vintage 1933 advertisement for Lee Overalls made of Jelt denim, from ArcaniumAntiques.
bib overalls 70s vintage stationery set... the original text. ha. from TwoDogVintage
a sew it yourself, monkey doll, in blue overalls. so neat, even monkeys wanna wear 'em! from sayitisntsew
you can even wear overalls for rather formal occasions, or at least while doing homework at the library. this cute vintage photo is from girlcatdesign
In ancient times, pre-Egyptian and for centuries after, it appears from art that wearing a length of fabric around your "bathing suit" area, or wearing a piece of fabric like a skirt or a kilt, was the way to dress.... add a tunic, some gold jewelry and lots of eyeliner....... and you have the 80s!
Soon after the days of Greek and Roman togas and tunic, stockings made of bias cut fabric, or simply fabric, was wrapped around the legs, and worn as leggings or stockings.
Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1525/1530 – 1569)
Pants, those things that have legs that you step into seem to have appeared on the peasant class first. Which makes sense, since they work for a living and tunics and togas are just not very helpful.
For centuries, "pants" were just big bloomers or tight things that clung to the royal "jewels" and thighs, much like bicycle shorts. They were called breeches, and look a lot like "man-pris".
There are many great works of art that show that men wore shorty pants and silk knee high socks or thigh high hosiery with silly little shoes. But, no pants.
But Pants, as we recognize them today, with long ankle-length tubes that fasten at the waist, were called "slops" and appeared in about the 1700s. Working class types wore them but the rich classes still wore little shorts and ladies socks to prance around court and palace, and parties.
The Regency period, the time of Jane Austen, (1811-20), was when pants longer than your manly knees, finally became accepted among the frivolous rich.
The famous fella, Beau Brummel, (1778 1840), really dressed up all the time! Tailored coats, ankle-length trousers instead of breeches and stockings, fine tailored linen shirts with ruffles, fancy pants and elaborate cravats, which became our modern men's tie.... and his outrageous yet, tailored by comparison, fashion caught on and didn't subside until the Victorian era when sensible dark wool became the rage. (yawn).
Pants, were known as trousers, and slowly from the early 1800s on, gradually lengthened from the knee to the ankle.
Of course aprons have been worn for centuries to cover working clothes..... about 1850 or so, pants, or trousers, were sewn together with a short apron on top, attached to the waist of the trousers, to make our modern overalls.
Meant to be worn over a shirt and pants, overalls were cut large and roomy.
Railroad workers, called gandy dancers, in a 1933 ad, wearing overalls proudly Union Made, in a 44 hour work week!
Here is a young gent, about 1915, with a cowboy cuff, overalls over his trousers and vest and shirt, with deep rolled cuffs.
White denim overalls were usually worn by painters, stripes for railroad workers, and the blue denim kind, are associated with farmers, workers, the hobo and other non-rich folks.
Trousers, that had a buckle adjustment at the back waist and a front opening, a fly, were called Waist overalls.... and had buttons or metal studs to attach suspenders, or braces to hold them up. Belts were worn to keep your trousers from falling down, but suspenders were quite popular until after WWII.
The bib overalls straps go from the back waist, over the shoulders, to button on the front bib. About 1875, metal buckles appear on factory-made overalls. They have a slide mechanism to adjust the length from shoulder to crotch.
a whole blog about BIB OVERALLS!! we are not making this up.
An elephant in overalls and more!
the 20s Overalls revolt!!
A revolt against the high cost of living, started the fad of overalls clubs, lunch-basket clubs, and the wearing of old clothes to protest high costs. Southern USA, middle class people suddenly decided protest was the way to get government attention, after watching the working class protest for centuries.
Middle class men and women wore "working class" clothing such as jeans, overalls and simple dresses made of gingham and muslin. They went shopping, out to dine, got married, and generally lived their lives in overalls and such. It was a short-lived fad, ending and beginning in 1920 though, and prices continued to go up. Oh well.
What does funkomavintage have right now? Pay Day overalls, Big Mac denim railroad coats, lots of denim.... Union Made, hickory stripes, white denim, and painted-up blue denim.
