When I was nine, my favorite article of clothing was my black velour overalls. I dressed these up with a white turtleneck and pulled my frizzy hair up with a scrunchy in a half ponytail, thinking I was the coolest kid on the block in those clothes. When my little sister borrowed the overalls and managed to tear the knee in playground mishap I was heartbroken. But it was not long after this incident that overalls, rompers, and jumpers--the go-to sportswear of the eighties and early nineties--were no longer found on shelves. Women’s and junior’s onesies were officially out, and it didn’t look like I’d ever find a replacement for my favorite. 

     I’ve looked back on those styles with part nostalgia and part shame, smirking just a bit at what exactly that generation could get away with, as Calvin Harris so eloquently expresses in his danceable song Acceptable in the Eighties. Sometimes I think I re-watch episodes of My So Called Life just to see Angela and friends in denim overalls and flannel. So you can image that it is much to my shock (though perhaps it shouldn’t be with the reemergence of leggings, leg warmers, and skinny jeans) that after almost a decade in half of extinction, they’re back. I first noticed rompers and overalls at Top Shop in Manhattan a little over a year ago (leave it to Kate), and then they made a vigorous return on the pages of fashion magazines for this spring. Finally, one of my sewing students came to class prancing about in a cotton floral print, elastic waistband romper, clueless to reason for my excitement, as if they had never been out of style. At a trip to the local shopping mall today, I noticed that each retailer--H&M, Forever 21,  Loft, etc.--now has generous selections to choose from. 

     Rompers were made for young children as a playsuit because they’re simple to throw on with usually no closures and the leave room to move around. With expansive shorts that almost give the illusion of a skirt, rompers become popular with women’s wear in the 1930s. My mother recalls the romper making another comeback in the 1970s, mostly as swimwear coverups and relaxed summer looks. She made one from terry clothe as a freshman in high school for her first official sewing project in home economics class.