DYNAMIC DUNGAREES

A trend that has been around for centuries, dungarees are finally making a steady comeback into the functional wardrobe writes Bindu Gopal Rao

- Bindu Gopal Rao

Dungarees are all about comfort wear - practical, casual, and stylish. With pockets and an easy, fre- flowing design, dungarees add a cool look to your persona and are great to wear outdoors.

LOOKING BACK

The word ‘dungarees’ is thought to have been derived from a tiny harbor-side village north of Mumbai called Dongari Kapar, where a coarse-textured thick calico-like material was manufactured. Clothes made from this fabric were first traded in the West around the seventeenth century. This fabric was also used to make cheap robust work clothes that were originally called ‘Dungri’. It was the English who later began calling it ‘dungaree’ when they bought the cloth to make work trousers. While became synonymous with work clothes, it was in the 1930s that it gradually began to take its present form. By then the garment had been converted into a pair of trousers, attached with a bib or a large extra piece of cloth covering the stomach and chest, and held up by straps over the shoulders. In fact, ‘overalls’ worn by sailors were originally dungarees that were later renamed overalls. Levi Strauss and his business partner Jacob Davis are widely credited to have come up with this bib design for the dungaree, way back in 1853. The idea behind the design was simple – to make it practical for workers - especially for labourers. The bib or the top part of the garment had pockets to carry tools, thus eliminating the need for waist-belts. Dungarees soon became a standard piece of clothing for the working man across America.

WORKWEAR