Kara Janx struggling mightily in a Santino Rice jumpsuit from Season 2.
Like the swallows coming back to Capistrano, you can always count on some designer returning to that perennial non-classic, the jumpsuit and throwing a couple down the runway to see if they'll stick. We're currently in a "let's try this one more time" period as there have been several jumpsuits seen in the Spring/Summer collections this year.
Heidi Klum wearing Michael Kors
Valentino, Betsey Johnson, Calvin Klein, and Versace Spring 2008 RTW Collections
Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel, Donna Karan, and Prada Spring 2008 RTW Collections
Heatherette, Gianfranco Ferré, Stella McCartney, and Roberto Cavalli Spring 2008 RTW Collections
In the "Pro" column, jumpsuits can be extremely versatile articles of clothing, with a range from "running out to the ATM" to "appearing on the red carpet." In the "Con" column you have decades of bad associations. Kind of like a female leisure suit except no one's currently trying to make the leisure suit happen.
The 2008 models show that versatility for which the jumpsuit is famous, but for the most part, they avoid the dowdiness and even ugliness for which they're somewhat infamous. Even if you hate them all, fear not. If past trendlines hold, they won't be around for very long.
[Photos: WireImage/Style.com - Screencap: Project RunGay]
Jumpsuits are fine for those already catheterized, but not my style.
ReplyDeleteNotice, every jumpsuits other than Santino's are all loose fitting.
ReplyDeleteI did have a tres, tres chic jumpsuit once, but I could never escape the feeling that I was running around in my pajamas, so it only got a couple wearings before I gave up on it.
ReplyDeleteThe first thing I ever made was a hideous jumpsuit. What was I thinking?
ReplyDeleteThey are ok and can be stylish depending on the accessories, I think. Having said that, I would never be caught in one : )
ReplyDeleteThe Versace one is hot but most of them look like PJs.
ReplyDeleteNo way! That is one of the most hideous trends I've seen. Go away!!!
ReplyDeleteJumpsuits make me cringe.
ReplyDeleteI hate the long ones, but the short ones can be kind of cute.
ReplyDeletePasty hit the nail on the head. If you can't pee standing up, a jumpsuit has no place in your wardrobe closet.
ReplyDeleteHowever, if you paint interiors, rivet planes, fix engines, clean out beehives or deal with hazardous materials, feel free to hang one in your locker!
Jumpsuits can be both stylish and fun as the photos suggest, but everyone is right about the bathroom issue. And when done wrong, jumpsuits are one of the most hideous of fashion boo-boos.
ReplyDeleteYay for Betsey Johnson and Donna Karen... Nay on the rest.
ReplyDeleteThe only jumpsuit I'll ever wear is my overalls... and that is for around the house and errand-running only.
I hate jumpsuits. No redeeming value what so ever.
ReplyDeleteUntil someone invents a way for a woman to use the ladies room without stripping down, jumpsuits will never, ever, be in my closet.
ReplyDeleteSome of these jumpsuits are quite attractive, but I'll bet none of the designers ever had to use a restroom while wearing one.
ReplyDeleteEvery time I see a jumpsuit on the runway I want to (metaphorically) take it out back and pop a cap in its head. Please, they have terrible fit issues (wedgie city vs saggy baggy pants), they are a total pain to get into and out of, esp. if you need to go the the bathroom, and they look hideous on almost everyone. Even Frau Seal can't make that MK version look like anything better than a poolside loungewear look.
ReplyDeleteEnough with the frickin' jumpsuits already!
I love jumpsuits! I wear them with heels, and please, who needs to pee?
ReplyDeleteI don't like the ones loose-fitting across the body, I think they have to be a bit more form fitting around the upper body.
ReplyDeleteI HATE THEM!!!
ReplyDeleteLike you said, TLo, jumpsuits come. Jumpsuits go. And most of these should be gone. However, I do loooove the Chanel look. Absolutely fabulous. I have to give them props for making a jumpsuit look so adorably retro and modern at the same time. For some reason I can picture Claudette Colbert wearing this look.
