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Which of these terms has come into vogue over the past century, coveralls or overalls?
If you read along far enough in this fascinating historiographical sketch you’re sure to discover the answer on your own!
First a word about definitions. Going back to Webster’s 1828 Dictionary, overalls were defined as “a kind of trousers.” Indeed, that’s what boys’ and mens’ trousers were called, up until around World War II – “waist overalls”. Work trousers, as well as jeans, were generally known as overalls. But by war’s end, the terms pants and jeans came into common parlance, and the word overalls was reserved for a garment that covers both the lower and upper parts of the body, especially worn over other clothes to protect them, and often made of strong material and constructed with a bib and shoulder straps. We should add also that, in some quarters at least, another word for overalls is dungarees. The problem here is that this term has taken on a variety of connotations over the years such that – to some – the “dungaree” is just another word for a pair of jeans!
Nowadays, overalls are typically designed as a baggy pant with a bib top affixed by suspender straps that cross in the back and come to the front – over the shoulders. There are, however, other designs, such as those with a collar and button down front – and a somewhat more feminine version used by many women during the 2nd World War. More on this later. [A great selection of top brand overalls is displayed here.
So then, what would one suppose is the definition of coveralls? In the U.K., a coverall is what’s known as a boiler suit – a suit made in one piece designed to be worn for doing dirty work”. Imagine. Well, except for a different use of the King’s English, we in the U.S. pretty much define coveralls the same way – as a one-piece garment intended to protect other garments, i.e., a protective overgarment.
[Have you figured out which of these terms is far the more commonly used in the U.S. – in 2004? By a margin of 3.5 to 1, by the by!]
A bit of trivia for the record. We don’t have accurate records back to the turn of the century [no, we mean 1900 here!], but in 1949, research shows that a pair of coveralls sold, on average, for $4.19. In 1999, a scant 50 years later in the grand scheme of history, they sold – on average – for a pricey $54.95. Was all of that inflation? No, not by any means. You could well attribute a substantial portion of the increase, in fact, to the improved design, enhanced features, higher-tech materials and the like to the higher cost. [A great Dickies work clothes here.]
It was noted earlier that overalls were around since at least the early 19th century. Well, they actually go back much further. For example, in the mid-1600’s, the spice trade between Europe and Asia was so profitable that the stevedores unloading nutmeg from the boats in England were required to wear coveralls sans pockets. A single nutmeg was apparently worth a fortune, and therefore no one could be trusted to hide one of these jewels on their person.
Coveralls and dungarees [a.k.a. overalls] played a very different, and head-turning, role as World War II approached and – over a very short period of time in the 1940’s, 20 million women joined the work force in the U.S. Wearing dresses? Not by any stretch. By the tens of thousands, women adopted the same working garments as men – not only dungarees and coveralls but hardhats as well – with some of the dungarees having collars trimmed in fashionable colors. Remember “Rosie the Riveter”? Many women wearing overalls in the country’s defense plants stood side by side with men, and other women, “riveting” the metal joints of aircraft, ship parts, and nearly anything else requiring the process!.
As the 18th century wore on, from about 1850 forward, overalls increasingly became the uniform-of-choice, for railway worker, farmers and many others. The colors of overalls started gaining currency amongst specific trades and groups, as well. Farmers often wore either brown or blue overalls; the standard for painters and plasterers was white [any surprise?], railway employees leaned toward a variety of pinstripe patterns, carpenters often wore either a natural or white canvas [and had overalls that included the hammer loop], shop machinists frequently donned a blue or gray pinstripe variation, and so on. Indeed, by around 1900 there was something amount to a “standard” for quite a variety of jobs. According to Neda Ulaby’s NPR Morning Edition report on March 4, 2002, “Dirty work called for angled pockets and hardy denim . . . .and sturdy buckles and vest backs made overalls ideal for industry.” Morever, she stated, “They [overalls] were low-status clothing and carried a stigma.”
Since 1960 overalls have gradually gained mass appeal among both the younger generation, as well as women, and they seem to have become a part of a long-running fashion cycle in the U.S. “The look is strong – it ties in with the carpenter jean and cargo pant looks,” according to Kathy Collins, director of strategic planning and visual marketing for Lee Apparel. Overalls on display here.
The style that came to be known as the “bib overall” is said to have originated with the Blue Bell Overall Company [ancestor of the Wrangler Company]. A few others seem to be contenders for this title too, however, including Oshkosh B’Gosh [in Oshkosh, Wisconsin] – who began producing both adult and kids’-sized bib overalls in the early 1900’s. [Recall the hickory-striped bibs?] A popular brand and garment of bib overall shown here.
www.cauinc.com/workwear
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