Studies have shown that jumpsuits are one of the best ways to turn a head and get a compliment! While we love dresses, there's just something so effortlessly cool about showing up to the party in a jumpsuit - especially one with wide legs that has the illusion of a dress because you get to do the reveal! We have great options in our shop, whether you want something for everyday practical wear or are going for the oomph factor on a night out!
The history of the jumpsuit goes as far back as the 1910s, when it was designed as a practical garment for parachuters. There were also boiler-suits/coveralls that were worn by men working with coal-fire burners. Eventually, women working in factories during the First World War were allowed to wear jumpsuits to work as of 1915, and it would be adopted again by women working in munitions factories in the Second World War.
Left to Right: A lithograph from 1917 by Paul Iribe from Association pour l'Histoire de la Mode, and "L'Emancipation feminine" by Laborde, 1918, from Association pour l'Histoire de la Mode.
The first iteration of the jumpsuit as a fashion garment came in the 1930s via Elsa Schiaparelli, who created wide leg one-pieces inspired by the parachuter's uniform. Vera Maxwell re-introduced it in the 1940s, although it was still considered a novelty item. Bonnie Cashin began designing evening-wear jumpsuits in the 1950s, but their popularity finally rose in the 1960s via Pauline Trigère's trendy iterations of the garment. The first jumpsuit to appear in a magazine was one by by Guy Laroche in Vogue's 1964 September Issue pictured below. The jumpsuit then took off with every big designer coming up with their version. Superstars like Cher and Elvis donned them for performances, and Halston was dressing the Studio 54 set in his ethereal and disco jumpsuits. In the 80s, Geoffrey Beene declared the jumpsuit "the ballgown of the next century" and we can see it has stuck around!
Pauline Trigère 1960s cotton jumpsuit
Guy Laroche's jumpsuit featured in the 1964 Vogue September Issue
We have jumpsuits from the 70s, 80s and 90s available for your perusal - from workwear coveralls, to psychedelic prints! Click through any image to shop!
*Written by Ainslie Lahey