The new Denim Overalls that will steal your heart
Why Denim Overalls seem so attractive to women in the current culture?
Perhaps because we finally feel tired of pretending. Perhaps we are not interested in dressing up any more, covering up and acting as someone else. We are looking for pieces that feel like home, something comfortable and roomy in which we can be ourselves.
My relationship with denim has gone through a lot of transformation since the day I borrowed my boyfriend’s ripped jeans. It started as an act of rebellion against my parents and later was influenced by my favourite film characters, music and the ultimate American Dream…..because what else were the jeans a symbol of for a girl like me, living in a Post Communist country, if not the idea of freedom and democracy?
So what happened when I discovered jeans? My first time with jeans happened quite late, compared to the first time my kids had their pairs. I was 16 and I woke up one morning in my boyfriend’s apartment looking for something cool to add to my simple white T-shirt. I found his jeans and despite that they were way too big for me, I liked them for the air of nonchalance and coolness they brought to my composure.
“I wish I had invented blue jeans. They have expression, modesty, sex appeal, simplicity-all I hope for in my clothes”, Yves Saint Laurent
Later, I bought my very own first pair. They were not much different from my boyfriend’s jeans. Yet, as I was settling into my femininity, I started experimenting with other denim designs. Some of them classic straight cuts with low waist, others, skinny and ripped, but the highlight was an open back summer denim dress I discovered at a flea market. Stone washed denim, buttons all the way in the front, ending below the knees. I loved that dress. It was something different and an expression of my young independent, free spirited and confident self. At the time I was coming out of puberty and becoming my own version of a woman. I had just started my first job and had so much life to live ahead of me. So many opportunities and new places to be.
Blue Jeans and the American Dream
My next milestone were my first pair of Levi’s. Of course I can never forget those. Straight leg, classic blue, tan patch on the waistband and the quintessential Levi’s red tag to the right back pocket. I had just moved to America.
Of course I had many other short-lived flings with denim skirts, shorts and of course a few dresses. One pair I will never forget, and to this day remains my absolute favourite, is a pair of Massimo Dutti 60s style jeans. Despite that I associated them with the Beatles “Abbey Road”, they were a copy of Jane Birkin jeans from the 60s.
In my mind denim overalls will always remind me of the woman I imagined becoming when I was a child: smart, powerful, gritty.
La Combinaison, available currently in By Adushka, Zurich Store, sizes 36 and 42
Finally, a few months ago, I found another iconic denim piece. The Happy Haus La Combinaison, is certified by DETOX and approved by Greenpeace as free of hazardous chemicals clothing. Happy Haus is also working with the Zurich-based International Oeko-Tex Association. Its standards have become a guiding force for consumer safety since 1992.
Apart from the sustainable part, La Combinaison was the first pieces designed by Sandy Chagnaud, the founder of Happy Haus. She’s been wearing it for 6 years now and it has become a staple in her daily wardrobe. Sandy believes that all clothes are harmful to our planet. The best option is to buy less and to wear our clothes longer.
Almost every piece of clothing that I’ve bought as an adult, I bought because it made me look smaller, taller, and less like myself. But denim overalls, you make me look as I actually am. With you, I put my hands in my pockets and I occupy space. It feels so good to occupy space!
Boiler suits have become really cool lately as the perfect symbol of comfort and Female Empowerment. They are practical and sexy, a statement piece and the perfect garment to be lived, worn and worked in.
What makes this one different? First of all it is very elegant and feminine vs. masculine and robust. It feels polished and fashion forward, not that mechanic-esque. I like to use it as blank canvas and add some accessories that make it exclusively my own.
And as I march the streets of Zurich, I am becoming my very own version of Jane Birkin. Unapologetic and effortless style, nonchalant or simply that girl with a penchant for old vinyls, poetry books and La Vie Boheme.
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About the Author: Tsitaliya Mircheva
