Fashion Statement

Work clothes for men are easy to find. For women? Not so much.

Heavy-duty work clothes for men have been around for probably the last century. You can wear any heavy clothing while working, of course, but garments designed specifically for work are made differently. Thicker or double layers at stress points like knees and elbow are common, as are large pockets and tool straps. You can beat them to death and they last forever.

Women haven’t been that lucky. Sure, as noted above women can wear anything they want while working, but finding clothing with suitable working strength, most woman have simply been buying smaller versions of men’s clothing and making do. That sort of works, but men’s clothes aren’t made the same way as women’s clothes.

And that doesn’t make sense. The numbers of women in the trades is at an all-time high, with many companies actively recruiting women. With the numbers rising, I’m pleased to see that trends in this area are changing, with Milwaukee being one of the first tool companies introducing a line of work clothes that are cut and sized taking a woman’s body into consideration.

Milwaukee has made men’s work gear for years, but they’ve now added a women’s line that so far includes shirts (two tees and a hoodie), and two types of pants. The sizes are true women’s sizes, not just small versions of menswear, with the cuts made to accommodate women’s bodies while working – lifting, bending, kneeling, using tools and the like.

While Milwaukee’s initial offerings come out next month as part of its existing Free-Flex and Gridiron lines, the company has plans to not only add more to those lines, but to the company’s Workskin line of clothing as well.

Change is slow. It’s heartening to see the trades becoming more attractive to women, but unfortunate that addressing their need for practical gear has lagged behind the growing numbers. I’m glad to see that the manufacturers are beginning to catch up.