Are Carhartt and Carhartt WIP the same company?
No. Carhartt is the American workwear company founded in Detroit in 1889. Carhartt WIP — Work In Progress — is a separate European company that has licensed the Carhartt name since 1989 and designs its own streetwear-oriented line, originally for the European market. They share a name and heritage but not products, factories or pricing.
How do the cuts differ?
Carhartt cuts for work: boxy, roomy, long in the body, built to layer over sweaters and move freely. WIP cuts for the street: slimmer through the body, shorter, with more fashion-led proportions and seasonal updates. A WIP Detroit jacket is noticeably trimmer than a Carhartt Detroit of the same tagged size.
How do the fabrics compare?
Carhartt uses its own heavy duck canvas — 12 oz firm or sandstone duck on jackets and pants. WIP uses lighter organic cotton canvases on many pieces, often around 12 oz but with a softer hand, and a wider range of fabrics including corduroy, denim and nylon. Carhartt duck is heavier and stiffer; WIP is easier to wear from day one.
Which costs more?
WIP, usually by a wide margin at retail — it is priced as a fashion brand. Vintage Carhartt sold second-hand often costs less than new WIP while being heavier and older. This is a large part of why vintage Carhartt has become so popular with buyers who discovered the brand through WIP.
How do I tell them apart?
The label. Carhartt WIP labels say 'Carhartt WIP' or 'Work In Progress' and often carry a woven European-style label with a size in European format. Carhartt labels say 'Carhartt' alone, with US sizing, and on vintage pieces the Union Made or Made in USA/Mexico marking. The chest patch on WIP is also a slightly different shape and finish.
Which do vintage buyers want?
Original Carhartt. The vintage market is built on American-made workwear with real wear and fade, and WIP pieces — being newer and fashion-cut — do not carry the same collectibility. Everything we sell is reworked from original Carhartt, not WIP.
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.