ReplyDeleteThe worse of the crop is the Gianfranco Ferre. Blech. And sorry to say, but I've always HATED Santino's look for Kara Janx. It just brings to mind something a futuristic space call girl would wear. I always thought she looked kind of dirty in it. Sorry.
- edina -
I agree. It's all fun and games until someone has to pee.
ReplyDeletewhile SOME of them look cute on the runway, several posters hit the nail ont head when they brought up the bathroom issues. they are a pain to wear, and gorgeous things is right -- the fit issues are awful since there is no "give" between the top and bottom. one usually ends up with a saggy tuche after sitting - just where i want to look saggy.....or, as she pointed out -- a wedgie....
ReplyDeletegod, i hope this trend passes quickly...
They're hell in the bathroom. No can do.
ReplyDeleteNo, no, no.
ReplyDeleteThe Calvin Klein looks frighteningly, horrifyingly like an outfit I bought in about 1984.
ReplyDeleteThe Ferre fabric looks beautiful, but I suspect the shape flatters no one but models.
Maybe Cavalli gets props for his evening wear approach, but why the cropped pants? (Is his really a jumpsuit, or is it a top and pants?)
The YSL and the Prada make me want to kill myself -- as horrible for fashion as the '80s were, why bring back some of the very worst of that decade?
Blech! For some reason jumpsuits always make me think of The Penguin from Batman Returns.
ReplyDeleteNO! And there not from everyone.
ReplyDelete...FOR everyone.
ReplyDeleteJumpsuits, All-in-Ones, Catsuits...whatever you call them should stay in the past.
ReplyDeletePatsy said it perfectly --
ReplyDelete"Jumpsuits are fine for those already catheterized"
I can't wait for the Target version.
ReplyDeleteThe short jumpsuits are adorable. I would wear them in a heart beat with some platforms.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind jumpsuits so much, but my bladder begs to differ...
ReplyDeleteYou forgot the denim jumpsuit Jillian designed! I thought it was a very nice look, although there are only a few people who could actually pull it off.
ReplyDeleteAnyone woman who wears a jumpsuit has never had to pee in a public bathroom. The top half of your garment dragged on the bathroom floor needs only happen to you once to swear "Never Again!"
ReplyDeleteThough it wasn't well executed, I've always thought Santino's jumpsuit for Kara was the best design from that challenge. I think someone on the show mentioned Dianna Rigg as Emma Peel; good comparison. I've always had a thing for Bruce Lee in his yellow jumpsuit for Game of Death, and was pleased when Tarantino and Thurman paid homage to him and it in Kill Bill. Of the fancier ones shown, I rather like the black one Heidi is wearing, but really, they're much nicer when they're sporty.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Dale.
Those crotch's all look "insane". Jumpsuits always go in the ass column for me.
ReplyDeleteMs. Sangrail said:
ReplyDelete"I don't mind jumpsuits so much, but my bladder begs to differ..."
Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. Depends, honey.
Yup, the pee issue is important. Plus, wedgies too.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, let's stop this horrible crime against fashion NOW!
ReplyDeleteSarah said...
ReplyDeleteThe first thing I ever made was a hideous jumpsuit. What was I thinking?
Oh, me too, me too. Only mine was CULOTTS instead of long pants. No small wonder I never got into design or dressmaking.
What Patsy Stone said.
ReplyDeleteNothing like having to try to keep your top or sleeves off the pee-puddled floor to make your day (or evening) interesting.
including the aforementioned issues, i’m totally against anything that makes my crotch look ten feet long (i’m esp. looking at you, ck, ysl, and prada). yech.
ReplyDelete~~zoë
I think the Valentino is the worst of the crop. Even if you can over look the bust flattening, waist thickening, and crotch vortex effect. The polka-dot jumpsuit still has me whistling "Send in the Clowns".
ReplyDeleteRemember the denim jumpsuits? Those were the worst.
ReplyDeleteI generally hate the idea of jumpsuits, but some of these are kind of cute and different. I'd wear them to run errands or something, but not to a formal event.
