Originating as workwear for farmers and railway workers throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, dungarees were popularised by Levi’s and then were hoisted into mainstream fashion come the ’90s. They featured in many iconic fashion moments throughout the decade, including being worn by Claudia Schiffer in Versace’s 1994 haute couture collection
While runway looks like this showed the potential for dungarees to be dressed up, throughout the ’90s they were mainly associated with more casual, relaxed styling. Baggy overalls were aligned with ’90s hip hop and streetwear, with stars favouring this as an alternative look for awards shows and red carpets, from TLC arriving at the 1994 American Music Awards in matching, shredded customised dungarees to Tupac wearing an oversized pair to the premiere of Poetic Justice. One brand that was associated with this look was Tommy Hilfiger, with the brand’s signature logo blown up across the chest of its iconic overalls – Naomi Campbell wore a pair to honour the designer at the Fashion Awards in 2021.
In ’90s entertainment, dungarees were often associated with rom-com tropes like the “girl next door” or the “artistic type,” with paint-splattered overalls worn often before the “life-changing” make-over scene. The Olsen twins spent a big chunk of their straight-to-VHS youth dressed in matching denim overalls.
Today, you’ll still find a vast offering of dungarees across designer, high street and vintage retailers – look in any second-hand shop on Brick Lane and you’ll likely see a smorgasbord of Dickies, Calvin Klein, Levi’s and unbranded iterations lining the shelves. Practicality (hello front pockets) is a key factor in why they have prevailed, closely followed by their wearability and unparalleled levels of comfort. Now, in a post-lockdown world that continues to value practical clothing choices, it’s no wonder that some of the world’s most fashionable women turn to them as a functional, weekend staple.
“Intention takes this piece from an outdoors-only uniform to a veritable fashion-girl essential,” Erika Veurink explained in a 2023 Vogue article exploring ways to style dungarees. “Opt for heavy fabrics and embrace the contrast.” For taste-maker Alexa Chung, styling dungarees is second nature. In a recent Instagram post, she shopped for a vintage pair and explained in the caption how she would wear this straight-leg, high-waisted style with “heels and barely anything underneath” in order to avoid sliding “backwards into todpa (toddler/grandpa) territory.” Chung goes on to write that she spent her 20s in this denim staple – this became such a foundational wardrobe piece for her that she designed pairs as part of her collaborations with M&S and AG Jeans, and unsurprisingly dungarees then became a key offering for her (now closed) namesake brand.
