If you’re looking for number patches at a craft store, don’t bother searching for the two or the five. They’ll all be sold out. You’re too late– senior girls engaging in the longstanding tradition of making senior overalls have already descended. BSM is just one of the many high schools across the country whose seniors are clad in hand-decorated overalls, with a Knight Errant survey finding that 88.6% of BSM respondents had made senior overalls. A past Knight Errant article theorizes that the tradition started in 2010. Since then, it’s continued and evolved, and the class of 2025 is making the tradition all their own.
Each pair of overalls is unique to its creator. Common features include ribbons, lace, patches, fabric, paint, and letters– many seniors will include a shortened version of their name on the front pocket and the word “SENIOR” somewhere on their overalls. Others embellished their overalls by adding rhinestones, tassels, stars, and bandannas. “I have a lot of patches. I have “Senior” painted [on], a lot of ribbon, and just a lot of fabric,” senior Alex Luke said.
Some seniors created designs that represented parts of their personalities or their families. For example, senior Ella Pasqua used patches and ruffles to add some fun and show who she is through her overalls. “Also, I have lots of stars on the back of the legs that start smaller and get bigger, because they look pretty and each one is for my cousins and my siblings,” Pasqua said in an email interview.
On average, overalls were a significant time investment. A plurality of respondents to a Knight Errant survey took anywhere from one to fifteen hours to decorate their overalls, with a few students even taking over 24 hours total. For many, including Luke, attaching materials was the most time-consuming aspect. A majority of survey respondents used glue to attach some of their materials, resulting in long drying times. Others used sewing tape, iron-on patches, or sewed on their designs. “[Making my senior overalls] took me about a month, including all the time the glue needed to dry,” Pasqua said in an email interview.
However, the overall creation process is more than just decoration. Seniors shop for materials and overalls themselves from a wide range of stores, including SHEIN, JOANN, and Michaels. There’s also a social aspect: many seniors decorate their overalls with friends, like Pasqua, or they recruit family members. “My mom ironed some stuff on and I painted [my overalls],” Luke said.
Ultimately, senior overalls are personal. For some, they’re an expression of one’s personality. For others, decorating senior overalls is the chance to participate in a senior tradition that many have been anticipating for years. “…[O]nce I graduate, it’ll be something to look back on and…kind of give me a reminder of senior year and all the fun stuff I did with my friends,” Luke said.