What's the difference between Carhartt and Carhartt WIP?

Hamilton Carhartt started making overalls in Detroit in 1889, with four sewing machines and five employees. Carhartt WIP is the European side of it: Edwin Faeh set up Work In Progress in 1994 as Carhartt's European distributor, and it later took the licence to make and design its own collections outside the United States. The construction and the heritage are shared; the cuts are different. What we stock is WIP.

What is a double-knee skirt?

A skirt with a second layer of fabric sewn across the front. On work trousers that panel protects the knees. On a skirt it does nothing structural, and Carhartt WIP has kept it anyway. The Maeve is the one to look at, and the Single Knee has one panel rather than two.

Which Carhartt WIP jacket should I start with?

The OG Detroit if you want the one that reads as Carhartt, or the OG Active if you'd rather something plainer. Both are canvas. The Skyler and the Janet are liners, so they layer under a coat rather than working as one on their own.

What Carhartt WIP bags are there?

Shoulder bags and crossbodies make up most of it — the Kickflip, Philis, Richmond, Haste and Elway, plus the Dawn belt bag and the Jake pouch for phone-and-keys size. Larger options are the Otley and Richmond backpacks and the Irwin and Skye totes. The Vernon is an organiser, and the clear WIP wash bag and travel case are the odd ones out.

What caps and hats does Carhartt WIP make?

Six-panel caps, beanies and bucket hats, mostly. The Icon Cap is the one people ask for, and the Madison Logo Cap sits alongside it. The Ashley Beanie is the volume seller in the knitted range, with the Short Watch Hat as the shorter alternative. Bucket hats come as the Ashley and the Orla.

Does Carhartt WIP come up big?

The women's range is cut on its own lasts rather than scaled down from the men's, so it runs closer to true than the men's line, which is generous. The trousers are the ones to check: Brandon is wide through the leg by design and Pierce is straighter, so the difference you are feeling is the cut rather than the size. The size guide sits on each product page.

Collection: Women's Carhartt WIP Jackets & Clothing

Carhartt WIP makes a women's range with its own cuts rather than smaller versions of the men's. The trousers are the best of it — Brandon is the wide-leg pair, Pierce is straighter, and both come in canvas or denim. There's an OG Detroit jacket, the sweats, and a double-knee skirt with the reinforced panel from the work trousers sewn onto the front of it.

Womens Carhartt WIP Trousers: Brandon, Pierce and Leola

The leg is what separates one pair from another. Brandon is the wide-leg pair and the one people search for by name. Pierce runs straight. Leola and Noxon are narrower, and the Page Carrot tapers towards the ankle, which helps if you wear boots. Brandon also comes as a double knee, with a second layer of fabric sewn across the front of each leg. It came off the work trousers and it's the version we'd buy.

Womens Carhartt WIP Jackets and Coats

The OG Detroit and the OG Active are the two that came over from the workwear range more or less unchanged. Prescott, Norris and Arca are plainer. One thing worth checking before you order: the Skyler and the Janet are liners, so they're made to go under a coat rather than to be one, and that isn't obvious from the photographs. If you want a single jacket that will last, take the Detroit.

Carhartt WIP Skirts, Shorts and Sweats

The skirts are the part of the women's range we'd point at first. Maeve has the same double-knee panel as the trousers. The Single Knee has one panel instead of two. The Jet is a cargo skirt with the pockets that implies. Sweats are the biggest part of the range — Nelson, Benton and Casey are the three names to know, and the Alta and Brandon shorts run alongside them.

Carhartt WIP Bags, Caps and Small Things

The bags are the part people buy without planning to. Richmond and Irwin come as a shoulder bag, a tote and a backpack in the same canvas, the Kickflip and Philis are the small cross-body ones, and the Sylvan and Tour pack down for travelling. On heads there's the Ashley beanie in six colours, the Madison and Icon caps, the Orla bucket hat and the short watch hat. The canvas on the bags holds its shape for years and marks within a week, which is either the point or the problem. Alongside them sit belts, carabiners, socks, watch gloves and a run of keychains shaped like miniature Carhartt jackets. There's also incense, a set of salt and pepper shakers and three skateboard decks, which is Carhartt WIP being Carhartt WIP. More in coats and jackets, trousers, skirts and bags.

FAQs

: Hamilton Carhartt started making overalls in Detroit in 1889, with four sewing machines and five employees. Carhartt WIP is the European side of it: Edwin Faeh set up Work In Progress in 1994 as Carhartt's European distributor, and it later took the licence to make and design its own collections outside the United States. The construction and the heritage are shared; the cuts are different. What we stock is WIP.
: A skirt with a second layer of fabric sewn across the front. On work trousers that panel protects the knees. On a skirt it does nothing structural, and Carhartt WIP has kept it anyway. The Maeve is the one to look at, and the Single Knee has one panel rather than two.
: The OG Detroit if you want the one that reads as Carhartt, or the OG Active if you'd rather something plainer. Both are canvas. The Skyler and the Janet are liners, so they layer under a coat rather than working as one on their own.
: Shoulder bags and crossbodies make up most of it — the Kickflip, Philis, Richmond, Haste and Elway, plus the Dawn belt bag and the Jake pouch for phone-and-keys size. Larger options are the Otley and Richmond backpacks and the Irwin and Skye totes. The Vernon is an organiser, and the clear WIP wash bag and travel case are the odd ones out.
: Six-panel caps, beanies and bucket hats, mostly. The Icon Cap is the one people ask for, and the Madison Logo Cap sits alongside it. The Ashley Beanie is the volume seller in the knitted range, with the Short Watch Hat as the shorter alternative. Bucket hats come as the Ashley and the Orla.
: The women's range is cut on its own lasts rather than scaled down from the men's, so it runs closer to true than the men's line, which is generous. The trousers are the ones to check: Brandon is wide through the leg by design and Pierce is straighter, so the difference you are feeling is the cut rather than the size. The size guide sits on each product page.

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Collection: Women's Carhartt WIP Jackets & Clothing

Carhartt WIP Page Carrot Ankle Pant Maverick Blue Denim

Carhartt WIP Nelson Sweatshirt Black Garment Dyed

Carhartt WIP Page Carrot Ankle Pant Maverick Blue

Womens Carhartt WIP Trousers: Brandon, Pierce and Leola

Womens Carhartt WIP Jackets and Coats

Carhartt WIP Skirts, Shorts and Sweats

Carhartt WIP Bags, Caps and Small Things

FAQs

Country/region

Collection: Women's Carhartt WIP Jackets & Clothing

Carhartt WIP Page Carrot Ankle Pant Maverick Blue Denim

Carhartt WIP Nelson Sweatshirt Black Garment Dyed

Carhartt WIP Page Carrot Ankle Pant Maverick Blue

Womens Carhartt WIP Trousers: Brandon, Pierce and Leola

Womens Carhartt WIP Jackets and Coats

Carhartt WIP Skirts, Shorts and Sweats

Carhartt WIP Bags, Caps and Small Things

FAQs

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