Overalls are an interesting garment when looked at in relation to jeans. Both have origins in “workwear” clothing that was designed to be functional rather than aesthetic. However, while jeans were oriented towards cowboys and miners, overalls were marketed more to farmers and railroad workers. This difference in origin is interesting because it may help to explain why overalls have not made the same transition to fashion and normalcy that have accompanied denim.
James Dean’s role in “Rebel Without A Cause” was certainly a turning point in the history of jeans. Famously, it is one of the events that marks the transition from workwear to a symbol of youth rebellion and of the working man. Today, jeans carry semiotic meanings of the proletariat, youth, and informality.
