Jumpin’ Jack Flash
Not being old enough to wear them first time around or second time when they briefly made a come-back in the 1980s I now find myself thinking how lovely many of the new designs are, but I am still not sure I’d buy one to wear as a fashion piece.
But as many magazines and bloggers have recently pointed out, jumpsuits can look as spiffy as a power suit, as funky as a pair of hipsters or as glam as a cocktail dress – who knew!?!
I still needed to get over my images of mustached men wearing skin-tight jumpsuits unzipped to the navel, possibly with a large flapping collar too – yuk, yuk, yuk. Only a few managed to pull that look off Freddie Mercury being one, my reference Mick Jagger wore a diamond covered one I think and Elvis was just about to begin his unfortunate downward slope when he took to wearing them. And David Bowie showed a good one too……..
What I didn’t really think about when beginning this post, that aside from the fashion item there are jumpsuits in life all over the place that actually look rather sexy. Who doesn’t eye up the Formula 1 racing drivers in theirs, a chap in a wetsuit can look rather tasty and the skydiving suits are sort of the equivalent of skater duds that look edgily cool.
There are of course the ones with arrows on or pondside bright orange ensembles but we’ll gloss over those for the time being.
Having done a little research the jumpsuit today is nothing like my memories from the 70s and can be an elegant alternative. These days the designs, instead of skintight with a zip up the middle, tend to be looser trousers, cinched waist and then a halter top half or sleeveless design, all very elegant, in fact often it’s hard to tell whether they are a one-piece or two.
According to the various articles they can make the perfect outfit for a dinner, a dinner party, a girl’s night out, a private viewing, a visit to the theatre and so on and so forth and I can see their point. Clearly there are some occasions where they will simply not do darhling but I think we all know when we’ve crossed the sartorial line!
So where did they first originate from and what about actually wearing them.
According to this piece http://fashionganga.com/2011/08/15/history-of-jumpsuits-then-to-now/ which shows a lot of rather interesting pictures, the first one was designed and worn in 1919 by Florentine Thayat.
They were for both men and women. In some respects they were an upgraded pair of dungarees, but I wonder which came first the baby suit or the jumpsuit, perhaps the jumpsuit?
I suppose the aesthetic was based on creating a long, lean line that showed off the body to its best, plus they were great for all night dancing. There is however for both sexes the hassle factor of ahem, using the bathroom. It is not a quick and easy endeavour and gathering one’s “skirts” around one, can be quite the task!
Much easier for men of course.
I should like to point out, I think the catsuit does not qualify as a jumpsuit, as this is reserved for the likes of Rihanna, Michelle Pfeiffer and comic strip characters.
I suppose why I am still undecided, is it’s the hassle factor. I’d be interested if any lady out there owns one and her take on it as a wardrobe staple, plus what do the chaps think of jumpsuits, if they can get their head out of the catwoman scenario, do they find them appealing or do they not even cross their minds unless Halle Berry presents herself?
I may buy one, one day or I may not. I am finding the how to look gorgeous and the feel fabulous bit, a little tricky – I would be interested in your thoughts.
With my best wishes – Sophie
Look Gorgeous, Feel Fabulous