Incorporating the workwear aesthetic into a non-workwear wardrobe

I've been thinking about making this thread for awhile, and after listing some stuff in B&S, decided to give it a go.

One of the questions I face when buying with a limited budget is is it appropriate to buy workwear oriented clothing in a non workwear centric wardrobe? Although I love the aesthetic itself, I find it increasingly hard to incorporate the pieces of EG and WWM I have into my normal day to day outfits, which are usually a combination of v-neck tees or simple button downs.

I want to buy clothing that can serve as many role as possible - something I can dress up or dress down, or pieces I can easily combine together, and with workwear, I find this is something that simply cannot be done. Too many of the pieces either have an oversized/atypical fit that only works with similar pieces, or have anachronistic details that break up the flow of the silhouette and look out of place in the context of a simple, clean cut outfit.

Anyone else faced this dilemma?

Kinda but I don't care so much -- just throw it all in a pile and call it American heritage. I'm drawn to the stuff not because of historical connotations, but because it has a certain roughness to it that doesn't look fashiony. This works well with the casualness of the rest of my clothes. Not to mention the guys who actually try to make it look like workwear usually end up looking like assholes.

It's going to be hard to use EG and WWM if your typical stuff is very fitted (mine isn't). Otherwise just stick to the less-extreme pieces and you should be fine.

Look for rather minimalist designer pieces, or simply go for non-designer workwear (brands like Carhartt, Filson, Dickies, etc). The difficulty I have with a lot of the designer workwear is that quality and material-wise they're fantastic but some/most pieces are frankly a little overdone, and with a more subtle wardrobe like yourself they just don't mesh well.

And if your main point is the fact that workwear doesn't mesh well with slim clothes, that's just reality. Workwear was designed for work, and that meant generous sizing. You can always have things tailored, size down, etc. But if you're going for the workwear aesthetic, it's fairly cheap to buy some basic, essential non-designer workwear pieces from brands like Dickies, Carhartt, Filson, etc. and mix them with some more quality designer workwear pieces.

Or you could just try and get more creative.

when you say workwear are you referring to white collar or blue collar? whenever i think workwear my mind goes straight to a flannel plaid

Originally Posted by jaychiz

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when you say workwear are you referring to white collar or blue collar? whenever i think workwear my mind goes straight to a flannel plaid

I'm referring to designer workwear.. Haversack, EG, WWM, Yakuten, Quoddy, etc.

I guess this is also applicable to some of the more budget workwear brands, but I don't feel they have the same kitschy appeal

Take it on a piece by piece basis.

Most of it fits a look, I think you can get single pieces that work well with a more fitted aesthetic.

I think alot of pieces can work in SS more than FW in this way, I don't mind being a fair bit more relaxed for SS.

I think nice flannel/plaid shirts look great under more city-ish sportcoats. I cannot imagine EG stuff not working with skinny jeans and a tshirt. I'd rather the details not go together than look like I decided to dress up as a miner or something

Denim and chambray shirts and jackets easy to work with just about anything. Bedfords aren't tough either.

Agreed, ARW. FWIW, teger, I'm not even sure I can pull off Haversack, and my entire wardrobe is pretty much EG, MFSC, and Japanese workwear.

Have you tried sizing down on some workwear like EG? I started doing that and wound up with some pretty slim-fitting stuff.

Or, maybe you should try for something a little more 'formal' like military-inspired stuff. What about some relatively inocuous stuff, like a Buzz Rickson chambray or sweatshirt? Also, it seems many of the Apolis shirts are workwear/military and are pretty clean cut.

Originally Posted by Teger

Click to expand...

I'm referring to designer workwear.. Haversack, EG, WWM, Yakuten, Quoddy, etc.

I guess this is also applicable to some of the more budget workwear brands, but I don't feel they have the same kitschy appeal

I.E. not SF-approved.

Originally Posted by Teger

Click to expand...

I'm referring to designer workwear.. Haversack, EG, WWM, Yakuten, Quoddy, etc.

I guess this is also applicable to some of the more budget workwear brands, but I don't feel they have the same kitschy appeal

kitsch  [kich] Show IPA
-noun
something of tawdry design, appearance, or content created to appeal to popular or undiscriminating taste.
Origin:
1925-30; < G, deriv. of kitschen to throw together (a work of art)

Related forms:
kitschy, adjective

Sorry I couldn't resist.

I post a similar question in the EG thread before with a few members assuring that it can be acheived without much difficulties..........In my experience, it really depends on the pieces and your present style......if you are more like a Jil Sander fans, then I guess inserting a Dakai's pieces will look weird. But say if you are into preppy style, I think some chambray shirts can work great under a plaid/madras sportcoats or you can add a EG's vest under to a simple blazer for some punch.

I know what kitsch is and those are the details that make EG most appealing to me haha. The ugly, tacky, completely nonfunctional details. Sizing down usually makes the shoulders much too small for me.

I have the opposite problem, in that I find myself drifting TOWARD the workwear thing when I never really planned to. I think I'm sort of giving into it (hence new vintage indys for accompaniment) as inevitable and going with elements of non-workwear in what is increasingly becoming a workwear-centric rotation.

I don't have this problem.