A Simplified History of Overalls
Becca Boynton | February 15, 2024
Have you ever been taking a light stroll through campus and just couldn’t stop thinking about overalls and how they came to be? Most likely not, and if you have, I am a little concerned. Nevertheless, I am here to tell you about those elongated denim slacks.
From their original purpose to current stylings, welcome to the overall history of overalls.
Created by the original jeans manufacturer, Levi Strauss & Co. in the 1890s, overalls were intended for similar purposes as denim. Curators Grace Howard and Jacob W. Davis created these long, denim garments for heavy labor and to protect workers as America quickly grew into an industrial powerhouse.
Both Howard and David claimed to have developed the original design for the overalls. However, similar designs were being used for centuries beforehand in India, known as dungarees. The design was eventually stolen by the British for the Royal Army and eventually as casual workwear. It was the British who gave the attire the name dungarees, now the name of a workwear attire brand.
While the Brits may have stolen the original design, it took a few centuries for the Americans to add their personal twist. The brand Levi Strauss & Co. reconfigured the casual workman attire and added a simple bib to the top, the rectangular patch of cloth that covers your torso and connects the straps with its two metal buttons — be gone, belts.
With this, modern overalls were born.
For years, overalls were seen as a symbol for the working class. Workers who could not afford to replace their clothing frequently were able to wear these over all their clothes and eliminate having to spend any unnecessary money.
During the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, individuals wore denim overalls as a protest against the slim changes being made for justice.
Additionally, upon women entering the workforce during World War II, a new design was born. As women were setting foot in fields they were rarely allowed to explore before, the demand for work-appropriate but feminine overalls grew and manufacturers began constructing lightweight and more “fashionable” styles of overalls.
These lightweight overalls are still in fashion today. Previously, they were made of thick, unmovable material, such as heavy canvas to attain the utmost protection for welders or other risky jobs.
The ‘90s saw a resurgence of overalls as a trend, with celebrities and television personalities showing off their own unique stylings of dungarees.
Now, decades after they were born, overalls can be spotted anywhere from a Saturday morning farmers market to the tailgate at a state school. Still, with such a rich history in the working class, overalls remain practical and functional for not just the fashionable, but even for the everyday worker.