Look at the links between workwear and fashion and you will see very quickly that the two are inextricably linked. Furthermore, the rugged workwear look has always been considered attractive to the opposite sex. We are not talking about dirty jeans, dust covered boots and a hardhat. We are talking about functional workwear.
Look at skaters, for example. They don’t often opt for expensive designer labels. Instead, they opt for brands such as Dickies and Carhartt, long lasting garments whose manufacturers carved a name for themselves by making workwear. And we have all seen someone walking along wearing a retro-looking ‘gas station’ jacket. The truth is, people love workwear if it’s done properly.
That’s not to say we should all rush out and buy double-knee carpenter trousers and a high-vis t-shirt. But it is possible to put together a look that straddles the line between smartness and looking like a rugged kind of person.
Many work pant manufacturers now make their trousers in a slim or skinny fit, not just because of the changing needs of the workplace but also because men love to wear a fitted work pant in their personal lives. Add a pair of ‘work style’ boots and top it off with a casual t-shirt, and this creates a unique look that takes the best of the workwear world and combines it with an informal clothing item but stops you looking like you’ve just walked off of a factory floor.
The other great thing about this look is there is deliberately devoid of any designer interference so it gives the appearance that the man is happy to let the clothes speak for themselves. They are also incredibly comfortable, hardwearing and timeless; it will never go out of fashion because it straddles so many time periods successfully. This is the same look that people were wearing in the 1950s, and it has never gone out of fashion because it sticks its finger up to fashion and looks good whenever, wherever.
So for once, it makes sense to buck the trend and combine work and personal lives!
