What’s With Workwear?
Some people got super into their sourdough starter. Others moved back home and reinvented their looks. I spent 2020 glued to my phone, where I saw an odd fashion trend unfold. The most bizarre menswear trend of 2020 was buying heavily distressed vintage work pants at astronomical prices. I first began to notice this trend while scrolling on my Instagram discover page. A jacket from Carhartt that looked like it had been put through a wood-chipper was being sold. This seemed strange and then became stranger when I saw the price: $350. Don’t get me wrong it did look cool, but I doubted this would be something I would see more of in the coming months. The old trend of ripped jeans is one thing, but now people want tattered jackets and carpenter pants and are willing to pay far more for these than the same clothes but less worn? That’s absurd.
People's obsession with this well-worn style started in accessibility. A pair of carpenter pants from Carhartt costs no more than $55. They are comfortable and easily incorporated into even the most basic of personal styles. To think that these jackets that were worn by people who worked with their bodies for a living and then are being found and marked up to 200% of their new counterpart is insane. The quality of most of this workwear hasn’t changed in my experience.
The outerwear is incredibly affordable as well — worn most famously by cult leader and all around weirdo Kanye West. His rocking of the Dickies Eisenhower jacket during the 2019 Met Gala sold the simple black jacket out for months. This to me peaked the general public’s interest in workwear. Then later in 2019, Kanye was spotted wearing a vintage distressed Carhartt jacket out and about in the very-much-not-middle-class Calabasas, CA. He effectively started the flood of “blue collar stolen valor,” which has been highlighted on the fashion podcast Throwing Fits an inconceivable number of times. Now it’s normal to see these distressed Carhartts being flaunted with astronomical price points and being bought by people who do as much physical labor as a 14-month old baby.
It feels wrong to me that someone, whether it be the reseller or consumer, is finding these pieces of clothing that were of actual use to someone and selling it for more money than they made a week. Imagine going to a job site and telling someone that the jacket that they bought out of necessity, to keep themselves warm, was going to be purchased for 500 dollars and worn by someone who shares their Spotify playlist to their Instagram story all day.
I certainly love the look of something that is sun-faded and worn. There is still some very affordable vintage workwear on eBay, and I think I'll stick to buying that. I will also still buy new stuff. I’ve been wearing these jackets since I began buying my own clothes. It does feel comforting to know that if the one I currently own rips, I’ll have the money to pay for my next (new) jacket.
