From the Archives One More Time: This is the perfect post to wrap International Overalls Weekend and carry us into Thanksgiving week in France...
After conversations with my friends here, I decided to resurrect this old post from June, 2009.
This is the post that brought my friend Niels-The Bibprofessor my way.
It still speaks strongly to me and how I feel about my overalls.
I should say that this beautiful white dress survived in the upstairs closet during last November's fire.
ALL of my overalls were in the huge armoire that burned with everything inside.
Regardless of how my friends feel about my overalls and how happy some of them are that they are all gone from Cadrieu...trust me...there are more overalls in my future and there is still a stash in New Orleans!
Hope you enjoy the resurrected post below:
June 20, 2009
Something about posting the piece about my Dad and I yesterday, made me want to come out of my overalls for a bit! I have been wearing overalls and loving them for as long as I can remember. Aside from being very "practical", they are the most comfortable clothes I own. (Unless, of course, you need to use a turkish toilet somewhere!) I have pictures of myself in overalls from a very young age in a variety of locales. I have long ones, short ones, colored ones, fancy ones, dress-up ones, engineer ones, work ones, and dead ones: the ones I just can't give up that are torn in the crouch, patched on the butt (or not), and are used only for cutting the grass!
My friend Kelly has written a short story about our friendship called: The Overalls of Cadrieu, which led to a rousing discussion with my French friends centered around salopette, salope, bitch and beach! I'm not sure if any of us have recovered from that conversation!
So today, I wanted to show you that there is at least one dress in my closet! I can look like a girlie girl from time to time; but, very much like my cooking and Frank Sinatra...I like to do it my way! Growing up, I was a girl child of dolls and football. Today, I am a woman of pearls and overalls.
I've often wondered if I felt I had to live up to my name and be a semi-son to my Dad. Or, whether my Laury to his Larry, contributed to my rabid feminism and independence in later life!
It really doesn't matter! So...when my Mom, other family, and friends on both continents pick on me about my overalls, I hope they will remember this picture and NOT ask me to go home or upstairs and put on a dress! Ain't happening!
It might be helpful to know that the word for "Overalls" in French is "Salopette", and the word for "Salope" in English is "Bitch". We didn't get into trouble with any of these words, until my French friends pronounced "Bitch" for us and it sounded like "Beach"! We are still laughing over here.
You'll find us bitching and beaching just as much as we are crawfishing!
wow, sounds really great, reminds me of a coctail party in La Rochelle to a research conference, where I wore my black overalls and a white shirt and the only comment was: very elegant ! and I don't think it was ironic !
Posted by: bibprofessor | July 02, 2009 at 03:00 PM
You'll love this-had an apero party here last night so my friend who is here from the states could meet my pals-and one of the women was telling me that overalls are now very much "in fashion" in France. I'll write a little more to your personal e-mail address after my friend returns to Paris tomorrow. Thanks so much Maya-Back Soon
Posted by: Laury Bourgeois | June 30, 2009 at 09:23 AM
Hi!
Just got turned onto your site by a fellow overalls addict! Love it! I spend most of my days in overalls --- but mine are covered in paint. I wipe my oil paints on them to clean the brushes when I am painting. Even had a lady in a store offer to purchase them right off me. She thought they were a new fad. She was disappointed to discover that I dabble in art.
Love your insight into life.
Maya
Posted by: Maya Perretti | June 29, 2009 at 08:39 PM
This really sounds like fun and right up my alley! I'll check out your site and Susan's site and let's stay in touch. I will also forward your interest in his story to my friend Kelly! Thanks for getting in touch!
Posted by: Laury Bourgeois | June 23, 2009 at 04:51 AM
Hi you just sound like as if you are the right person for joining an attempt to celebrate overalls and not least the fantastic combination of aesthetics and comfort which overalls are providing, so please join my and our overalls colleague fan, Susan, notquitejunecleaver.com , in making an international overalls day on November 20th , hope we also can work together on an album of overalls aesthetics from what you are telling and it would be fantastic if you would share your short story written by your friend !
overalls greetings from bibprofessor, Tromsø, Northern Norway, wearing overalls 95 % of my time in different style etc. etc.
Posted by: Niels Windfeld Lund | June 22, 2009 at 08:41 PM
Look at you..al girly-girl and tan! Mowing the lawn has side benefits, eh? I've got packets of Good Season's Italian ready to tuck into my suitcase!
Posted by: Evelyn Jackson | June 20, 2009 at 03:49 PM