The iGearList Blog

Carhartts for Women - YES!

July 23rd, 2008

Hello folks! It’s sunny and lovely here in the South San Francisco Bay of Callifornia, and I was so glad to get my newest Carhartts order in. New socks and shorts and shirts for work, and, maybe funnest of all, finally, a Carhartts catalog for women!

Somebody, somewhere, thinks that everyone who works in the oudoor industries and natural resource protection is a hulking 6 foot tall guy with a big grin. But it’s not true. I’m only 5′1″! And every day, in all kinds of weather, I push and pull, pitchfork and shovel, operate power equipment, spend lots of time weeding on my knees. Hard work. My fantasy commercial has me standing on top of one of our ginormous piles of weeds in our dump truck, tossing my hair and saying “My Carhartts are size 4 petite but my job sure isn’t!”

Here’s one of the many letters I’ve written to a major work clothing distributor:

Dear Humongous Company X -

With my recent purchase of work pants, you sent me a Carhartts catalog. This is a 117 page booklet of clothing for men and boys, replete with lots of photos of big tough looking guys modeling. The sizes would not fit me, and the clothing is not cut for me. Do you live in some strange world where women don’t work in physical jobs? It’s not the world I live in, nor the one where I will spend my money. The participants in today’s outdoor world of work are diverse in size as well as color, gender, and social background. The companies who don’t keep up with this are not only insulting those of us who deserve goods to meet our needs, they are losing money and valuable customers.

Sincerely,

Me

Now, I don’t flatter myself that this letter is the reason why Carhartts is expanding its offerings for women, but it is SO nice that they are; tough clothes, reasonably priced, cut exactly right. So, for those of us who sweat and shove and kneel and chainsaw and hustle on the job, cheers!

- Eco Babe

PS - I’m looking for a good pair of work boots; not too hot or heavy, waterproof, no mesh to allow weed seed and thistles through, cushy enough to climb hills all day, and tough enough to keep out rattlesnakes and ticks. And, of course, they have to be a women’s size 6. Any ideas? Post them to comments. Thanks!

Entry Filed under: Gear For Sale, Eco Babe