Overalls have been a key ingredient in my ensemble for many good many years now. For those who have expressed an interest or concern about this choice of attire, I submit the following;
Some people carry around briefcases and satchels- I wear overalls. At times I've had a gun, a knife, a twist of tobacco, a can of snuff, a pint or two of whiskey, a pocketknife, banjo picks, wallet, car keys, business cards, credit cards, and some other stuff I'd best not be owning up to in my overalls -and still have both hands free to do most anything I want to do.
Some people like to wear silk and other expensive finery for comfort and the avoidance of an annoying itch- I wear overalls.They don't itch either. In fact a properly chosen pair of overalls makes the most comfortable suit of clothes I know of. I can't imagine that the finest silk could be any more agreeable. I can work on the car, cut and split wood, play the banjo, mow the grass, paint, re-wire the house, fix the plumbing, throw the overalls in the washing machine and dryer for a bit, and soon be ready to go out to the mall or to a movie or out to eat, and do this for years with a pair of overalls before they're wore out. A thrifty shopper can find a good pair of overalls for less than $40.00, and I'm yet to find a suit of clothes that will outlast a good pair. One of my favorite things about overalls is that they just keep getting more and more comfortable, which brings us to the next observation...
Some people are nudist. I wear overalls because they're the closest thing to being naked without being naked of any outfit I've tried on yet. Overalls do "cover up what you think" while affording the person that must for whatever reasons be clothed an unparalleled amount of freedom at the same time. There's no belt needed to keep your pants up. They can be dropped at a moments notice with the greatest of ease and returned to a presentable position equally as fast and one never knows when that feature can come in handy.
Wearing overalls provides plenty of entertainment, too. Some folks seem to think people that wear overalls are ignorant, country, yahooish, hillbilly, and poor (I've managed to be all these things whether I was wearing overalls or not- ) and it shows in the amusing reactions of some who fancy themselves to be in the upper echelons of 'society' to a man in overalls, especially should he dare to walk into an upper scale dining establishment dressed in such a way. Some have a look of being totally confused by the possibility that a man thusly dressed could afford to dine in such an establishment. Strangely, if the man in overalls happens to be in the company of a beautiful woman also wearing bibs- the looks seem to soften a bit as if now the bibbed pair are 'cute'...
Some well intentioned friends have in times past suggested that I might have a little more luck in the romance department if I would bring my attire up to date or be a little more fashionable, but the girls I really relate to best don't seem in the least put off by men in overalls, and even wear them too sometimes. I've managed to get myself into a gracious heaping helping of dynamic situations with 'the girls' in spite of my sense of fashion (or lack thereof)...
In short, my approach to fashion is simply that the suit should be comfortable and practical, and overalls meet that criteria just fine...
And now lo and behold, just this past month- I have been employed as a model of all things, because someone liked the 'look'....I never thought I'd see the day I'd actually get paid to look like I look. Of course I doubt the photos will make it to the cover of Esquire or Playgirl, but if they help get "The Fox Out Of The Henhouse" (the name of the book and cd the photo shoot was for) then I'll be most pleased indeed....
