What is a Carhartt chore coat?
The chore coat — Carhartt calls its version the Michigan Chore Coat — is a longer, button-front work jacket with a corduroy collar, four front pockets and a blanket lining. Where the Detroit is short and zipped, the chore coat is hip-length and buttoned. It descends from the French and American work jackets of the early 1900s and is Carhartt's oldest silhouette.
How does a chore coat differ from a Detroit?
Length and closure. The chore coat sits several inches longer, covering the hip, and buttons rather than zips. It has four pockets — two chest, two lower — against the Detroit's two. The blanket lining is similar. The chore coat reads more like a coat; the Detroit reads more like a jacket.
How does a chore coat fit?
Roomy and straight through the body, cut to go over a sweater and sometimes a vest. The longer length means it layers well over hoodies without bunching at the hem. Because it is cut generously, many buyers take their usual size for a relaxed fit or size down for something closer to a modern overshirt.
What should I check on a vintage chore coat?
Buttons first — vintage Carhartt chore coats use heavy metal buttons that should all be present and matching. Check the collar corduroy and the lining as you would a Detroit, and the pocket corners, which take the most strain. Elbows are the most common fabric failure point and are where we most often add a rebuilt panel.
Is the chore coat a good rework candidate?
One of the best. The extra length gives us fabric to work with, so a chore coat can be cropped to a Detroit length while keeping its four-pocket face and button front. It is also the model that most often arrives with a torn lining, so a lining rebuild with the shell intact is a common job.
What colours and eras are common?
Carhartt brown dominates, with black and moss green next. Older examples from the 1980s and 1990s have a square chest patch and heavier, stiffer duck than later production. Union Made labels indicate US production before the late 1990s.
Who buys chore coats?
Buyers who want a longer, more coat-like silhouette and who layer heavily. In wholesale it sells strongly into Scandinavia, Germany and the UK, where the longer length suits the climate, and to menswear stores that want a workwear piece that reads less streetwear than a Detroit.
Every piece we sell is reworked by these standards
Everything written here comes from grading and reworking Carhartt every day. Browse what's in now, or message us and we'll send photos and measurements of anything.