Figure 1.--This boy wears a pair of rather long bib front short overalls in a 1998 advertisement. He also wears popular high-top Converse sneakers.

Overalls were adopted by girls and boys of all ages as a fashion statement. Overalls were at first primarily for very young children, but older girls began to wear them in the 1990s. Younger childfren began wearing short bib-front overalls. Older boys also began wearing them, often with long baggy shorts. Bibfront shorts have been worn by the boys as well as girls, but an HBC contributor reports that in the late 90s that they have been much more popular among girls than boys.

A HBC contributor who is especially knowledgeable about overalls reports that based on an assessment of internet clothing ads, about 95% of bifront overall shorts are worn by girls and 5% by boys. So in his opinion they are associated with girls more than boys despite their unisex nature. About 10% of the girls wore tights together with these short overalls. The only age group overall shorts seem to be popular with boys are toddlers.

Another interesting observation the HBC contributor mase was that in 1997, Hanna Andersson catalog. They had a photo of a girl wearing white shortalls with text along the lines: "... This versatile item of clothing can be layered in endless combinations clear through the year. Unisex.". The only way to layer shortalls for wearing during colder weather I can see is to wear tights underneath and this surely wouldn't be a very popular style among boys.

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Created: April 11, 2000
Last updated: April 12, 2000