Rompers: Play Clothes for Grown-Ups

When Jessica Grose found herself unwittingly trying on a romper during a shopping trip, she was horrified. After all, “it should be obvious that rompers were not originally intended to make adult women look hot,” Grose writes on DoubleX, remembering her reaction the first time she saw a grown-up sporting one: “She looks like a slutty toddler.” Now that rompers are all the rage, Grose decided to do a little investigating.

“Rompers are the latest in a long line of infantilizing sartorial choices,” Grose writes. The fashion ranges from embarrassing to disturbing—“And there are practical questions to consider: How do they pee in those things? Are wedgies a constant concern? Does a set of finger paints come with purchase?” But after testing six rompers for “versatility, price, non-absurdity, and attractiveness,” Grose actually found one she deemed “pretty damn cute.” (More Jay-ZTV stories.)