Figure 1.--These two German brothers were photographed in 1959. The older boy wears lederhosen and his younger brother a romper suit. The boys look to be about 7 and 3 years old.

We do not have precise age information as our archives of German boys wearing rompers is limited. 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. A good example is an unidentified 2-year old German boy, probably photographed in the 1920s. Perhaps a slightly older boy might have worn them to the beach in the 1950s. The boys look to be about 7 and 3 years old. 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. One readers tells us rhat this was primarily an imported French fashion and that after the German occupation of France (1940), many of these garments were probably made in France.

Actual Years

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. A good example is an unidentified 2-year old German boy, probably photographed in the 1920s. Perhaps a slightly older boy might have worn them to the beach in the 1950s. These two German brothers were photographed in 1959. The older boy wears lederhosen and his younger brother a romper suit (figure 1). The boys look to be about 7 and 3 years old. We have noted German boys up to about 5 years of age wearing them. 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.

Age 1

Rompers were worn by infants and toddlers. We commonkly see 1-year olds wearing them. A factor here was he roomy bummle pants easily accomodated iappers. It is one reason they are still worn by very young children. We still see 1-year olds wearing rompers while since the 1970s, the older pre-school boys past the toddler age no longer wear rompers.

Age 2

A good example is an unidentified 2-year old German boy, probanly photographed in the 1920s. Perhaps a slightly older boy might have worn them to the beach in the 1950s.

Age 3

Age 3 years was a common age for wearing rompers. Thus us the age that separates toddlers from pre-school children. Here we see two German brothers were photographed in 1959. The older boy wears lederhosen and his younger brother a romper suit (figure 1). The boys look to be about 7 and 3 years old. The ages of boys wearing rompers 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 steadily declined beginning in the 1960s. Usually the ages we specify are only estimates based on how old the chidren look. Very few of the snapshots we have found specify ages.

Age 4

Rompers were not just for infants and toddlers. We also notice many 4-year old German boys wearing rompers. Until rompers became a style for basically infants or younger toddlers in the 1960s, we see boys mostly about 3-5 years old wearing rompers. Age 4 years was thus a common age for rompers based on our assessment of the photographic record. As with the other ages, most of the examples we have found are playwear or very often beachwear. We see very few dressy German rompers.

Age 5

We have noted German boys up to about 5 years of age wearing rompers. We are not sure how popular this was. We notice some older boys wearing rompers during the World War II era. We are not sure if this is just the French fashion influence or the shipment of French made clothes to the Reich during the German occupation of France. As part of the reparations the Germans demanded, clothing, food, and other French produced items were shipped to Germany in substantial quantities. Age 5 years is about the oldest age we have noted, but our archive is still quite limited. We tend to think this was the oldest age boys wore rompers because at age 6 they began school. The rompers we see 5-year olds wearing are the suspender or H-bar romper pants and not the full romper suits worn by younger boys.

Age 6

German boys did not wear ropers to school. Age 6 years was when primary school began, although some boys started a year earlier with Kindergarten. Some 6 year olds may have worn rompers for play or beachwear, but it does not seen to have been very common. We notice French boys at 6 years ior even older ges wearing rompers, although not to school. This was less common in Germany. >br>

Reader Comment

A French reader writes. The romper outfit the little German boy wears is not exceptional. During the German World War II occupation a lot of clothing made in France was shipped to Germany. This I believe had an influence on German fashions. [HBC note: We have collected information on the French Vichy Government with information on the occupation.] I thing these boys are rather 7-8 and 4 years old The little boy is wearing a " Spielhöschen " it is the name used at the time for rompers in Germany and Austria. ( I am sure of that , I remember and they was no other term. ) The traditional French romper one piece was rare in Germany. I don't know why. The name " Spielanzug " meant a little suit for playing in summer, but not specifically a romper."

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Created: December 13, 2003
Last updated: 2:25 AM 5/6/2018