Function, Not Fashion

Let me just preface this post by saying that I did wear bibs in the 90s. I have a few pictures of myself at Barn Dance (did your sororities do this, or is it just a land-grant school thing? That's another post, another day) wearing a cute pair of bibs...cute, but it was Barn Dance, and it was the 90s.

However, there are a pair of bibs bouncing around in my dryer currently, and I will tell you, they are for function, not fashion.

My whole mission of this blog is to debunk stereotypes. It is to fight the image of a farmer as some hick wearing bib overalls, chewing on a length of hay. It is to show you that my husband is someone who does work hard, often times manually, but has a master's degree and once upon a time held an executive position in a company.

 And he may wear bibs now and again.

And that doesn't make him a hick.

Rather, Joe's bibs make him appear to be almost like Superman and Clark Kent. The layered look is in, and farmers like my husband are working it! Today, he came home from helping his friend with a land sale, and was wearing his bibs. I was surprised, as I knew that he had to be in professional dress for most of the day. However, like Superman, Joe peeled off his bibs to reveal his dress shirt and khakis. Impressive that a mild mannered "picker" from an auction can come home, throw on a pair of bibs and check cows, concealing his fanciness beneath layers.

These bibs are worn for warmth and protection in the winter...protection from manure and mud and other maliciously dirty things, and are worn for coolness (the temperature, not fashionably cool) in the summer. My father-in-law wears bibs almost exclusively. Bibs allow him to do multiple dirty jobs (think Mike Rowe), but come in the house and peel off the overalls and enjoy lunch without having to sit in dirty or smelly clothes.

He would also contend that his bibs with the most holes are the best in the summer for natural air conditioning, but we won't discuss that any further.

Anyway, my point is, bibs for farmers are out there. They are worn. They are utilized, but they are not worn by the farmers in my world for anything than function. You won't see my husband or father-in-law at the family dinner at Easter wearing their bibs. Those are delegated for work, only, and possibly a trip to town for a work related errand.

Period.

So, while the Gap had a few pairs of bibs in their stores this last fall, I would highly recommend you not bothering, as you'll look either like someone who needs to go check calves or feed hogs or someone who regrets wearing bibs to a Barn Dance, and now she is trying to fight against the Hee Haw persona of folks who live where there are barns.

Moral of the story: Function not fashion on the farm.