Figure 1.--Here we see a studio portrait of an American boy named Jimmy Jr.. We are not entirely sure, but he seems to be wearing a dressy romper suit. Notice the large ruffled collar. Also notice thev twin bar strap shoes and white long stockings. Notice the bow on the shoes. Jimmy looks to be about 3 years old. The prtrait is undated, but the Artura stamp box and shoes suggest the 1910s. The card was for Grandam and Grandpa Fuller, but we do not know if that was Jimmy's last vname as well.

Rompers in America seem primarily a play garment. The great bulk of the photographic record suggests this. This seem to have varied somewhat over time. We note early rompers in the late-19th cdentury that have somewhat of a dressy look to them. Of course conventions of the time were more formal. We are unsure as to just where children would have worn dressy romper suits and for what kind of occasions. Rompers are much more common after the turn-of-the 20th century. And the vast majority of those images are clearly play garments for wear at home. This is reflected in the photographic record. Almost all of the images we ghave found of play rompers are family snapshots and not studio portraits. We note European boys wearing dressy rompers, but this was very rare in America. Almost all of the romper suit images we have archived come from the 20th century. Rompers at the turn-of-the 20th century were mostly worn by boys who previously would have probably still been wearing dresses. They became particularly popular in the 1910s and after World War I (1914-18). They were part of the of a trend toward more casual clothing for younger children and, as a result, were primarly used as play clothes in America.

Play Garment

Rompers in America seem primarily a play garment. The great bulk of the photographic record suggests this. Rompers are much more common after the turn-of-the 20th century. And the vast majority of those images are clearly play garments for wear at home. This is reflected in the photographic record. Almost all of the images we ghave found of play rompers are family snapshots and not studio portraits. We note European boys wearing dressy rompers, but this was very rare in America. Almost all of the romper suit images we have archived come from the 20th century. Rompers at the turn-of-the 20th century were mostly worn by boys who previously would have probably still been wearing dresses. They became particularly popular in the 1910s and after World War I (1914-18). They were part of the of a trend toward more casual clothing for younger children and, as a result, were primarly used as play clothes in America.

Dressy Garment

This seem to have varied somewhat over time. We note early rompers in the late-19th cdentury that have somewhat of a dressy look to them. Of course rompers were not very common in the 19th century , even the late-19th century. And conventions at the time were more formal. We are unsure as to just where American children would have worn dressy romper suits and for what kind of occasions. We only see them in studio portraits. American romper conventions were different than those in Europe. Dressy rompers are very rare in Ameruica. And both girls and boys in America wore them. It is very rare for girls ro wear anything except dresses when dressing up. This convention continue until the 1960s. We have found only a few examples of American boys wearing dressy rompers.