My mother-in-law sent a sweater to me for my birthday. It is a cheerful red color, with a faux white collar and band at the bottom to make it look like I am wearing a white shirt under it, with the shirt sticking out at the bottom. The collar is a real shirt collar that actually buttons and has a placket that has to be tucked inside the sweater. My first thought when I saw the sweater was “What a great red color!” My next thought was “Good grief! That is a dickie!”
I haven’t seen a dickie in years. They were always worn by boys mostly, it seemed. I thought they would be kind of annoying. Husband says he liked turtleneck dickies because they kept the wind out but weren’t too warm. He thought they were the height of preppiness. He abandoned them for chambray work shirts because he wanted an earthier look.
I like my new sweater, and the dickie collar isn’t too weird or annoying. I saw in the Walmart women’s clothing section full length bib overalls the other day. Now that is a fashion item I wouldn’t mind returning. I can be earthy too, you know.
Did you ever have, or do you have now, a dickie? What clothing trends would you like to see return or never again see the light of day?
Trail Baboon 
“Distressed” jeans must go. When I wore out the knees in my work pants, they became cutoffs not a fashion trend.
I would like to see a return to neckties being worn shorter. Sorta like the style seen in movies from the 40’s. Bogartish short. I detest the Trumpish long. Three inches below the belt.
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YA has two pairs of these ripped up jeans. She does know better than to wear them when the two of us are going out together.
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Dickies make me think of junior high band – they were part of our uniform (which also included a snazzy – and a little outdated – blazer). The dickies were a synthetic sweater knit and mostly just hot under the stage lights. I recall they got tossed out and the blazers retired in favor of v-neck sweaters.
Overalls for women can come back “in” – I’d wear them in a heartbeat. I think this would be round 3 for me of them being fashionable – though I have worn them even when they are out of fashion because they are comfy and quite utilitarian. Had to retire my last ones because they were wearing thin. I’d just buy men’s ones, but they don’t fit right.
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I haven’t worn overalls since 1980. Husband still has chambray work shirts.
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Very funny. I probably haven’t mentioned this before but with clothing, I almost never throw anything out until it basically becomes non-functional. I had a sweatshirt that I got in Maui decades ago that I just retired this past summer because YA said to me one morning “you know you shouldn’t even be seen outside gardening in that”. So get a good laugh— I have two pairs of overalls actually hanging on a hook in my closet. They’ve been hanging there for years and I actually wore one of the pairs before solstice. Of course I got a lot of grief from YA. Maybe if they really are coming back in, she’ll quit giving me a hard time.
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I’ve socialized with two types of people (not counting toddlers) who wore overalls: farmers and dog sled mushers. As for farmers, one can’t get more “earthy” than they do.
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I’ve never wore bibs. My dad didn’t either. Maybe, in the winter, he’d wear the denim ‘coveralls’, but never bibs. And any pictures of my Grandfather, he just had long sleeve shirts.
But one of my neighbors, he’s always in bibs. In the summer without a shirt.
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Hmm, I didn’t realize there was a difference between bib’s and coveralls. What’s the difference?
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Coveralls have sleeves.
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Of course, thanks.
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What was the purpose of men wearing garters around their upper shirt sleeves?
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My guess, Renee: garters might have helped bookkeepers and bankers avoid getting ink on their shirt sleeves. And then, as it so often happens, the garters might have become a fashion thing because they implied the wearer had an office job, something better than manual labor.
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I noticed in the “All Creatures” series that Siegfried wore garters on his sleeves. Surely that helped the sleeves to stay out of the way of animal procedures.
Men’s clothing of that day is really interesting. We have pictures of my grandpa fishing in shirtsleeves and and a tie. A tie? For fishing? When I watch All Creatures, I watch them in their wool blazers, tie and shirt sleeves working with animal fluids and difficult procedures and wonder, why not overalls? Those wool blazers must have had some odors about them.
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I have throught that too! Why would you wear a suit when you’re almost guaranteed to get dirty.
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All of British society was affected by that. Hunters and fishermen wore ties, vests and suits. I think it was a class thing, giving out the signal that one was not a working class stiff but a gentleman.
And surely vets now pull on protective clothing before sticking a hand up a cow’s bottom.
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Sometimes they wear green bibs. And several layers. Because yep, they’ll take off a layer or two and then slip on a long plastic sleeve before sticking their arm in there. Generally up to the shoulder.
I never had the plastic sleeves when I was working with cattle…
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My brother-in-law always wears a tie, even when relaxing or watching TV. It wouldn’t surprise me if he has a special one he wears with his pajamas.
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There’s an image!
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Yes, I wore dickies but I don’t like to remember it! I always thought it was a silly fashion trend. I remember my Mom being a big fan of dickies, especially for me.
I have worn bib overalls since high school and I still do. I keep them and wear them out the way Anna described. I have a pair that I wore yesterday, as a matter of fact. I don’t buy the women’s fashion ones like Renee mentioned. When I need a new pair I buy them at a farm supply store in men’s sizes. They have lots of pockets and are made well. I buy them too big on purpose and make sure the inseam length is short because I wasn’t born with model quality long legs and they hang a bit when they’re too large. Unfortunately, yesterday I noticed that my bibs are getting a little snug… (covid weight, she says blushing.) My favorite bib overalls were always made by OshKosh but I haven’t been able to find them at the local farm supply store in recent years, so my current pair is Dickies!
