Jump Ball, Get It Get It!

My love affair with jumpsuits started as a budding young girl with the movie Grease. I wanted to be the “bad” Olivia Newton John with the black, shiny, skin-tight catsuit, teased hair, heavy makeup, smoking cigarettes and causing a commotion.

Here we have Fergie copycatting her, and I can see why…

In the 80’s, a boy on whom I had a gigantic crush (“Termite” was his name) said, “Jumpsuits are So Hot.” This was long before Paris Hilton uttered those infamous words, and I went running, or rather, SPRINTING, to the mall to find a jumpsuit.

Back then, jumpsuits were made with horrible floral or graphic prints, stripes, shoulder pads and skinny belts. They were baggy in all the wrong places, and the fabrics were hideous.

Downright ugly.

My favorite jumpsuits are from the 70’s. Designers took them to the highest, loudest, shiniest and trashiest levels possible for the disco, and I thank God for that. Plunging halter tops, the widest bell bottoms, great colors, sequins, metallic fabrics, you name it – it was there, and it was definitely funky.

It was with great gratitude and nostalgia that I started seeing them again a few years ago. My first foray into jumpsuits in the new millennium was a tube top knit version from Target. It is black with a ruched top and a smocked drop waist, and it is so soft that it feels like I’m wearing pajamas.

I wear it with a gold metallic cardigan, gold heels and big gold earrings to work, and it is undoubtedly appropriate for the office. It doesn’t show too much skin with the cardigan on top, it isn’t too tight or revealing in any way, and best of all, it is interesting.

The knit tube jumpsuits are pretty tame, but lately, I have been seeing more of the 70’s-influenced designs on the runway, on starlets and in magazines. Interestingly enough, today’s jumpsuits can be described as sophisticated and even elegant, terms I probably would not have used to describe the vintage styles. Chloe Sevigny looks simply flawless in indigo satin with a gorgeous fuschia bow in the June 2009 issue of Elle.

Some of my other favorites include (from L to R, below) the narrow leg, drop waist, spaghetti strap design with belt by Aqua. Sexy. Meow. Silk Cowl Jumpsuit by Alice & Olivia; I love the Seventies feel w/cowl neck, flowing wide legs, open back, and luxurious silk fabric. Stella McCartney's Tuxedo Jumpsuit: Red carpet elegance in a one-piece suit. On sale, but still expensive.

And finally, to go out with a bang, Lady Gaga takes jumpsuits to a whole new level. David Bowie is singing your praises, Lady Gaga!


*The views expressed in this blog are solely those of Gillian Kirkpatrick and do not necessarily reflect those of Goodwill of Greater Washington or the DCGF.

Any purchase made at a Goodwill Retail Store or on shopgoodwill.com funds Goodwill's mission of training and employment programs for people with disadvantages or disabilities. Copyright Goodwill of Greater Washington.