Service/Install Attire

Steve Minnich

Nothing against these fine gentleman but who actually goes to work on boilers, furnaces, and AC's dressed like that? I have a hard time making our dark blue MMD work shirts not look black 2 hours into the day.
I wear Lee Dungaree Carpenter jeans and company T's and thats all I expect from anyone that works for me. Just replace them when they get worn and tattered.
I'm guessing most who wander on the Wall aren't the uniform types?

njtommy

Carhart canvas work pants are my favorite and a company T-shirt or hoodie. I need to make a t shirt with a hoodie pocket in it. It's my tool pouch

Steve Minnich

That's why I like the Lee Dungarees so much. I fit my torpedo level, pencil, marker, and non contact voltage detector in the side pouch.

Docfletcher

At IBM we serviced large and medium'ish printers with ink and toner. What's more we did it wearing Grey or Blue suits and white shirts and ties. Might get 4 or 5 calls a day and you had stay looking sharp. One thing you did not want was to have a fortune 500 manager complain about a poor looking IBM service guy. Admittedly many guys kept a spare shirt in the car.

ChrisJ

This is my boiler servicing suit!







.

Jamie Hall

Duluth Trading Post. Good goods, fit generously, tough as nails. They even have a few things which are almost as tough but looking pretty sharp for when you have to wrestle with the suits...

jonny88

My former boss was never ashamed of wearing work clothes even when he would bring us out for dinner after a job.His famous quote was my money is not dirty.

Steamhead

Only the desk jockeys look like that.

rick in Alaska

Black Carhart carpenter pants and black t-shirts with company logo and my name on it. And I DO keep my shirt tucked in!
Rick

JUGHNE

In my rural area Key Bib overalls are common for farmers/ranchers (and me). They wear well, no plumber butt, protect your shirt, plenty of pockets, hammer hoop etc.
Good ventilation in the summer and in the winter plenty of room for sweats underneath.
Really comfortable, once you have tried them anything with a belt is not good.
Newish pair for casual work or meet and greet.
Once your'e into the basement then the older ones get the wear.

Used to be the standard uniform for most tradesman.

I tried the Duluth Bib overalls but the pockets are just not cutting it for functionality.

rick in Alaska

I might try going with bibs again. The idea of no belt digging in to my back sounds appealing right about now. I used to wear them when I was doing fire sprinkler installations and they worked out just fine. About time for new outfits anyway as the ones I have are getting worn out. And the waist seems to be getting smaller on them somehow..........
Rick

hot_rod

I've been a big fan of DuluthTrading stuff, recently the quality and sizing consistency has slipped. I have returned 4 or 5 pieces without a problem. They are about the most $$ wear also. I find Carhartt has expended their line and abetter value. Look for it at the farm stores not Mall of America if cost is a concern

SWEI

Gave up on Carhartt after they started wearing out 3x as fast as they used to. When they moved their production (ISTR Mexico?) the fabric started breaking down after 10-15 washings.

Have had good luck with Wrangler Riggs of late. A bit spendy, but they're holding up quite well.

Steve Minnich

Yeah I gave up on Carhartt jeans 20 years ago? I still use their zippered hoodies for work.

SWEI

Pants, specifically the Carhartt carpenter pants. Useless junk.

Gordy

I don't think attire type is an issue so long as it looks reasonably proffesional. Funny how dressing attire trends have changed over the decades. While uniforms give a proffesional appearance it is no indication of the quality, and knowledge of the work.

Use to be a nothing but Levi's 550 fan for fit. 40-45 bucks a pair see ya. Remember when they were stiff as a board? Now.....

Carhartt preyed on the construction industry as the elite brand name wear for fit, and durability. Now after people are sucked in quality gets sucked out, but the price goes up. Never was a fan except for the winter coveralls.

Pants seem to take the most abuse. Had good luck with lee carpenter pants. Price, fit and durability seem a good match.

Sizing QC is a brand to brand issue.

FranklinD

For the heavy equipment servicing, we recently switched to lightweight, dark blue coveralls with about 100 pockets. Can wear almost anything underneath with no fear. Name and company patches on the chest, and many places also embroider the back (we don't).

They seem to last about three years for a set of ten, for me at least.

Underneath it's usually Wrangler Carpenter jeans and a tucked-in blue or gray t-shirt in the summer, hooded sweatshirt in the winter, with a thinsulate Carhaart jacket over the top.

I agree...the carhaart stuff is NOT holding up like it used to 10-15 years ago. I had to quit buying Red Wing boots for the same reason...kept falling apart on me within a year, and at a couple hundred bucks a pair it was ridiculous.

JUGHNE

The blue Key Brand bib overalls have thinned out over the last 30 years. Now make in Mexico. The company tried farther south some years ago but quality really dropped. So they brought the business north and produce a fair item. They tend to lose the blue much quicker. They even offer the "stone washed" look for more money. Standard pair is right at $30. The bib saves a lot of shirt fronts and did I mention the back saves a lot of embarrassment when bending.

Our tax man of years ago had mentioned that for work clothes to be a deduction that: shirts have to have a company logo, outer covering such as overalls would qualify and of course safety boots.

My other concern is to wear all cotton work clothes. Poly melts into your skin, cotton will burn you but not melt like polyester material. Any burn victim with all poly clothes has a more complicated recovery. Years ago at an electrical line workers safety meeting it was stressed that if nothing else to wear cotton underwear. Today my son's company requires everything to be FR at company expense. There is also a bib version in FR, good if you have to have safety/tool belt on all day.

New England SteamWorks

I've tried them all, and finally found a winner a few years ago. This is a tip you'll thank me for forever: TRU-SPEC Men's Cotton 24-7 Pant. They have plenty of pockets, are 100% cotton, fit real comfortably, and they have this secret elastic deal in the waist that makes bending super easy. Once you try these, -you'll never wear anything else.

SWEI

Looks nice. Wish they made overalls and coveralls...

Alan (California Radiant) Forbes

I used to wear Oshkosh B'gosh men's bibs, but they closed the plant in 1997. They were extremely comfortable.

The Carhartt men's dungarees are my new favorite. Extra thick denim; they have a lower thigh pocket that I use for my tick tracer and Sharpee; very comfortable and cozy.

http://www.amazon.com/Carhartt-Original-Signature-Dungaree-Darkstone/dp/B000ZBJ64A?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

I also like Blaklader pants with extra pockets and integral knee pads.

http://www.amazon.com/Blaklader-16001370949934-X1600-Work-Pants/dp/B00E1O5I30/ref=sr_1_5?s=apparel&ie=UTF8&qid=1461719756&sr=1-5&nodeID=7141123011&keywords=blaklader