Male Rompers Take On the Fashion World

By Dominick Daniele

Staff Reporter

This past summer, as a response to the popular female clothing trend, the male romper was added to the arsenal of new fashion trends for men.

A romper is a shirt and shorts connected by a seam. The clothing wears as a one piece with a loose fit.

The concept of a male version of the romper is new to Sacred Heart senior Hannah Neary.

“I have heard of them before and I have never seen a guy wear one in public before,” said Neary. “But I guess fashion is changing, right?”

The rompers come in all types of colors and patterns. Some have a basic look like the original ‘RompHim’ brand, which comes in one solid color. Others have colorful looks that include splatter paint and pineapple prints.

“I first saw them on social media on meme pages,” said junior Jimmy Siclari. “I honestly just thought it was a joke at first. I couldn’t imagine seeing a dude confidently walking around campus like that.”

The creators of RompHim, the original men’s romper, have not even graduated college yet. They launched a project on the crowdfunding website Kickstarter to raise money for creating the one-piece.

RompHim caught a lot of attention and raised more than $136,000 in just two days, which was 13 times the $10,000 goal that the company was trying to reach, according to CNN.

“I believe the male romper was invented as a joke rather than a serious attempt to change the social norms of men’s fashion,” says junior Ryan Sledzik.

Even fashion academics are weighing in on the trend.

“I think it’s outrageous,” said Mark-Evan Blackman, an assistant professor of Menswear Design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, in a comment to the Los Angeles Times. “Who wants to see a grown man dressed like a toddler?”

According to RompHim’s website, among the most popular of the one-pieces is the Asos Slim Short Jumpsuit, which is one of the cheapest of the rompers starting at $64.

One of the more expensive rompers is the Thom Browne Daisy Floral Intarsia Singlet, which goes for about $3,200.

Sacred Heart junior Sean Ward finds the $3,200 RompHim to be too pricey.

“I’m speechless,” said Ward. “It looks terrible and doesn’t even look comfortable. Why do they cost so much? They should cost like 8 dollars.”

Although social media enjoyed the increased views when the news of male rompers broke out, the style is hardly new. Sean Connery sported a light blue romper when he played James Bond in the 1964 film “Goldfinger.”

Even so, Neary doesn’t see a bright future for the romper fad.

“It isn’t the best of looks,” said Neary. “I think it is kind of flashy. It also looks like a baby’s outfit, which makes the person wearing it look pretty childish.”

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