Figure 1.--Here we see an unidentified father and son, we think in the 1930s. The boy looks to be about 5 years old. The boy wear suspender rompers at the seaside, in this case the suspender straps are very wide. We do not know where the photograph was taken, but we suspect that it was probably France.

There were major changes in rompers during the 1930s. Trends varied from country to country. Rompers in America followed a split trajectory. They declined in popularity for boys during the 1920s, and were not very common by the the 30s for boys. They became, however, increasingly oopular fior girls. Some parents saw them as more modest than the short pants that the biys begn wearing. On the other habd they became very popular in France for boys. They might be worn by boys up to about 6-7 years of age, although the older boys did not wear them to school. French boys also wore romper bottoms, usually with suspender attachments. This was becoming popular summer beachwear. The rompers became a less restrictive garment dring the 30s. We see a range of outfits. In France we see the classic Barboteuse romper suits with bows a the back. These were popular play garments for pre-school boys, but we also see dressy rompers. We also see bib-front and suspender rompers. They were done to short lengths, mich shorter than the earlier rompers. Sometimes they were shorter than short pants which were becoming increasngly common at the time.