Figure 1.--This family snapshot is ndatedm but was probably taken in the 1940s. The boys wear H-bar romper sunsuits. It looks like one boy has the baloon pants ad the other boys regular pants. This may be the case, but it is unusual to think mother would sew these sunsuits with different pants. Perhaps the one boy is more slender making his sunsuit look like regular pants.

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 the two major types of romper outfits. We see a variety of one-piece suits in Germany. These seem to be voluminous suits mostly in the 1920s. We rarely see the fashionable French Barboteuse suits popular in France for several decades. The German romper suits seem to have been a kind of low-maintenance play sut for younger boys. We also note romper pants with varied suspension: suspenders, 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, but this was not common in France either. We also notice them being worn as a kind of dressy outfit in formal portraits. Sometimes they were done as coordinasted outfits with sisters, usuall big sisters weraring skirts.

Romper Suits

We see a variety of one-piece suits in Germany. These seem to be voluminous suits mostly in the 1920s. They seem to be done in seviceable cotton fabrics. We rarely see the fashionable French Barboteuse suits popular in France for several decades. The German romper suits seem to have been a kind of low-maintenance play sut for younger boys. And we quite a number in rural areas. They were not fancy suits for well-to-do city boys. We do not see many of these romper suits done as fancy formal outfits in material like velvet. We see romper pants being worn beginning in the 1930s, but the one-piece romper suits popular in France do not seem very common in Germany after the 1920s.

Romper Pants

We also note romper pants with varied suspension: suspenders, h-bar, and bib-front. These seem to have been particularly common in Germany as a type of summer sun suit. The H-bar style seems the most common. Most of the examples we have found seem to date date from the 1940s and 50s. We have not yet noted German boys wearing just the romper pants, but this was not common in France either. We notice both play and dressy oitfits. These romper pants were worn with a variety of shirtys and blouses. Some seem to have been worn as sun suits or beachwear without shirts during the summer. We also notice them being worn as a kind of dressy outfit in formal portraits. Sometimes they were done as coordinasted outfits with sisters, usuall big sisters wearing skirts. We do not see German girls wearing romper pants.

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Created: 3:33 AM 3/21/2008
Last updated: 11:35 PM 5/1/2011