Perhaps the origin of the pop culture creepy factor for overalls began with the iconic 1972 film Deliverance. When a canoe ride into the Georgia wilderness goes awry, the men encounter a pair of disgusting hillbillies (played by Bill McKinney and Herbert "Cowboy" Coward)—one in suspenders and the other in overalls. In one of the film's most disturbingly memorable scenes, McKinney's character rapes one of the canoers, forever giving overalls a very bad name.
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To contrast the contradictory places Miley Stuart calls home on Disney's Hannah Montana, the Malibu pop star version of the character's doll is often associated with some glamorized sparkly ensemble, while the Tennessee take on Miley goes down home with overalls. But when the song-and-dance you've created for the tween market is called the "Hoedown Throwdown," there's really no other outfit choice more appropriate. Unable to break away from her Nashville roots, Miley Cyrus, who plays the beloved character of the same first name, even posed in Ralph Lauren's $6,000 satin dress take on the look in Harper's Bazaar earlier this year.
Sandra Bullock's badass husband, former Monster Garage host Jesse James, took a serious image tumble when a tatted-up white-supremacist model claimed to have bedded him. So could there be a better time for someone to launch a clothing line, including overalls? We think not. And is there any way these Jesse James denim bib overalls from Wal-Mart could not be the constant in every woman's fantasy? We think not.
INFGoff.com
…Kid Rock would deem it appropriate to don overalls on any and seemingly all occasions—from the heat of the Miami club scene to a golfing tournament in his home state of Michigan. While he may be known for his hillbilly pride, some occasions just call for a classier tuxedo than a redneck one, Mr. Rock. Nevertheless, we suppose we have to be grateful the often bare-chested rapper is covering up his body at all.
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Like the silky version Miley donned on the pages of Harper's Bazaar, yet another high-fashion version of the redneck tuxedo graced not only the runway but actress Jessica Biel in the February 2010 issue of Vogue with this denim pair. "I am inspired by the character of the worker, the farmer, the cowboy, the pioneer women of the prairies living authentically through challenging times," designer Ralph Lauren said in his program notes on the overall rejuvenation. "I have always admired the honesty of their work wear—the weathered jean, the sturdy overall, the jean jacket, the faded blue work shirt, the naïve print of a floral dress."
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The star plumber of the gaming world, Mario, did everything in his tiny Italian Nintendo firepower to save Mushroom Kingdom and his beloved Princess Peach. And he did it all in overalls. Whether red, white, or blue, Super Mario was true to anything with two straps, a bib, and buttons (and sometimes a tail). While the look may not be the most fashionable, it certainly did the trick and was far more sensible for beating Bowser than Peach's pink taffeta gown.
It's difficult to think of anything besides the trademark hockey mask that killer Jason Voorhees wears throughout the Friday the 13th series, but one glance below the disguise is another accessory that should be hidden as well. Jason's overalls are not exactly to die for, as one G4.com blogger noted. "No one leaves a theater saying, ‘Man, those overalls were so cool! I want to wear that getup for Halloween,'" the blogger wrote. "A pitchfork and overalls don't make you a slasher, they make you a farmer." He could be a hockey-playing farmer in those clothes.
He may have mastered charming everyone who catches a glimpse of his tall, dark, and handsomeness, but those who saw Academy Award-winning actor George Clooney in his O Brother, Where Art Thou? costume may have changed their tune. For the Coen Brothers film, Clooney plays chain gang escapee Everett McGill, who spends most of the movie wearing an unsightly pair of baggy overalls. They may be fitting for the Depression era, and sure, they're a step up from the prison stripes, but still, overalls are difficult to defend. "I had sketched him in overalls, and Joel worried that we wouldn't be able to get away with it," said Roger Deakins, the film's director of photography. "But Clooney wearing overalls was a funny dichotomy. Because George is so handsome, it counterbalanced how good looking he is."
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Yes, Mamma Mia was as unabashedly cheesy as musicals can be, but there's really no need to further embarrass the film's star via wardrobe. Nevertheless, Meryl Streep, who plays Donna Sheridan, was forced to wear " Greek workman's overalls," she told USA Today of the white T-shirt, navy blue overall ensemble she wears for a majority of the 2008 movie. "That is what they actually wear." Still, she acknowledged to The Daily Telegraph, they weren't exactly her cup of tea. "Wearing those overalls for four months was a bit of a trial… but it was fun to dress up in those silly clothes. There's a freedom of expression that women of my age are not normally asked to portray, so it was wonderful to have that musical, physical, and emotional opportunity to release everything in one character."
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Shortly after making her first appearance in Playboy, Pamela Anderson covered up as Tim Taylor's on-air assistant on Home Improvement's fictional program. As Tool Time girl Lisa (from 1991-97), Anderson played the part in cutoff shorts, tied-up plaid shirts, and, of course, on occasion, the redneck tux. Her main duty was to introduce Tim and his co-host, Al, with the opening question, "Does everybody know what time it is?" Time for a new image, perhaps? It's no wonder Anderson found herself in a high-cut red swimsuit for her next TV gig on Baywatch.
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Before gracing Hollywood's red carpets in designer gowns, Hilary Swank had many a fashion faux pas in her breakthrough role, 1994's The Next Karate Kid. During a scene in which she is babysitting a group of rowdy boys, Swank's character, Julie, dodges Nerf weapons while wearing the even uglier bastard child of overalls and shorts—short-alls. While she has Mr. Miyagi to thank for the boys' ammunition, which eventually got her in shape to be the fourth karate kid, the film's stylist has no justification for this wardrobe malfunction, besides just being a product of the times.
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The star of The A-Team was nothing if not an icon of '80s fashion. From his body weight in gold chains to his cutoff T-shirts to the soul patch of mohawk hair atop his head, Mr. T proved he had his own sense of style, and overalls were certainly an important part of that. He stopped wearing the massive amounts of jewelry after decades of donning the token accessories. "I stopped wearing the gold as of last year during [Hurricane] Katrina," he said via E! Online. "I felt it would be a sin against my God for me to wear all that gold again because I spent a lot of time with the less fortunate." Perhaps spending time with farmers could have a similar effect on his fondness for the redneck tuxedo.
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Nothing is more fitting for a doll turned toddler murderer than a pair of denim overalls emblazoned with the words "Good Guy" in red. With his rainbow-striped long-sleeve T-shirt, wild crimson locks, and scars all over his face, Chucky, the antagonist of the Child's Play slasher series, knows how to make the look just a bit ironic. The ensemble carried Chucky through the three Child's Plays plus Bride of Chucky and Seed of Chucky. Disappointingly, however, neither the wife nor the offspring follow in Chucky's overall-loving footsteps.
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