# Is Carhartt Being Sexist (and other clothing manufacturers) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 26, 2017, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-carhartt-being-sexist-and-other-clothing-manufacturers/802776 "2017-11-26T18:34:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2017, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-carhartt-being-sexist-and-other-clothing-manufacturers/802776/21 "2017-11-29T01:41:44Z")
Women’s hips are seldom narrower than their shoulders. If an item slides comfortable over the hips, it can slide right off the shoulders but still pull too tightly across the chest. Pants large enough to fit over a woman’s hips aren’t large enough in the right places. They pull over the butt and bunch in the crotch and still never have room for the lower rounded belly. Sleeves and legs are typically too long, being proportioned the men’s slimmer hips and flatter chests. Men’s/boys’ work boots do fit women just fine, sometime better than women’s because they are wider and have rounded toes. In my experience women’s work boots are as tough as men’s though, so there is no net gain, just more choice for women with wide feet. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2017, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-carhartt-being-sexist-and-other-clothing-manufacturers/802776/22 "2017-11-29T02:05:48Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > I hear this a lot and I don’t buy it. Men’s clothes come in many different sizes off the rack. Unless you are purchasing underwear or expensive, custom tailored outer garments, I find that all “men’s” clothes are designed to fit generic humans. They’re just _marketed_ towards men. […] The functional, durable and cheaper clothes are merely a few steps away in the same store! Go buy them if that’s what you want! Thanks for the advice, but _I’ve already tried that_. I often prefer both the style and color of clothing marketed to men, and when shopping regularly fetch things from the men’s department to try on. Some of it I wind up buying (I got a men’s Henley just the other day), but very often I don’t, because _it usually doesn’t fit_. While I would love it if more men’s clothing fit me even reasonably well, this is not the case. > [@](#): > > Stop buying the pink glittery garbage offered to you, and the clothing manufacturers \*will \*respond. Until then, I’m sick of hearing about how men have it so great because we have pockets, when the person complaining admittedly walked right past the pants with pockets in the store and voluntarily paid for pants without pockets. I’ve been buying my own clothes for decades, I wasn’t buying “pink glittery garbage” even as a teenager, and have always been particular about not buying pants that don’t have decent-sized pockets. And you know what? The clothing manufacturers haven’t responded, because they don’t give a damn what I want. You may be sick of hearing how men have it so great when it comes to clothing, but I’m sick of actually not having it great and would gladly trade my problem for yours. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2017, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-carhartt-being-sexist-and-other-clothing-manufacturers/802776/23 "2017-11-29T02:14:07Z")
> [@saje](#): > > Frankly I would LOVE tough Carhartt type clothes that fit my frame, was the same weight as men’s, with real goddamned pockets, and was NOT in “girly” colors. I don’t like pastels, I hate pink. Give me a good robust dark green or blue, a rich burgundy, even a royal purple. Wow. Me too. I HATE pink with the fire of 1,000 suns. > [@j666](#): > > Women’s hips are seldom narrower than their shoulders. If an item slides comfortable over the hips, it can slide right off the shoulders but still pull too tightly across the chest. My hips are narrower than my shoulders. It’s probably one of the reasons I had to have a c-section. Anyway, before I had a baby, I used to be able to buy pants in the boys’ section. Pockets, glorious pockets! My gawd, do boys’ pants have pockets! I still buy my pants in the men’s section. I usually have to wear them with a belt, but they still fit me better than the pants in the women’s section. I can’t wear dresses either. If I want a dress for some reason, I have to go to a very high end store where alterations are included. Otherwise, I stick to skirts and tops. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2017, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-carhartt-being-sexist-and-other-clothing-manufacturers/802776/24 "2017-11-29T02:40:44Z")
I was talking about jackets and shirts there. Even flight jackets don’t fit quite right. ---
**Author:** ![Lickety\_Split\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/67e7ee/32.png) [@Lickety\_Split\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lickety_Split_1)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2017, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-carhartt-being-sexist-and-other-clothing-manufacturers/802776/25 "2017-11-29T04:21:09Z")
> [@OldOlds](#): > > Hi All > > I don’t think I am worked up enough to make this a pitting. > > I have some really nice Carhartt gear, and I love it. They have a hoodie, the J149 that I can’t get enough of. I have several. > > My wife is always stealing them, and when I complain she points out I could buy her one. OK, Christmas hint received. > > Well, most of the really good stuff (like my preferred hoodie) isn’t available in womens colors. What I find is almost always imported (maybe matters, maybe doesn’t) and lighter weight. And yes, I can buy her a mens version, but I know her and she does like her girly colors (she’s great- all girl on the outside, but with a tough inside). Is it really too much to ask for some of the “good stuff” to be available in girly colors? That’s what she wants. Carhart’s client base is about 90% male. They are, by and large, a manufacturer of blue-collar work clothes. Which stands to reason when we all know that 90% of the outdoor blue-collar work, like construction, farming, ranching, labor, landscaping, county and state road work, et al…is comprised of men. And since Carhart does just fine thank you with their business and their brand-loyal customer base of vastly predominant males, it stands to reason that they simply don’t feel a need to offer their goods in feminine color schemes. The added sales by doing this–if indeed there were any–would certainly be off-set by the danger of them losing their long-held image. Which has, again, served them very well to date. It’s pretty much the old adage of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” all over again. Hope this helps. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-carhartt-being-sexist-and-other-clothing-manufacturers/802776.md?page=1)