View source for Overalls

{{Short description|Protective clothing}}
{{about|bib-and-brace overalls, also called "dungarees"|coveralls (boilersuits)|Boilersuit||Overall (disambiguation)|and|Dungaree (disambiguation){{!}}Dungaree}}
{{redirect|Shortall|the name|Shortall (name)}}
{{Infobox clothing type
| name          = Overalls
| image_file    = PalmercarpenterA.jpg
| image_size    = 150px
| caption       = A [[construction worker]] wearing overalls
| type          = protective clothing
| material      = 
| location      = 
| manufacturer  = 
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}}
'''Overalls''' or '''bib-and-brace overalls''', also called '''dungarees''' in British English,<ref>{{Cite OED|dungaree|id=58477}} 2, 3. Quote: "dungaree, n.: 3. In plural. Originally British. A type of overalls consisting of trousers with an extra piece of cloth covering the chest, held in place by a strap over each shoulder; (later also frequently) a casual garment resembling this, usually made from denim, corduroy, or heavy cotton, and typically worn by women or children. <small>The usual sense in British use and in most varieties of English close to British English. In North America known typically as bib overalls or overalls, and in Australia as overalls.</small>"</ref> are a type of [[garment]] usually used as [[protective clothing]] when working. The garments are commonly referred to as a "pair of overalls" by analogy with "pair of [[trousers]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.waltontaylor.com/overallshistory.html|title=Walton & Taylor "The History of Overalls (Jeans)"|website=www.waltontaylor.com}}</ref>

Overalls were originally made of [[denim]], but they can also be made of other materials such as [[corduroy]], [[chino cloth]], or [[leather]]. Overalls were invented in the mid to late 1890s by Grace Howard and [[Jacob W. Davis]] at [[Levi Strauss & Co.]], but they went through an evolution to reach their modern form.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=The Lowdown on Denim|last=Kyi|first=Tanya Lloyd|date=2011|publisher=Annick Press|others=Hanmer, Clayton|isbn=978-1-55451-415-1|location=Toronto|oclc=825770364}}</ref> Initially created to serve as protective clothing during physically demanding work, they have since also become a fashion garment.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-2017-ready-to-wear/christian-dior|title=Christian Dior Fall 2017 Ready-to-Wear Collection – Vogue|website=www.vogue.com|date=March 3, 2017}}</ref> Many high-fashion brands have released their own spin on overalls.<ref>{{Cite web|last=MacDonall|first=Nancy|date=May 6, 2021|title=Skinny Jeans, Move Over: Overalls Are Here (Again)|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/skinny-jeans-move-over-overalls-are-here-again-11620328339|website=[[The Wall Street Journal]]}}</ref> Today, overalls can still be found in some workplaces, while also being worn casually by all kinds of people.

[[File:Railway workers in 1920 overalls advertisement.jpg|thumb|A 1920 advertisement for Over Alls, published in the ''Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Journal'', depicts [[Gandy dancer|railway workers]] adjusting track.]]

== History ==
=== Beginnings ===
The exact beginnings of the wearing of overalls are unclear, but they are mentioned in literature as early as 1776 as protective working garments commonly worn by enslaved people.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/jeansculturalhis00sull|title=Jeans: A Cultural History of an American Icon|last=Sullivan|first=James |date=November 7, 2006|publisher=Gotham Books|isbn=1-59240-214-3|location=New York|oclc=62697070|url-access=registration}}</ref>

[[File:Levi Strauss sign.JPG|thumb|Levi Strauss sign advertising overalls]]

The first evidence of overalls being mass-produced are those made by Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis in the 1890s. The first "[[jeans]]" they invented were actually "waist-high overalls", consisting of denim pants with suspenders attached with buttons, but without a bib.<ref name=":0" /> From the beginning, denim overalls were popular workers' garments due to their durability. In fact, Levi Strauss & Co.'s slogan in the 1880s-1890s was "Never Rip, Never Tear".<ref name=":23">{{Cite book|title=Denim: Fashion's Forntier|last=McClendon|first=Emma|isbn=978-0-300-21914-2|location=New Haven|oclc=930798077|year = 2016}}</ref>

In 1911, [[Harry David Lee]] made the first bib overalls, made of pants with pockets with a bib and straps over the shoulders.<ref name=":0" />

In 1927, Lee's developed a "hook-less fastener" and created "button-less" overalls. [[Zippers]] replaced buttons.<ref name=":0" /> Soon after, [[Suspenders|suspender]] buttons were traded in for [[Belt (clothing)|belt]] loops to attach over-the-shoulder straps.<ref name=":0" />

=== The Overalls Movement of 1920 ===
In 1920, groups of "Overalls Clubs" formed around the United States. They took overalls as their symbol to protest the rising cost of clothing, and profiteering in the garment industry.<ref name=":2" />

=== The Great Depression ===
[[File:Tennessee Valley Authority Douglas Dam French Broad River Sevier County TN man with jackhammer 1942.gif|thumb|Man wearing overalls working with a jackhammer]]
In the 1930s, the poorest segments of the American population wore overalls: [[farmers]], [[miners]], [[loggers]], and [[railroad]] workers.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|title=Vintage Menswear: A Collection from the Vintage Showroom|first1=Douglas|last1=Gunn|date=2012|publisher=Laurence King|last2=Sims |first2=Josh |last3=Luckett |first3=Roy|isbn=978-1-78067-203-8|location=London|oclc=866622270}}</ref> They were most commonly worn by men and boys in the [[Southern United States|Southern]] and [[Midwestern United States]]. 

