Thursday, September 10, 2009

Overalls

Nothing says en vogue quite like sporting the functional farmer wear du jour. To their credit, overalls did have a certain degree of versatility in the 90s: you had your traditional denim pair and then a few snazzier ones for special occasions. You know, like goat milking.

Overalls inexplicably became a 90s must-have fashion item, prompting suburban kids who had never so much as visited a farm to covet these godforsaken garments. When I was in fourth grade, there was a style decree that on Thursdays, everyone wore overalls. It was sort of our elementary school version of Mean Girls' "On Wednesdays we wear pink". Anyone who was anyone in the fourth grade sure as hell better have showed up to school in overalls on Thursdays. Everyone knew that.

There were all sorts of fun self-expressing variations in overalls. Many 90s kids opted for the very popular one-strap-fastened-one-strap-unfastened look. It kind of said, sure, I like shoveling manure, but only sometimes. There was really no verifiable explanation for engaging in this half-fastened overall behavior as it served no functional purpose. If anything, it was pretty inconvenient to have a strap with an attached eye-piercing piece of metal swinging around your person all day.
My overall-wearing hero, a Miss Alex Mack.


If that wasn't for you, we had a little something for the ladies too. Overalls and sexiness may seem like two highly disparate concepts, but it was all in the shirt selection. If you were planning on wearing a shirt, that is. I got into many, many heated fights with my parents regarding the appropriateness of my wearing a lacy midriff-exposing tee shirt under my Gap overalls. If Kelly Kapowski could do it, then dammit why couldn't I? They've yet to give me a sufficient explanation for that one.

I tried to convince them that it could have been much, much, worse. There were girls up at the junior high showing up to school wearing just overalls and a smile. Okay, that's a total lie, those girls were more than likely surly as hell in their near-naked overalled state, but that's really neither here nor there.


Looking back on this picture of Winona Ryder's near nakedness, I can sort of understand my parents' point of view. I do admire her strap-twisting prowess, though.


Then of course we had the overall/flannel combo, a particular 90s fan favorite. There were many permutations on this highly versatile look, one of the most popular being the classic open-plaid-flannel-over-overalls look. It had a certain casual flair to it that we could all only aspire to achieve as child stylistas. Somewhat less body-flattering but equally widespread was the flannel tied around the waist of overalls look. If you had belt loops on your pair, you could even spice it up a bit and do some intricate woven work. Fancy stuff.

Or if you were into a little more pseudo-rebellion, the double unhooked look was also quite the rage. You may ask yourself why you'd choose to wear overalls if you didn't plan on utilizing their basic functionality, and you would most certainly be right to question this blatant idiocy. In fact, it would be much more convenient to simply don some sportswear separates, but these 90s kids just weren't having it. No, we'd throw on a belt to hold those babies up. No shame in that. Okay, a little shame. Alright, alright, loads of shame.

This particular style of overall wearing was a bit on the controversial side as it allegedly suggested gang affiliation. Indeed, it is still classified as such by many school districts. The Texas Youth Commission still defines the wearing "Overalls, unfastened" as potentially inflammatory behavior. I know, right. They helpfully explain the implications of gang wear as such:

The "gang look" is meant to intimidate those who are not in a gang. Children and teenagers who dress in clothing that resembles gang attire are showing an interest in gangs, will attract the attention of gangs, and could be putting themselves in extreme danger. In recent years children have been shot and killed by gangs simply for wearing gang related clothing. For the safety of your children, it is very important that you do not buy or allow your children to wear any item that gang members use to identify with the gang.


Okay, Okay, so this is a Harajuku girl and not a gang member...but look at how her overalls conveniently only have a single strap! They've evolved!

I'll agree with them that anyone killed for unintentionally wearing gang-themed clothing represents a terrible tragedy, but the tone of this is just absurd. If we thought authority figures were uncool in our day, it seems they've only tightened their grip with all sorts of new rules and regulations that were still in their larval stage during our formative years. It's all vaguely reminiscent of The Man trying to relate to young people but failing completely. It also brings to mind Daria's father Jake Morgendorffer, who once famously said, "I'm up on the issues. Is it a problem with your gang?"