ReplyDeleteAnon. said, "You forgot the denim jumpsuit Jillian designed! I thought it was a very nice look, although there are only a few people who could actually pull it off."
ReplyDeleteI did think of that but couldn't remember whose design it was. I loved that. But I didn't think of it as a jumpsuit; didn't it have wide legs, more palazzo pant-like than jumpsuit?
Anon. said, "You forgot the denim jumpsuit Jillian designed! I thought it was a very nice look, although there are only a few people who could actually pull it off."
ReplyDeleteI did think of that but couldn't remember whose design it was. I loved that. But I didn't think of it as a jumpsuit; didn't it have wide legs, more palazzo pant-like than jumpsuit?
The Versace is really nice. I saw a picture or an ad I can't remember of Giselle Buedchen wearing it and she looked amazing.
ReplyDeleteIf you know how to choose the right one, they can be the simplest piece to wear in your wardrobe.
ReplyDeleteYou have to be a model to look good in them, and even so, some of those models don't look that great.
ReplyDeleteI had a black silk polyester (!) strapless jumpsuit like Heidi's in the 80's. It had elastic around the top and waist and wide legs, making it quite easy to pull off for whatever reason!
ReplyDeleteThey'll roll this out again in 20 years, you just watch!
Peeking out from behind a rock....
ReplyDeleteAre the jumpsuits gone?
"honesty.not.pc said...
ReplyDeleteThose crotch's all look "insane". "
OMG, I laughed so hard at that I woke the cat!
Some of these look ok. But then I think, would they really look much different as 2 pieces? Which leads to the question, what's the point of the jumpsuit, especially given all the above-mentioned functional problems?
I don't see a single redeeming thing about any pantsuit, even darling Heidi looks ghastly in that black buckle thing. She looks like a black Caboodle stood on its end.
ReplyDeleteShe'd be far more fetching in a shell top that contrasts with loose black pants.
Did I mention that I hate the buckle?
I'd only have use for a jumpsuit if it was flame resistant and came with a hard hat.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was young and skinny, I really worked a brown velvet pantsuit one winter. I still treasure fond memories, but only one or two of those pictured look appealing to me. Funny, I don't even remember the bathroom issues - guess I only wore it to brief events! (And limited my liquids!)
ReplyDeleteOMG...jumpsuits, the bane of women everywhere!
ReplyDeleteAlthough, I do admit, I like the Betsey Johnson jumpsuit shorts.
Not TOO bad to wriggle out of in a moment of "OUTA THE WAY, GOTTA GO!"
-----StkrShock
I love the jumpsuits.
ReplyDeleteThe short ones are cute, the long ones are gorgeuos.
Not sure if I would feel comfortable wearing one but I'm really thinking about giving it a try.
Worst trend ever!
ReplyDeleteSome of those, especially at the end, look fine for sleeping in. It think those fall under 'sleepwear as day wear'.
ReplyDeleteI would just like to inform all of you that I saw a 45-50 year old [tan] women wearing a short blue jumpsuit at the carnival today. I thought of Project Rungay, and laughed.
ReplyDeleteDon't you have to be about six feet tall and weigh about six pounds for jumpsuits to look any good on you? None of them look figure forgiving or flattering, if you ask me.
ReplyDeleteI still have nightmares from watching that episode of the "Golden Girls" in the first season where Blanche wore a baby blue one...Eeek! In a show that had a lot of fashion gaffes (Peter Pan boots and shoulder pads on Bea Arthur???), that was the worst!
I just bought one and love it- matte charcoal silk from BR- sale ofcourse... Apparently I was the first person to buy one at the store.
ReplyDeleteIts loose, but definitely not forgiving. I'm hardly bigger than the runway models (and taller than the height cut for runway) and I wear spanx with this thing.
Giant heels and jewellery are a must with it. I'm wearing a pearl necklace that makes my neck look like it is going to fall off and 6 inch wood heeled pearly metallic shoes. I swear.. I am going to hit my head on a ceiling.