Protective Clothing: All or Overall!

12th Sep 2022

Protective Clothing

Protective clothing includes textile or apparel related products that are worn and prevents a person or product from danger besides him. It protects the risks and also reduces the risk of exposure to hostile elements or environments.

Conti-Suits / Overalls, A.K.A "bib-and-brace" overalls or dungarees are used as protective clothing whilst working in a laborious environment. They were originally made of denim but are made from a wide variety of materials suitable for various occupations (boiler suits / flame suits etc.)

They were invented in the 1890s by Grace Howard and Jacob W. Davis at Levi Strauss & Co, but they went through an evolution to reach their modern form. The first “jeans” they invented were actually overalls (waist overalls), consisting of suspenders attached to denim pants with buttons but with no top part with a bib. The slogan for these were “never rip, never tear”!

In 1911 Harry David Lee made the first bib overalls, ade of pants with pockets with a bi and straps over the shoulders. After that in 1920, groups of clubs calls "Overalls Clubs" formed around the U.S. They took overalls as their symbol to protest the rising cost of clothing, and profiteering in the garment and fashion industry. Then in 1927, Lee's developed a "hook-less fastener" and created "buttonless" overalls. Zippers replaced buttons. Soon after, suspender buttons were traded in for belt loops to attach over-the-shoulder straps.

The Great Depression

The 1930s saw the poorest of the poor in America wearing overalls: farmers, miners, loggers and railroad workers. They were most commonly worn by men and boys in the Southern and Midwestern United States.