Painter Girl

Happy International Overalls Day!

For all you lovers of the bib overall, bibfessor, has rallied a movement around the world, declaring today, November 20th, the very first International Overalls Day!

In honor of this glorious day, I thought I'd show you that I am still sporting my oldest, rattiest, paint splattered overalls.  I just cannot give them up.  They are so easy to throw on, could not be more comfortable, and at this point, are truly broken in. 

You can see, I have yet to fix my broken buckles and misshapen hardware.  Maybe today in honor of International Overalls Day, I will treat my overalls to some new hardware!  As you may recall, I did purchase some new overalls earlier this year, but I must admit, I've worn them rarely.  The material is soft and they come with some great features like removable knee pads and lots of pockets, but they are just not broken in enough to feel really comfortable.  They also shrunk a lot in the length when I washed them, so now will have to remedy that.  For now, I keep throwing them in the wash every time I do laundry, in hopes that some day I can add them to my rotation. 

Whether you paint, garden, farm or just love living in your overalls, I wish all my overall brother and sisters out there a very happy International Overalls Day!

Oh btw, these pictures were taken in my own kitchen.  The stencil used on the wall is from the Stencil Library, Sticky Weed.

Ugh... I need some new clothes!

I took a few pics of myself, while working on the Jungle Mural, to shame myself into buying some new painting clothes.  Here I am taking a pic of myself, looking into a mirror in the Jungle Room.  See how pathetic I look?!  I no longer have any overall shorts, so I've cut off a pair of overalls to make some shorts.  It's finally warm here, so working in long pants is just too hot... even with the a/c.  Whenever I work with other decorative painters, they always look much more pulled together than me.  Not many I work with are fans of the bib overalls, but this style really is my fav for painting.  I like the fact that they are loose and comfortable.

A common problem with ALL of my overalls at the moment is the fact that the buckles are beyond repair.  Both of these straps are held up with giant safety pins.

I believe these are my best pair/cleanest pair of overalls.  Just sad.

Now I've written about the quest for some more attractive painting attire before and had done some good research into where/who has something decent, but must confess, never followed through.  After all, I'd much rather buy myself some fun clothes to wear when I'm NOT painting, vs. putting money into clothes that I will surely trash the first day out.

But... I've been disgusted by my shabby work appearance lately and that is not a good way to start off the day.  After all, I do spend a good 8-10 hours/day in painting attire, so I need to shape up and sport something a little more creative, fun, and not held together with safety pins!

So... I followed my own advice and ordered myself 2 pairs of these

coveralls from Rosie's.  One in pink and one in khaki.  I also ordered one of their cool bandannas.  I'm hoping they fit, are not too small or too big. I love the fact that these zip off and convert into shorts, plus come with removable knee pads.   When they arrive, I'm going to customize them a bit with some stenciling (of course!) and I thing I will either embroider or stencil my company logo somewhere.  I'm leaning toward embroidering the logo, just to set it apart from the stenciling.  Could a lowly PainterGirl actually be stylin'???!!!  Stay tuned for their arrival and transformation.

Can a Painter Girl Look Feminine?

It is definitely time for some new painting clothes! 

Here you can see my current overalls.  I have about 6 pairs, all in the same ratty state. I like the bib overalls because they are just very comfortable to work in.  They are very hard to find in my size, which is why I wear them until they literally fall apart.  When bib overalls are "in fashion", I can find a size that will fit at places like the Gap.  When they are not "in fashion", such as now, small sizes are hard to come by, anywhere.  Stores like Walmart tend to carry them for men, but they are way too big on me.  I have been doing a search on the web for painters overalls for women and have been finding some fun sites!

Look at these great overalls from Rosies!  They also come in pink and taupe, as well as this sea green.  The legs zip off to make shorts and every pair comes with removable kneepads!  I'm sold! Plus they come in PS and S sizes. ;-)  At $45, they are a bit pricey to paint in, but I love the color choices and the fact that they convert to shorts.  The removable kneepads are also a big plus!  Since I do wear them to death, I'm sure I'll get my money's worth out of them.



The first thing to go on my overalls are always the buckles. They tend to fall apart after a zillion washings. :-(  Here you can see how I have mine pinned.  All of mine are like this now, so I know it's time to refresh my inventory.  While I was doing my "Search" for women's overalls, I came upon a blog that was devoted to women in overalls, which I won't post here since it contained a mix of photos!  I also came upon a website that listed "The Top 5 Things a Grown Woman Should Never Wear".  Wouldn't you know, Overalls was listed as #1!  I quote: "Overalls belong on a farm. Period. They don't flatter anyone, and there are much better ways to look down-home sexy (a checked shirt tied at the midriff is a better start)."  I'd like to see the author of that list, Cynthia Nellis, paint in a checked shirt tied at the midriff!  While that look might go over big at some of the construction sites I work on, I doubt it would be well received by the majority of my clients!  If she thinks overalls do not flatter anyone, she should take a look at the previously mentioned blog devouted to overalls to see just how flattering they can be! ;-)