Like many millennial females, I sneak and steal my significant other’s rugged clothes. Mostly, his sweatshirts and insulated button-up type shirt jackets.
At this point, it’s not so much an obsession with him, or even the way the oversized garments look cute… after all, I’m just working on the farm.
It’s simply that he seems to have all the good stuff!
Which made me wonder, if I’m the one that’s always cold, why does Nick get the better cold-weather gear?
Let’s be honest, there’s plenty of credit card swiping that’s occurred for this girl. And my wardrobe is fairly outfitted with outdoor themes. It’s just that when stepping out the door, there’s this green jacket of his that’s easy to grab and up for any job… eventually, I realized it was time to order my own.
A quick search and a guest checkout later sent the women’s equivalent green jacket on its way. After waiting patiently and over-clicking the FedEx tracking link, I was sorely disappointed when the package finally arrived.
Don’t get me wrong, the jacket was super cute, even Nick (who is ever so critical) agreed it looked nice. But the substance I was looking for just wasn’t there, almost as if they put more attention into trendy details while disregarding the fabric.
Needless to say, the jacket is going back!
But it doesn’t end there…
After a brief two week sample of fall, it’s winter again in Minnesota. Meaning, the time has come to stock up with new gloves, jackets, and other warm clothing. Nick and I went to restock our closets and my shopping experience kept highlighting the serious differences between men’s lines and women’s lines.
There’s a frustrating gender disparity of ruggedness in clothes! Brands like Carhartt and Legendary Whitetail are known for making hardcore, outdoor working clothes. Which they do… the men’s line is great.
Nick has a Rain-Defender Carhartt hooded sweatshirt which is 4 years old, has been washed 100 times, and still does the job. He bought another just to bridge the laundry schedule. Add in some Kinco gloves, boot liners, and canvas pants, and the guy is set to conquer feeding cattle in the heart of winter.
But for yours truly, I’m mostly set to dominate a day in the local skating rink warming house…
Ergo, bring on the men’s version!
At least if I expect to get something done… Besides, quality is just as cute, if not cuter than all the little feminine details. Just like Boomer women finally got their own Letterman’s jackets in the ’60s, I’m going to go ahead and order a “men’s” Journeyman’s Shirt Jacket.
At this farm, the gender category of an item will have to depend on who is putting it to use. For me, the trendy feminine detail will be throwing a long braid out of the way to load my arms with firewood!
This post was written by Annie Schmitz, October 2020.
