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Children's Collections
Playthings ~ Clothing

Boy's Play Suit

Cotton
American, circa 1922
Maker: "Katzenjammer Rompers, Enterprise Mfg. Co., Cleveland"
and "Mandel Brothers, Chicago"
Gift of Mary Elizabeth North and Mary Gaylord North, 84.43.11

Rompers, creepers and playsuits were popularized at the beginning of the century, as was dress derived from worker's clothing such as overalls, jumpsuits and jeans. This clothing was well suited for the child's rough and active play.

As attitudes towards clothing changed in the 1920s, clothing manufacturers began to design more casual, practical fashion for children. People began to view childhood as a carefree age. The dressed their children in "playclothes," that were made expressly for comfort and enjoyment.