At 65, I bought a pair of dungarees for the first time in forty years.
At 65, I bought a pair of dungarees for the first time in forty years. I have barely had them off since.
Six things these nature-inspired dungarees get right that tight waistbands and elasticated trousers get wrong, from a woman who fully expected to send them straight back.
I have never written one of these before, and I nearly did not, because I can already hear what some of you are thinking. Dungarees. At sixty-five. I thought the exact same thing. Let me be plain about who is talking: I am Helen, I keep a tidy house in Chester with my husband David, and somewhere in the last few years, getting dressed stopped being easy. The waistbands started digging in. The zips became a fiddle. And without quite deciding to, I found myself reaching for the same elasticated, apologetic sort of clothes every morning—the ones that do not ask anything of you and do not give anything back either.
Comfortable, yes. But every time I caught sight of myself I thought: when did I start dressing like I had given up? That is the trap nobody warns you about. You can be comfortable, or you can feel like yourself, and after a certain age the shops seem to think you cannot have both.
Then my friend Vera turned up in a pair
Not the dungarees you are picturing. A soft pair covered in the most beautiful embroidered-look wildflowers, woodland mushrooms, poppies and daisies, worn over a plain white tee. She looked comfortable and she looked wonderful, and I did not think those two things could go together any more.
They are from Lyra London, a boutique that has been quietly dressing women our age for a while now. They do a whole collection of them, dungarees and jumpsuits, in dozens of prints. I ordered the sage woodland pair that evening, fully expecting to be sending them back by Friday. When the boutique later asked if they could put my letter up for others to read, I said yes, on the condition I could be completely honest in it.
What happened at the family barbecue
I wore them to a family barbecue in the garden, over a white tee, with flat sandals. Four women asked me where they were from before I had even got a drink. One of them was Ann, who I have known since our children were at primary school and who has never once commented on anything I have worn. She said I looked like I had made an effort for once. I have decided to take that as a compliment.
I have barely had them off since. In the garden, to the shops, round to my daughter's for Sunday lunch. You step into them over a top and you are dressed, all in one, in about four seconds. Here are the six things I have learned since.
1Nothing digs in
There is no waistband fighting you, no zip, no tucking anything in. You put them on in the morning and then you simply forget about them for the rest of the day, which at our age is worth a great deal.
“Bought the grey pair for the garden and now I practically live in them. So easy to throw on, nothing digs in, and I have had lovely comments.”
2The print is what saves them
A plain pair really would look like you were off to do the weeding. It is the embroidered flowers and woodland prints—lavender, wildflowers, ferns and little mushrooms—that make them read as a proper outfit, something you chose, rather than something you gave in to.
“Three strangers complimented the pattern in Marks & Spencer. They look like a proper boutique outfit rather than gardening clothes.”
3On and dressed in four seconds
You step into them over a plain white tee on warmer days, or over a soft long-sleeved top when there is a chill, slip on sandals, flats, or trainers, and you are completely dressed. No standing in front of the wardrobe wondering what goes with what.
“Over a white t-shirt in summer and a cream jumper now it's cooler. The easiest piece in my wardrobe by a country mile.”
4Adjustable straps and practical front pockets
Because the shoulder straps adjust easily with metal buckles, you can set the fit exactly where it feels comfortable on your body. And the deep front pockets actually hold your reading glasses, phone, and keys without pulling the fabric down.
“Proper pockets that fit my glasses and phone, and straps you can adjust so nothing pulls on the shoulders.”
5Lightweight, breathable fabric that washes easily
Instead of heavy, stiff denim that weighs a tonne, the fabric is light, breathable, and moves naturally with you all day. You can pop them in the machine on a gentle cold wash, hang them on the line, and they are ready for the morning.
“So soft and light compared to heavy denim. Washed twice already on a cool cycle and they come off the line ready to wear.”
6There is one for everyone, from Small to 5XL
They do them in dozens of prints—florals, woodland mushrooms, poppies, daisies, patchwork, even one covered in little bees—from a Small right up to a 5XL. Half the fun was choosing which felt like me, which is why I ordered the grey wildflower pair a week later.
“Ordered the woodland pair first, then came straight back for the grey wildflowers with the bundle discount. You will not stop at one.”
These dungarees, against what is in your drawer
Most of us think we have to choose between trousers that pinch our waist and elasticated ones that make us feel invisible. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.
About the price
I will be honest, the price made me suspicious more than anything. They are £37.95. They were £126.95—a 70% saving—and the same price from a Small right up to a 5XL. Plus, if you combine two or more items across the shop, you get up to 25% extra off.
My first thought was that there had to be a catch, because comfortable clothes that actually look nice usually cost a good deal more than that. There is no catch that I have found. It is a boutique selling directly, and they run a seasonal sale to move current stock.
I read the reviews before I ordered, the way I imagine you are doing now. Over three hundred and sixty of them, sitting at 4.8 stars. The same things kept coming up: easy to throw on, nothing digs in, and lovely comments every time you leave the house. That was what decided it for me.
What I would tell you if we were friends
If you and I were having a cup of tea and you asked me, this is what I would say. If you have quietly started reaching for elasticated everything because nothing with a waistband feels good any more, but some part of you hates that you have, it is worth ten minutes of an evening to have a look.
Not because a pair of dungarees changes anything. It does not. But being comfortable and still feeling like yourself, at the same time, is a small thing I had stopped believing was on offer, and I would rather you did not stop believing it either.
The sale is on now, and the nicest prints go first. I am sixty-five and I live in dungarees now. I did not see that coming, and I could not be happier about it.
Helen