Carhartt to provide durability & comfort in women's fit
16 May '07
4 min read
Carhartt Inc's famously durable and comfortable workwear is now available in fits and sizes designed especially for women. The new Carhartt for Women line of clothes and accessories was tested nationwide in fall 2006 at a selected group of 150 retailers, and has begun shipping to Carhartt's North American retailers this month.
The new clothes and accessories have been perfected after more than a year and a half of interviews with working women, design testing in real-world environments and feedback from product testers. Initially, the Carhartt for Women line will consist of jeans, dungarees, knit shirts, sweatshirts, outerwear and accessories, including the iconic Carhartt Detroit Jacket and Sandstone Work Dungarees.
More than 25 percent of Carhartt's existing customers are women, who resign themselves to the imperfect fit of clothes designed for men in order to get the famous Carhartt durability and quality. The new clothes and accessories take into account much more than just size differences.
“This isn't about Carhartt clothing in feminine colors, it's about creating tough workwear that actually fits women,” explained Jill Makinen, Carhartt's Women's Category Product Manager. “We've done things like design our Carhartt for Women pants with a contoured waistband that sits slightly lower in the front and higher in the back, which eliminates gapping in the back when bending over.”
“Women's hands have different proportions than men's hands, so our Carhartt for Women gloves use the same materials and quality as our men's gloves, but are designed for a woman's hand width and length. However, even though we changed a number of proportions to make them fit better, we didn't make a single concession to quality for our women's clothes when compared to our existing lines.”
Initial feedback from Carhartt retailers and customers during the test launch of Carhartt for Women has been overwhelmingly positive.
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