Nell's Case for the Dungaree
You are not too old for dungarees.
I have been telling women this across the same counter in Stowe since 1987.
Oh, I couldn't. Not at my age.
She is usually holding the pair while she says it. That is the part that gets me — she has already picked them up.
So here is my answer, and I have had thirty-nine years to get it short. A dungaree is a pair of trousers with the waistband taken away. That is the whole of it. Nothing sits on your middle, nothing digs in after lunch, and nothing needs adjusting when you stand up.
There is no age at which that stops being a good idea. If anything it gets better.
Three ways I actually wear mine
Not styled on a model. This is what I put on to open the shop.
Plain white tee, sleeves pushed up
The one I wear most. The print does everything, so the top has one job: get out of the way. Trainers in the morning, sandals by noon.
A cardigan over the top, buttons open
For a cold Vermont morning. The straps read as a detail rather than a statement once there is a knit over your shoulders.
Black top, gold earrings, done
The version I did not expect to work and now wear to dinner. A dark top underneath turns the whole thing quiet and rather smart.
Nell’s notes
Set them longer than feels right at first. Dungarees are meant to hang from the shoulder, not hoist from it. If the bib is pulling flat against you, drop each strap an inch and try again.
Do not be tempted to size down to reduce it. The width is what makes them cool in July and what stops them creasing behind the knee when you sit.
Pick the one you would put on a wall, not the one you think is safest. The safe print is the one that stays on the hook. I have watched it happen for thirty-nine years.
Anything with a plain neckline. A tee, a vest, a fine knit. The bib frames whatever is under it, so a busy top and a busy print end up arguing.
Every print, every size, one price. I have never understood charging a woman more for the body she has.
The wall
Forty-eight of them, and no two women in Stowe seem to choose the same one.
- Loose fit and a wide leg — move, sit, walk, garden
- Adjustable straps, set to your own height
- Drapes rather than clings, no waistband at all
- Forty-eight prints · sizes S to 5XL, all one price
- Take 2 and 10% more comes off — up to 25%
Free US shipping · 30-day returns
If you have been quietly wanting a pair for a while and telling yourself you are past it — you are not. Pick the print you would hang on a wall, and let me know which one you chose.
— Nell
Founder · Nell, Nora & Nina · Stowe, Vermont, since 1987
Prices and availability accurate at the time of publication, while Revival Sale stock lasts.