The RompHim: A Conversation Starter

Rompers are a summertime fashion staple. When the weather gets hot, it’s a great time to don a chic, form-fitting romper, usually with patterns appropriate for the season. This past summer, fashion had to make way for the RompHim—a romper designed for men.

 “Here’s the thing, it all depends on one very specific fact, and that’s what he’s dealing with in the caboose area,” said USF student and fashion enthusiast Miiraf Arefeaine, 21, when asked her thoughts on if a guy came to a date dressed in a RompHim. “You know, most of the time, guy’s jeans don’t show off a great butt because they’re not designed to accentuate or just like, show off the male body,” she said, her last few words through laughter. “So, I think, given that we ladies have gotten the chance to show off our butts in rompers for years and years,” she explained, “I think that it’s great men also get that chance.”

RompHim, is the brand of fame for male rompers. The company began launching products in May 2017 and has sold over 5,000 RompHims to date. In event of the launch, various media sources picked up on the RompHim including GQ, Esquire, Buzzfeed, the LA Times, CNN, and even SNL has referenced the style.

Another student, and known Brooks Brothers fan, Kevin Leary, 21, initially said, “It’s a joke. The whole thing’s a joke, right?” Insisting that the concept of the fashion choice was satire, and denying that he would wear one, even if his girlfriend told him he looked good in them. However, after hearing Arefeaine’s thoughts on presenting the male ‘caboose’ he admitted, “Alright that’s fair, if a guy’s got a great ass, he can wear a RompHim.”

USF sociology student Natalia Caprile, 21, as well as Leary, criticized the lack of fun patterns and prints the RompHims have. When asked what she would think if she saw her crush wearing a RompHim she said, “I mean my crush has done a lot of pretty humiliating things in public before, so I feel like a part of me would be like—“ she paused to groan. “I’m just being real here, OK, here’s the thing, in theory, it’s like, not weird, but then you see it and as Kevin pointed out earlier, it just looks like old-timey pajamas because they’re super baggy in the leg area,” Caprile said, referring to a conversation she had on RompHims prior to the interview. 

“They’re all like, pastel-y. Normal rompers you can get fun patterned ones or floral ones or whatever, the only romp-romp—what is it?” Leary asked, forgetting the name of the clothing brand.

“RompHim,” Caprile and Arefeaine both replied, jokingly exasperated.

“Boy Romps I’ve seen are just dumb pastel colors, which make them look more like pajamas,” Leary finished his thought.

Arefeaine expressed that she thought it to be “lovely” that men have the opportunity to wear rompers, and that they don’t necessarily need to be “caged in by the RompHim brand specifically.” She said, “I think that men need to find their sizes, and investigate, and do their squats, and work on that caboose action, and really just own the RompHims.” In all honesty, she explained that if a guy showed up to a date in a RompHim, she would, in fact, be surprised. Arefeaine said it depended on what she and her date were planning on doing, for example, if they were going to a movie, and it was cold and at night, she’d think “Whoa, that’s a decision. That’s a choice. You committed.” She said, “Then, I’d stealthily check out his butt, I’d hopefully be pleasantly surprised, and I’d say ‘Hell yeah, let’s keep doing this.’”

On the other hand, if she was disappointed with her date’s posterior, she would stay on the date and “see if his interior butt was worth it, and made up for lack of exterior butt.” Arefeaine explained her concept of the “interior butt” to be “the spirit of the booty,” and “emotional and intellectual squats”—which seems to be owning the confidence in wearing a male romper, as well as the classic concept of internal beauty over external beauty. She even advises men to dip into the world of jumpsuits and tight overalls. “Check out different, things, check out what works for you. Get in there, men. Fashion is all about just putting one cheek in and just checking it out,” said Arefeaine.