Have You Ever Worn the Grapes of Wrath?

The Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck, is a tale of a poor family that seeks the promise land in CA (a familiar story to me as well), after their farm is taken by drought and the future of their family is at stake. Upn reaching CA, they find not gratification and a slew of acting jobs, but an over-saturated landscape of Hollywood wannabes all fighting for the same jobs and wearing the same trends as them. People are being mistreated, resorting to one-night stands and commercial work just to survive. Unions start forming, and the writers go on strike to demand rights for themselves. After all, a six figure salary is hardly enough for a lead writer on Everyone Loves Raymond. One strike turns violent, and Tom Joad, the protagonist, kills someone (else). He's already a fugitive, so this makes things even worse. So, he's forced to flee in a high speed chase on the 405.

That's the jist of it at least.

Is Ralph Lauren the first thing you think of when you hear sharecropper? No, I didn't say shareholder. Well, his newest runway show, and many other designer's shows featured the return of the overall. He said he was inspired by the Grapes of Wrath, and it definitely shows in the collection. I don't know how runway-worthy the looks are since his runway stuff is usually higher end (see RL Black Label), but I was digging several of the looks. So, yes, cowgirls they're back. I resisted the genie pants and leggings, but can I resist the overall? Don't think so. And I'm pretty certain J. Crew will be selling a stylin' pair with my name on it within three months for $128.

Through the years I've had a few pairs.

My first pair was purchased in the local UDELCO in my town, a second hand shop carrying mostly army pants, surplus stuff, and of course good old overalls. They always smelled like wolf pee when I wore them, and I couldn't get rid of the stink, so after maybe 8-10 wears, I finally tossed them. Then I bought a pair later in college. My boyfriend Rob's roommate's girlfriend had a pair that fit so well. They were definitely more tailored in the waist, which made it look like jeans on the bottom with the traditional apron top. They fit her so well, I decided to go on a hunt for them. I would have asked her where she got them, but she was a real psycho, and I was afraid if I talked to her she'd kill me. She lied a lot, and stole things, and took or dealt drugs. Turned out she tried to sleep with Rob about a million times, and if I recall correctly even asked for a threesome with us. Once, she was sitting in the dark in his room in her underwear when he got home from class. Crazytown. In the end, I got a Calvin Klein pair, since, at that time, CK was the only designer brand of jeans, so I felt super cool buying and wearing them. They were definitely my best pair.

I've always wanted a pair that look like jeans, and have suspenders connected at the belt line. You heard it here first, this look will be in style this winter.

So, here are some of my faves from the RL show. I did buy a caddy hat a few weeks ago that I think I've since lost (along with a gorge gold multi-strand necklace--both from J. Crew), but could rock a winter version of some of these looks. Too bad none of these clothes will ever look like this on me. I tried rocking the boyfriend jeans today with a white tee, jacket, and cool pearlish necklace, but the jeans only made me look like a character from an 80s movie about to paint her apartment. Oh well, a girl can dream can't she?