers were worn by pre-school boys up to about 4-5 years of age. As far as I know it was always a style for pre-school children. Perhaps a slightly older boy might have worn them to the beach. The ages of boys wearing them have changed over time. They were still worn in the 1950s. They were still being worn by German boys in the 1960s, but the age seems to have decined to 3-4 years.
The first rompers we note are very long extending down to the knee. Gradually rompers became shorter. This basic trend followed the trend in short pants as well. We also notice belts on many early rompers. We also notice rompers being styled similarly to the top of smocks, although smocks were not very sommon in Germany.
We are also not sure just in which country they originally appeared. We note American boys wearing them in he early 20th century. Rompers appear to have been more popular in France and Italy, but some German boys did wear them. We note occassional images through the 1950s and even the 60s.
The colors and material involved have varied widely. We have noted yellow rompers in the early 1940s. Other bright colors may have been worn.
Rompers were a flexible style. They seem to have been primarily a play garment, an easy way for mothers to dress little boys for play or casual wear. We see many different styles of play rompers. We note, however, boys wearing rompers them for dress up occassions as well. Rompers in Germany appear to have been primarily a play garment. Most of the images we hve found show boys wearing play rompers. Some of the dressier rompers we have found in France seem less common in Germany. They do not seem to have been nearly as popular as a dressy garment.
We note some of the basic romper types in Germany that we notice in France and other European countries. There were different types of rompers done in a wide range of styles. So far we have noted German boys wearing two of the three different types. We see a variety of one-piece suits, similar to the standard French Barboteuse. They seem to have been a kind of low-maintenance play sut for younger boys. We also note romper pants with varied suspension: suapenders, h-bar, and bib-front. These seem to have been particularly common in Germany as a type of summer sun suit. We have not yet noted German boys wearing just the romper pants.
Most of the images we have noted with German children wearing rompers depict boys wearing them. We are unsure to what extent German girls also wore them. Here conventions varied from country to country. We note both boys and girls wearing them in America, but only boys in France. We have noted a few images of German girls wearing rompers, but we are not sure how common this was.
We note German boys wearing rompers with both long stockings and different length socks.
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