Popular brands such as Carhartt and Dr. Martens (pictured above) were originally marketable among the working class due to their durability. Modern clothing companies currently sell such clothing for steep processes, undermining their history of being a blue-collar worker’s staples (party monstrrrr/creative commons).
The Carhartt beanie has become a staple on the college campus. At Geneseo, one can witness any number of alternatively dressed men and women sporting that bright orange logo atop their head, inevitably paired with Dr. Martens or Dickies trousers. These brands, founded as apparel for the working class, have been co-opted by the rich kids as a fashion statement and follow a trend of masquerading in the working person’s attire.
The Carhartt beanie has become a staple on the college campus. At Geneseo, one can witness any number of alternatively dressed men and women sporting that bright orange logo atop their head, inevitably paired with Dr. Martens or Dickies trousers. These brands, founded as apparel for the working class, have been co-opted by the rich kids as a fashion statement and follow a trend of masquerading in the working person’s attire.
It is hard to say exactly what motivates a trend or drives a certain sub-fashion into the public eye. Carhartt, Inc. was founded in 1889 for the purpose of creating heavy-duty and affordable clothing for railroad workers. In the 1990s, hip hop artists such as Tupac and Dr. Dre began to sport the brand, a move which seems to have propelled Carhartt to its current status of cultural ubiquity.
Similarly, Dr. Martens began in 1901 as a brand (then called Griggs) producing boots for the blue-collar worker. Whereas many famous British brands got their start marketing to the elite, Dr. Martens has historically been a brand worn by those used to getting down and dirty. Its reputation for sturdiness and association with the grittier parts of life is exactly what made the Dr. Martens boot a staple of the 1970s and 80s punk scene. Since then, the effectively nicknamed “Docs” boot brand has grown to dominate the alternative fashion scene in the United States.
Dickies workwear was founded in 1922 and, according to their website, has always stood for the “quality, toughness and pride that embodies the spirit of the American worker.” Whatever their original intentions, the 2020 version of the Dickies brand is currently being sold on and heavily promoted by the Urban Outfitters website, a clothing outlet with a history of co-opting styles from various subcultures in order to make them palatable to American youth.
The problem does not lie in the fact that well-off young people are wearing these brands per se—rather, there are troubling implications that arise in their willingness to support companies founded on working-class fashion rather than supporting the working class itself. When brands like Urban Outfitters get involved in selling working-class fashion, the price of these goods are often driven up and the non-monetary value can be obscured.
It is important to remember the origins of these brands—that is, as humble and uncomplicated garments to outfit manual laborers—and remind ourselves that the people who wore these brands throughout history make up the backbone of our nation. Carhartt, Dr. Martens and Dickies may be coveted brands to the college-age hipsters of our day, but they represent a history much deeper than a passing trend that should not be so easily swept away.
Hayley Jones is an English major junior with a minor in having a lot of useless facts in her brain.