No matter just how jiggy adults tried to be with our phat style, it seemed their condemnation only edged us further into the expanse of dangerous attire wearing. Many of the young people who so loved overalls had more or less never even heard of gangs, they just bought what The Gap told them to and that was that.
And if The Gap told me to wear I've-been-working-on-the-railroad style pinstriped overalls, well, thus so it shall be.

21 comments:

Haley said...

So in 5th grade, my entire class would wear our overalls, with the right strap not hooked and our adidas sambaas on wednesday. We looked like a gang...it was horrible. But we thought we were the shit!

WarriorHeartGypsySoul said...

Ok, I'm not going to lie... I had a pair of overall shorts and I wore them all the time!!! They were the most comfortable things!

Laila P said...

I always wanted a pair. I never got them, though :(

Anonymous said...

that's amazing! I loved overalls and im not going to lie i was pretty sad when they faded out!

Brittany Ann said...

I rocked overalls like it was my job. And I think I held on to the trend too long, too. Which now just makes me sad.

Annie said...

of course i had a few pairs...loved em!

my dad, farmer bob, whom does not live on a farm is sometimes caught wearing overalls. yup! haha!

Melanie's Randomness said...

Yup!! Totally had a few pairs. Sigh. I totally forgot about Alex Mack. She was one of the coolest!! =)

Martha@A Sense of Humor is Essential said...

Great post and I totally rocked my overall shorts, rolled up bottoms and all!
Thanks also for your visit to my blog, I appreciate it.

Katie said...

My mom still wears hers when she works in the yard.

rachaelgking said...

In my school, NO ONE would dare wear overalls with both straps hooked. That was unheard of.

We definitely called each other to plan "overalls day", though... so our coolness was pretty much nullified.

Moonjava said...

I'm so guilty of this! I had one of these in middle school or was it high school! It was so comfy though...

Lorelai said...

I was way cool at my school 'cause I had an overall skirt. No one else had an overall skirt, nor could they rock their overall pants quite like I could.

I miss those days. The power I had thanks to my overall skirt...

Janna said...

I remember when I was in 4th or 5th grade, absolutely everywhere you looked in the malls and clothing catalogs, there were overalls with striped long-sleeved shirts modeled after The Gap. I had one pair of overalls that I wore a few times, but thankfully that's all. It's not the greatest look for anyone, but especially when you're pudgy and awkward going through puberty.

LWLH said...

If you look in my I Heart 90's labels you'll see a post from back in the day where I got overalls for Xmas and I was overjoyed, I led such a sad life..lol

Andhari said...

My mom dressed me up a lot in this, I think you can tell I was already fashion conscious in such early age because i refused to wear them :P

Lisa said...

I can't stop laughing..overalls! I totally remember them. I am guilty of owning a few...embarrassing!

BonBon Rose Girls Kristin said...

Me+6th grade=one side unhooked. Hot look!

Irwin Esq said...

OMG! I seriously had an overall addiction they were my "signature"! GROSS! Our dress code prevented me from rocking my denim pairs (I had both short and long) during the school day, but not to worry I had wool, linen, corduroy & velvet to cover all season and occasions and fall within dress code. I think I even had a couple of jumper dress things made to look like overalls but with a skirt. I'm pretty sure that overalls alone have caused my aversion to GAP and Old Navy since this lovely trend died

Rocky84136 said...

In my middle school in 9th grade on Fridays and on game days everyone was supposed to wear overalls, both girls and boys. Plus the girls were supposed to wear their white canvas Keds as well.. So many of us girls were constantly tripping over the hems on our overalls, most of us had overalls that were super baggy and big, and would walk all over the hems of our overalls because of that. In fact mine were so big and baggy that my pant legs totally covered my entire shoe! In fact, we started a contest to see who would have the most tattered pant leg hems at the end of the year. And the boys had to wear overalls also. My boy friend at the time would look like my twin, his overalls were so huge on him like mind were on me!

Rocky84136 said...

I never stopped holding! I still wear the same pair of overalls I had in high school!

Rocky84136 said...

Old Navy overalls are THE BEST! they're so soft, so loose and baggy, OMG

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