Figure 1.--He we see three French brothers growing up on a farm. Notice the older boys wear bib-front rompers with shirts while their younger brother wears a romper suit. The bib-front style was usually a play garment. The boys look to be about 3-7 years old.

Bib-front rompers are also commonly called sunsuits. They appear to have been more commonly worn by somewhat older boys than the dressier rompers. This was especially the rompers designed for play or beachwear, as reflected in the French term barboteuse bain de soleil. The photographic record supports the The idea that the bif-front style was often used for play rompers while the suspender style might be used as a dress garment. The bib of course served in a protective function. The bib-front rompers came in different types of bib fronts. Some tied around the neck. More substantial bibfront had shoulder straps which was the ore common construction. The standard barboteuse bain de soleil had a bib front with shouder straps. Some has a bow in the back. They were also croch butonning like the standard barboteuse. This pattern was normally made made up to size 55 cm or to age 6 years old. Unlike the classic barboteuse, the barboteuse bain de soleil was also worn by little girl on beach by about 1955--but this seems to have been quite rare. Some magasines in 1955 asked if it was appropriate for girls to wear thd barboteuse bain de soleil as beachwear. A French reader writes, "I don't remember having seen little girls wearing the barboteuse bain de soleil, but apparently there were some girls who did wwar them. The traditional barboteuse had never been worn by girls in France. It was seen as a boy's garment." Unlikesuspender rompers, bib-front rompers could be wirn without a blouse or shirt.