Figure 1.-- Here we see an American boy riding a play vehicle, perhaps aan Irish-mail vehicle. Note there are four wheels and no pedals. The snap shot was taken in 1912. The boy looks to be 3-4 years of age. He wears a one-piece romper suit with elastic closure on the legs so that he seems to be wearing bloomers. The blousing effect is quite extreme because of the fullness of the rompers. The pnts legs are dome rather like the bloomer knickers worn with tunic suits, but this is a one-piece garment. He wears black long stockings that come up quite high on his legs.

I am not sure what the original rompers were made as. This probably reflect the garments origins which we still are sure about. HBC has noted, however, both dressy and play rompers. The older romper suits seem to have been done as dressy outfits. Most of the boys rompers phptographs we have we have found are clearly play suits. Almpst all of the snapshots taken in the 1900s and 1910s are play suits. They become less common for boys in the 1920s. Perhaps it was basically a life style change. I am not sure what drove this trend from dressy to casual garments. It seems to be part of a wider trend away from fancy, fussy clothes for little boys toward more practical plain outfits. We see fancy romper suits for boys into the 1950s, but have never boticed this in America.

Dressy

Some of the early rompers appeared to have been dressier than was commonly the case by the 1900s. The older romper suits seem to have been done as dressy outfits. We have, however, very few examples in our archive so it id difficult to make any definitive assessments. Dressy rompers may be made of velvet and have embroidered trim and smocking. We see fancy romper suits for boys into the 1950s, but have never boticed this in America.

Play

Rompers in America were mostly play clothes. While dressy rompers have beebn noted, the vast majority of American boys wearing rompers wore them for play. Most of the boys rompers phptographs we have we have found are clearly play suits. Almpst all of the snapshots taken in the 1900s and 1910s are play suits. They become less common for boys in the 1920s. Perhaps it was basically a life style change. I am not sure what drove this trend from dressy to casual garments. It seems to be part of a wider trend away from fancy, fussy clothes for little boys toward more practical plain outfits. We see quite a number of these play suits in the photographic record.

Gym Suits

Bloomers often paired with middy blouses became standard for gym suits, at least for girls. This was the standard for several decades. It began when secondary education was not common. It continued into the 1920s. A goof exmple is an unidentified school in the 1920s. Gradually this evolved into romper suit gym uniforms and romper play suits for girls. After the 20s we no longer see American boys wearing rompers unless they were infants. They became popular for girls, but were no longer a boy's garment.