Jeans have found a place in the fashion market for being a kind of everyman wear, demonstrating as they do the working class roots of those who first wore them. But in fact, it is the simple set of dungarees that is the true working class icon. These garments were industrial and hard wearing enough to be worn on the factory floor, in the garage workshop, underground or out on the farm, and since they were loose fitting they could be worn over other garments to stay cosy during the colder months. And unlike jeans, which have slowly raised their profile in fashion circles (with the help of some designer brands and extravagant prices), dungarees are seldom worn - which is what makes them more desirable as a fashion statement perhaps.
In the Eighties and Nineties, it would not have been totally unexpected to come across young men wearing dungarees in UK streets and workplaces. The early eighties had its dungaree phase with bands like Dexy's Midnight Runners offering a direct opposite sartorial approach to the slick and tailored style preferred by groups such as Spandeau Ballet or the moneyed casual fashion of Duran Duran and their ilk. However it was the latter looks that prevailed and even Dexy's had packed away their denim dungarees after a brief period of exposure.
But at the turn of the decade at the end of the 80s, another phenomenon arrived that would endear the dungaree to a new generation of young men still recovering from the drama of the punk era. It was a trippy, electro-hippy brands of pop with numerous of genres and sub-styles, but which picked up the name of "house music" (for the purposes of a fashion, anyway). Although house music did have its stylish, fashion-obsessed branches, there were also the super-casual interpretations, with hedonism and happy hip hop at its origins. Its fans spent plenty of time in the clubs of Ibiza, in festival fields and in abandoned warehouses indulging in illegal raves; and boy, did these guys know how to pull off the dungaree look. They were seen in every colour under the disco lights, with patterns, stripes, tie-dye, belted and occasionally just traditional blue denim, and could even be worn high off the shoe to reflect the warmer climes their wearers' heads were at.
So as we can see, dungarees originated as something worn by the plumber, industrial worker and building labourer, but eventually morphed into a strong and specific fashion statement. Sometimes that's just progression. It can only be a matter of time before these versatile garments find their way back into fashion stores, so now is the time to get out those old dungarees. You'll struggle to locate a pair in the high street shops, but check out some vintage clothing stores (online and offline) and you're certain to find a few gems from the 80s, 90s or even some iconic dungas whose previous owners may have added oil, rips and frays during real usage. Wear them over a tee shirt or pullover for a traditional look, and try them with sandals for something altogether more laid back. Just don't try to get in Le Swank restaurant.
Author Resource:-
Callum is a vintage fashion pundit and now that men's dungarees and other items of vintage clothing are finding their place in fashion, he has lots to write about.
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.freebie-articles.com/images/rss.gif "XML Feed For RSS")
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites