First off, most working guys I know don’t wear anything from Carhartt except their sweatshirts and t shirts, so I don’t think it’s stealing all that much from them to wear a jacket that doesn’t have a hood. I also see a lot of these guys not at work but rather walking into somewhere they think is “fancy” like Longhorn or TGI Fridays in what appears to be their “going out” clothes, which is just a clean Carhartt sweatshirt. Point being they wear it outside work for fashion as well- it’s not like they only wear it when they’re holding a nailgun, even if in warmer weather they ditch the sweatshirt for a synthetic Under Armour polo. I have a Carhartt that’s absolutely beaten to shit from wearing it while I worked on my car, built decks, did masonry, whatever, but like them it’s not the one I wear when I’m taking my wife out either. Carhartt is fashionable, those of us who primarily wear it casually just don’t mind admitting that.
Second, and a bit more tongue in cheek, a lot of blue collar guys make a ton of money now compared to people with email jobs but they seem to love spending it all on a diesel pickup with a lift since they enjoy being on the opposite vehicle spectrum from a Prius and insist they “need a truck” despite the fact they probably drive a sprinter van when they’re doing real work. Point being, maybe THEY should be buying the expensive brands and leave Carhartt for the rest of us.
When I was a kid I loved the Army surplus store because I wanted to look punk but I couldn't afford the Doc Martens and Dogpile bondage pants the cool guys wore (who I guess were ironically cosplaying as working class then in $100 pants and boots I couldn't afford.) Sometime around then my parents got me a nice Carhartt jacket for Christmas, and I abhorred it at the time as it was a 'redneck' coat and I was clearly, as a punk rocker, above that. I can't help but laugh a little now, at 39, as I scour the internet in search of vintage western shirts and old Wranglers to celebrate my redneck upbringing, how much I'd love to still have that Carhartt that I disdained so much as a kid.
I don't know what any of that has to do with what you wrote, it just made me think of it.
“At the end of the day, I don’t really give a shit about big, fancy designers. I’ll always be more excited to sift through the racks of an old workwear or western supply store than to go to the trendy fashion retailer du jour. That’s because I love a deal and I love history and I love clothes with substance.”
In my unsolicited opinion, this sentence is a bit contradictory. Firstly, because “big, fancy designers” and “trendy fashion retailer du jour” might be two different things (say Prada vs. mmm idk Madewell? Urban Outfitters?). One sets the trend and offers no deals, the other follows the trend and offers a little bit of a deal on said trend. Or wait lol maybe you meant them to be two different things. Feel free to correct me, obviously. Anyways, secondly, just because big fancy designers aren’t producing what you deem to be HQ clothing today, doesn’t mean they haven’t before - so there’s definitely history there that deserves recognition to some extent. And further, designer brands have substance too, just in a different way. They focus on the aspect of clothes as art and a portrayal of beauty and expression instead of wearability. Pitting workwear against designer is no fair! ¿Por que no los dos? Lol. One day a fit can be for simplicity, wearability, endurance. The next it can be for indulgent self expression, luxury, joie de vivre. Its a beautiful thing!
But also, as a healthcare provider, if ppl started wearing scrubs day to day without being a fellow healthcare provider i would be so. Freaking. PISSED lmao
This shit went hard
I loved how deep this got at the end from a philosophical point of view haha great read
A lot of opinions on this.
First off, most working guys I know don’t wear anything from Carhartt except their sweatshirts and t shirts, so I don’t think it’s stealing all that much from them to wear a jacket that doesn’t have a hood. I also see a lot of these guys not at work but rather walking into somewhere they think is “fancy” like Longhorn or TGI Fridays in what appears to be their “going out” clothes, which is just a clean Carhartt sweatshirt. Point being they wear it outside work for fashion as well- it’s not like they only wear it when they’re holding a nailgun, even if in warmer weather they ditch the sweatshirt for a synthetic Under Armour polo. I have a Carhartt that’s absolutely beaten to shit from wearing it while I worked on my car, built decks, did masonry, whatever, but like them it’s not the one I wear when I’m taking my wife out either. Carhartt is fashionable, those of us who primarily wear it casually just don’t mind admitting that.
Second, and a bit more tongue in cheek, a lot of blue collar guys make a ton of money now compared to people with email jobs but they seem to love spending it all on a diesel pickup with a lift since they enjoy being on the opposite vehicle spectrum from a Prius and insist they “need a truck” despite the fact they probably drive a sprinter van when they’re doing real work. Point being, maybe THEY should be buying the expensive brands and leave Carhartt for the rest of us.
When I was a kid I loved the Army surplus store because I wanted to look punk but I couldn't afford the Doc Martens and Dogpile bondage pants the cool guys wore (who I guess were ironically cosplaying as working class then in $100 pants and boots I couldn't afford.) Sometime around then my parents got me a nice Carhartt jacket for Christmas, and I abhorred it at the time as it was a 'redneck' coat and I was clearly, as a punk rocker, above that. I can't help but laugh a little now, at 39, as I scour the internet in search of vintage western shirts and old Wranglers to celebrate my redneck upbringing, how much I'd love to still have that Carhartt that I disdained so much as a kid.
I don't know what any of that has to do with what you wrote, it just made me think of it.
“At the end of the day, I don’t really give a shit about big, fancy designers. I’ll always be more excited to sift through the racks of an old workwear or western supply store than to go to the trendy fashion retailer du jour. That’s because I love a deal and I love history and I love clothes with substance.”
In my unsolicited opinion, this sentence is a bit contradictory. Firstly, because “big, fancy designers” and “trendy fashion retailer du jour” might be two different things (say Prada vs. mmm idk Madewell? Urban Outfitters?). One sets the trend and offers no deals, the other follows the trend and offers a little bit of a deal on said trend. Or wait lol maybe you meant them to be two different things. Feel free to correct me, obviously. Anyways, secondly, just because big fancy designers aren’t producing what you deem to be HQ clothing today, doesn’t mean they haven’t before - so there’s definitely history there that deserves recognition to some extent. And further, designer brands have substance too, just in a different way. They focus on the aspect of clothes as art and a portrayal of beauty and expression instead of wearability. Pitting workwear against designer is no fair! ¿Por que no los dos? Lol. One day a fit can be for simplicity, wearability, endurance. The next it can be for indulgent self expression, luxury, joie de vivre. Its a beautiful thing!
Well said
But also, as a healthcare provider, if ppl started wearing scrubs day to day without being a fellow healthcare provider i would be so. Freaking. PISSED lmao