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My hunting buddy, who was a competitive musher for years, was loyal to Carhartt overalls. Carhartt’s grip on the market might be getting weaker, as the products of Duluth Trading are becoming popular. Forgetting everything else, Duluth Trading is a company with a genius for effective advertisements.
My dad ran around in overalls in the six years he lived in a tiny river town in southeastern Iowa called Keosauqua. Whenever I see a kid in overalls I remember my dad’s story about the time another kid dropped a lit firecracker down his overalls.
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I had almost forgotten about dickies. I did wear the turtleneck kind way, way back in junior high school but always thought they were weird. I used to wear bib overalls back in the early 80s and again for a brief time in the late 90s/early 2000s. I even had a pair of bib shorts that I loved. I would wear them again if I could find ones that fit well – on the loose side but also short.
Among fashions I never want to see again: women’s polyester pant suits and men’s leisure suits. I don’t like the ripped jeans look either.
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I remember my cousins, brother, and I all getting polyester leisure suits with wide lapel shirts one year for… Easter maybe? My grandmother loved them, so we all got our own. Mine was baby blue with pink buttons. My brother’s was a very 70’s tan color with top stitching. I felt grown-up then (I was in elementary school) – though would hate to wear one now.
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I’d love to see a photo of you all dressed in them, that would be quite the sight.
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Howard Wollowitz on “The Big Bang Theory” gave dickies his best shot at reviving them as a fashion trend, but alas, I think he failed. The Ringo Starr haircut doesn’t seem to have gained a foothold either. 😦
I vaguely recall wearing a dickey once or twice back when I was about 8 or 10. Not sure, just seem to remember them being part of my wardrobe for a while.
Like Wes, I’m not a fan of the brand-new jeans that are ripped and shredded to make a “fashion statement.” What statement? “I’m so cool that I WANT to look like I have no fashion sense AND can’t afford any clothes except those I find in a dumpster.” ???
I just strive to wear clothes that are clean, neat, not worn beyond repair. Jeans, sweaters, plaid shirts, mock Ts in winter, golf shorts and golf shirts in summer, the occasional Big Brother Big Sister “Bowl For Kids’ Sake” t-shirt when working out or going to the pool for a swim.
KISS–keep it simple, stupid.
Chris in Owatonna
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RIse and Shine Baboons,
I also had dickies as part of a teen wardrobe. The ones I remember were primarily turtlenecks. I had several, but I also dimly remember problems with them. They would ride up, then the fabric would twist and peak out, so it looked like a fake turtleneck. At that point, they went tot the back of the drawer or closet.
Overalls. Lovely overalls. I have not worn the fashionable kind. For 15 years I had a pair of Lee Overalls, purchased at a discount from the Lee Outlet in Story City, Iowa, hanging at the back door for heavy gardening tasks. All my tools had a pocket. No amount of dirt could ruin them. Finally the clasps on the shoulder straps wore out and would not stay hooked anymore. They could not even be donated. I have not replaced them, but maybe I should…
The final tightwad question is, “Did I get my money out of them?” I think so.
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As a teen, I had several of the blouse type of dickies depicted above, but they wouldn’t stay put. Inevitably, they’d ride up and/or twist around; they didn’t fool anybody. The knit, turtleneck type of dickie, however, I like. I still have one. I find it useful in winter when I wear a scoop neck top or dress; it keeps my neck warm. I guess that these days I’m not physically active enough that it rides up or twists around.
I used to wear overalls, found them comfortable and practical. I still have a pair that I bought at Goodwill years ago, but I no longer wear them. They are too cumbersome to deal with on frequent visits to the bathroom!
Count me in the group that doesn’t appreciate the distressed jeans look; bizarre, really, and the mere thought of the double knit leisure suits makes me cringe. I’m also not crazy about those sagging “gangsta” type pants that are favored by so many teens and young men.
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Sometimes my clothing sags now, but it is not on purpose.
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At least the faux collar on my new sweater is stitched to the sweater.
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Spats. We wore spats in marching band and they sure look fancy in the library song of ‘The Music Man’. Although these guys say we shouldn’t…
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Good to know!
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Nice clothes.
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There is a fetching picture of me in my overalls circa 1979. The look would not be fetching today, but I think they’d be great for gardening – the pockets for tools sound great, Jacque. May keep my eyes open for a pair…
I probably had an outfit with a dickie, but what I really like these days is, I think, called a cowl – I slip it over my head in cold weather when I’m not wearing a turtleneck, and my neck stays toasty warm… this is something like it:
https://www.jcpenney.com/p/mixit-faux-fur-cowl-cold-weather-scarf/ppr5007992998?pTmplType=regular&country=US¤cy=USD&selectedSKUId=11051060018&selectedLotId=1105106&fromBag=true&utm_medium=cse&utm_source=bing&utm_campaign=Cold%20Weather%20Scarves&utm_content=11051060018&cid=cse%7Cbing%7CWomens%7cCold%20Weather%20Scarves_11051060018&msclkid=6a231c2d9bdc1645e3e87c1428eae435&gclid=6a231c2d9bdc1645e3e87c1428eae435&gclsrc=3p.ds
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I have a lace collar that I can wear for an RBG look. No memory o wearing dickies though.
I am pretty sure I have a pair of off-white overalls in a closet somewhere. They were sort of short, and I had an idea I would cut them off for a summer outfit, but I never got around to it.
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Wearing a guitar could be quite fashionable.
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Yah; it’s a tie. I got bored of people wearing that.
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