[[File:Floyd Burroughs, cotton sharecropper. Hale County, Alabama LOC 3549662506.jpg|thumb|A sharecropper in Alabama wearing overalls ca. 1935]]
They can be seen in many of [[Walker Evans]]'s photographs.<ref name=":23" />

===Modern history===
[[File:Diesel Black Gold Fall-Winter 2010 112.jpg|thumb|Diesel Black Gold Fall/Winter 2010 Collection]]
Bib overalls (in different colors and textiles) became popular garments among American youth from the 1960s onward.<ref name=Batchelor2008>{{Cite book|last=Batchelor|first=Bob|url=https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31256739555|title=American Pop: Popular Culture Decade by Decade, Volume 3 1960-1989|publisher=[[Greenwood Press]]|year=2008|isbn=978-0-313-36416-7|volume=3|page=72|language=en}}</ref>

Overalls were especially popular among [[hip hop]] artists during the 1990s.

In the 21st century, overalls have evolved into high-fashion garments. Designers such as [[Stella McCartney]] include them in ready-to-wear collections for men, women, and children. McCartney's children's overalls sell for as much as [[US$]]138 in the US.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.stellamccartney.com/us|title=Stella McCartney – Designer RTW, Bags & accessories, Lingerie, Adidas by Stella McCartney, Fragrances, Kids|website=Stella McCartney – Designer RTW, Bags & accessories, Lingerie, Adidas by Stella McCartney, Fragrances, Kids|access-date=November 13, 2017}}</ref>

== Brands ==
Levi Strauss & Co. and Lee were not the only companies making overalls in the late 19th and 20th centuries.

* One of the oldest brands of overalls, [[OshKosh B'gosh]], founded in 1895 in Wisconsin, specialized in blue-and-white "hickory-stripe" bib overalls.<ref name=GQ/> The company produced bib overalls for children in the late 1960s.<ref name=":3" />

* Larned, Carter & Co., from [[Detroit]], called themselves the "World's Greatest Overall Makers". They marketed their products as uniforms for railroad workers.<ref name=":1" />

* One of the biggest overall manufacturers was Blue Bell, which began in [[North Carolina]] in 1904. It was popular among railroad workers.<ref name=":1" />

* Round House workwear of [[Oklahoma]] has produced heavy duty work overalls since 1903, and remains one of the only companies which still manufactures a fair portion of them in the United States.

* Jellico Clothing Manufacturing Co., later renamed Big Ben, was a major competitor of Blue Bell. Big Ben bought Blue Bell in 1926 and continued under the name Blue Bell.<ref name=":1" /> Blue Bell then bought the overalls company Casey Jones.<ref name=":1" />

Other current manufacturers of overalls include:

*[[Carhartt]]<ref name=GQ>{{cite news | last =Moxley | first =Mitch | title =The Best Workwear Brands Are Built Different: From the mass-market stalwarts to the small-batch upstarts, these are the rugged, hard-wearing labels every clothing buff should know. | newspaper =[[GQ]] | location = | pages = | language = | publisher = | date =July 3, 2024 | url =https://www.gq.com/story/best-workwear-brands | accessdate =February 9, 2025 }}</ref>

*[[Dickies]]<ref name=GQ/>

*[[Ben Davis (clothing)|Ben Davis]]<ref name=GQ/>

*[[Red Kap]]<ref name=GQ/>

== Garments adapted from overalls ==
[[File:Motorkleding Salopette.JPG|thumb|100px|left|Salopettes for a [[motorcycle]] rider]]
Shortalls (a contraction of the words "short" and "overalls") are with the lower part adapted into [[shorts]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Goldman|first=Jonathan|date=2020|title=The New York City Overalls Parade, 1920|url=https://www.gothamcenter.org/blog/the-new-york-city-overalls-parade-1920|journal=The Gotham Center for New York City History}}</ref>

[[wikt:salopettes|Salopettes]] is the French word for bib-and-brace overalls. The word is used in English for a similar garment to overalls worn for [[sailing]], [[skiing]], [[Underwater diving|diving]], and other heavy-duty activities. They are made of wind-and-waterproof trousers, traditionally with a high waist reaching to the chest and held up by adjustable shoulder braces.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dictionary.com/browse/salopettes|title=the definition of salopettes|website=Dictionary.com|access-date=November 25, 2017}}</ref><ref name="Parisienne">{{Cite news|language=fr|url=http://www.leparisien.fr/laparisienne/mode/une-histoire-de-salopette-24-05-2010-934858.php|title=Une histoire de salopette|date=May 24, 2010|newspaper=[[Le Parisien|La Parisienne]]|access-date=March 27, 2018|archive-date=March 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180327212732/http://www.leparisien.fr/laparisienne/mode/une-histoire-de-salopette-24-05-2010-934858.php|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Historically, military "overalls" were loose garments worn in the 18th and early 19th centuries over soldiers' breeches and gaiters when on active service or in barracks. After 1823, the term was replaced by "trousers" in [[British Army]] documents, but it survives to the present day in reference to the tight-fitting garments strapped under the instep, worn as part of the [[mess dress]] and [[full dress]] uniforms of cavalry regiments.<ref>{{cite book|first=W.Y.|last=Carman|page=97|title=A Dictionary of Military Uniform|isbn=0-684-15130-8|year=1977|publisher=Scribner }}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Wiktionary|overall|shortalls}}
{{Commonscat|Bib_overalls}}

{{Clothing}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2018}}

[[Category:Safety clothing]]
[[Category:1890s fashion]]
[[Category:20th-century fashion]]
[[Category:21st-century fashion]]
[[Category:Trousers and shorts]]