Figure 1.-A French reader sends us this portrait from a family album. Notice how the rompers do not baloon out very much. It is a counsin who had his portrait taken about 1930 in an early romper suit. When he was a little older, he wore a sailor suit. He had three sons in the 40s and 50s and they all wore rompers when they were little.

We note rompers in a 1922 ladies' fashion magazine, but they do not appear to have been major style in the early 1920s. And the fuff style was not yet a major feature of the early suits. They seem to have gradually grown in popularity during the 1920s. Rompers in France throuhout the 1920s and early 30s were worn by babies and very young boys. They were exclusively a garment for very young boys. French catalogs in this period show rompers being made only for boys and usually only younger boys. One example shows rompers being offered for boys, but not girls, along with smocks in a unidentified 1935 catalog. During this period the romper was a play suit, worn around the home or for family excursions. Boys were not normally dressed in rompers for formal or special events. This the styling on these rompers is generally plainer than was leter to be seen in the 1940s and 50s. The material used also tended to be durable fabrics that could be easily washed.