Earlier this year when I got my first garden design job, I knew that I wanted to be well equipped for the job.  I initially thought I would be on the site for a week or more, and the distance from where I would be parked to where I would be working was a bit of a walk.  When I am working at a wedding, I typically wear a black dress of course, but the gamechanger for me was adding a plain black apron with pockets to my ensemble.  The apron allows me to carry certain items that I use throughout the day and have those things at the ready. I knew that I wanted the same function for garden work, but I needed to have multiple tools at the ready, and an apron wouldn’t quite do the trick.

I initially thought about plain denim overalls.  My Daddy was a truck driver and he wore a certain brand of overalls every day to work.  So I looked into buying overalls online and the choices were limited and more expensive than I was hoping for.  As I looked into features and pricing, I decided that denim would probably be more rigid and heavy than I would want in warm weather, but all other women’s options seemed to lean toward fashion instead of function.  In this case, I wanted features over looks, but looking cute is always a bonus, right?

My searches kept directing me towards Duluth Trading Company.  They have a couple of styles of overalls, but one stood out – the Heirloom Gardening Bib Overalls.  Here’s a short list of the features that led me to purchase a pair:

·      The fabric – lightweight ripstop fabric that is easy to launder and comfortable but strong

·      Durable straps – I could tell that I wouldn’t be fussing with these straps – they stay put and can be adjusted as needed.

·      Pants legs: can be worn full length or rolled up and secured with a tab for warmer weather.

·      Knee pockets for pads – there are pockets built into the knees that will allow you to insert knee pads into the overalls.  While the pads are sold separately, I love this option for working in the garden, especially when weeding.

·      Pockets:  There are tons of pockets! I had ready made homes for my phone, ChapStick, spade, pocket knife, sunglasses, seed packets, mallet and landscape stakes. Everything I needed at hand without having to run back to the truck every five minutes! The pockets alone have me sold!

Once I put these to the test, I knew that I wanted a second pair.  My first wear was in late March and we were having unseasonable cool temperatures in Georgia.  I started out a long workday with a hooded sweatshirt, t-shirt, the Heirloom Gardening Overalls and my old running shoes.  As the day got warmer, I removed the sweatshirt, still wearing the t-shirt underneath.  The 4% spandex in the fabric allowed the overalls to be roomy enough for the sweatshirt but still have a great fit with just a t-shirt.  I never got overheated that day, but I did realize that I would want a pair of the overall shorts for the heat of the summer.

The overalls are available in three inseam lengths.  I am 5’ 6” so I went with the 29” inseam and they are a perfect fit.  I will say that I purchased a medium in the long overalls and they were quite baggy. I should have ordered a small, so I feel that these definitely run large in fit.  When I purchased the short overalls, I went with a small and they fit perfect.  (Note: I don’t wear a small in any other clothing – I am almost always size medium or sometimes even large across the bosom.)

I wanted to comment how well these launder.  On the first wear, I got the green long overalls pretty dirty, especially in the knees.  I was kneeling in rich, black garden soil throughout the day.  They were dirty enough I thought about stain treating them before I washed them, but I decided to wash first just to see how they laundered, and they were completely clean after a standard wash.

Price:  These are not inexpensive, the regular price of the long overalls is $89.50. The Heirloom gardening Short Overalls start at: $79.50.  I looked at three other brands online before I made my purchase and women’s Liberty brand overalls were approximately $52.99 and Dickies are $59.99.  Women’s Carhartt overalls start at $79.99 and go up to $109.99 depending on which style you choose.  Once I decided I didn’t want denim or a heavy fabric, there were only one or two options other than Duluth Trading Company. Ultimately, the Heirloom Gardening Overalls won me over due to the many added features.  I signed up for Duluth Trading Company emails and discovered that they frequently offer sale prices of 25% off and I really lucked up when I purchased the short overalls, they were on sale for half price!  I love these overalls and feel like I already have my money’s worth out of them in just a few wears. 

If you have tried these overalls, let me know what your favorite feature is! Are they worth the money or pass? I can’t wait to hear the feedback.