Saturday, December 10, 2011

Carhartt -- North Face -- Columbia Sportswear -- LL Bean

For previous posts on Carhartt, click on the Carhartt label/tag at the bottom of the blog.

The thing one notices when coming back to Boston in cool/cold weather is all the folks wearing "North Face" outer wear. If Carhartt is the uniform of the Bakken, North Face is the uniform of Boston.

As noted before, one of the first things I bought when it turned cool in the Bakken earlier this autumn was a Carhartt coat. I have had a lot of winter coats over the years having grown up in Williston, North Dakota, and then being assigned to northern tier US Air Force bases, but without question this Carhartt coat is one of the best, if not the best. This does not include the extreme cold weather parka issued by the Air Force.

I get a kick out of this. In the Bakken, the Carhartt is the uniform of the day, and it is being bought by folks that use it for work.

In Boston, the North Face is the uniform of the day, worn predominantly by urban young adults making a fashion statement.

More on this later, perhaps, if I remember.

Oh, one more thing: Carhartt headquarters in Williston is Home of Economy.

2 comments:

  1. And to complete the circle- In the Pacific Northwest it would be Columbia Sportswear.

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  2. And what a perfect way to complete the trifecta:
    Carhartt: work
    North Face: fashion
    Columbia Sportswear: extreme outdoor sports

    Thank you for taking time to comment.

    It is interesting: those three cater to completely different customers, and each company has its niche. And they aren't interchangeable. Carhartt would not work for outdoor sports; nor would Columbia Sportswear work for roughnecks.

    And I'm sure it's just a matter of time before someone points out LL Bean. My first impression for LL Bean: high end outdoor fashion.

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