(Translated by NYC Times)

In the late 1980s, crack dealers and graffiti writers who spent a lot of time outdoors discovered Carhartt. "They needed to be warm and carry a lot of stuff," says Mr. Lapierre, a Carhartt salesman in NYC. "Kids saw them on the street and it became cool."

In 1990, hip-hop label Tommy Boy Records decided to use the jacket, which was already hot on the streets, as a promotional tool and embroidered its logo on it.

The company prepared 800 jackets for the promotion and distributed them to "trend-makers" and "those who frequent high-profile venues," says Tommy Boy's president. "It quickly became a huge hit," and Tommy Boy launched its own clothing line.

Meanwhile, on the West Coast of the United States, from the late 1970s to the 1980s, Black and Latino (including Chicano) communities began to adopt Dickies as everyday wear. They cleanly pressed Dickies work pants, which were used as workwear, and paired them with oversized work shirts and pure white T-shirts, establishing their own unique "clean and relaxed" street style.

It is said that young Chicanos treated Dickies work pants, which could be purchased for around $12, as if they were a luxury brand, and paired them with white T-shirts and shiny black shoes to create an outfit that was ``ultimately chic.''

In this way, Dickies, which were originally workwear for the working class, were reinterpreted in fashion as a symbol of regional identity and pride, and by the 1980s they had fully transitioned into a staple of streetwear, spreading to various cultures such as gangsta rap and skating.

The culture that adopted workwear, which had originally had no connection to fashion, in a unique way was full of clear intentions and ingenuity.

For example, Chicanos preferred Dickies, made of stiff, starched fabric, as an alternative to Zoot suits. They were inexpensive, did not require pressing, and were easy to create a full silhouette. It is also said that Carhartt's lined coveralls were suitable for drug dealers in the frigid streets of New York, thanks to their warmth and ample pockets.

This idea of ​​"creatively incorporating non-fashion elements into style" was born from its original context and daily life, but the more it is imitated, the more its meaning is diluted, and there is something sad about the way it is being incorporated into luxury fashion and the like.

Regarding this phenomenon, Vogue magazine pointed out that when the wealthy dress in the clothing of the "have-nots," there is still a divide between the "haves" and the "havenots." Some people on social media said, "We shouldn't fetishize working-class aesthetics." Some critics have harshly criticized celebrities dressing in workwear-inspired fashion from luxury brands, saying it just looks like a "costume."

The rise of workwear can be seen in the distortions inherent in capitalist society, class consciousness, and the irony that we are unknowingly caught up in it.

However, the appeal of workwear lies beyond the complicated logic mentioned above, in that it is simply rational, tough, and cool. So, try wearing it without thinking too much about it and have fun.