Working It Out : Coveralls, Service-Station Jackets Do the Job in the ‘Blue-Collar Decade’

Bust out a six-pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon, ‘cause the working-class hero is now in style in nightclubs, coffeehouses and on the street. It’s a look inspired by gas station attendants, delivery truck drivers and auto mechanics that combines the slouchy, urban street-wear trend with industrial-strength apparel.

The wardrobe includes coveralls, uniform pants and those navy or khaki short-sleeved shirts boasting names such patches as Ray, Joe or Hank.

Footwear is just as utilitarian. The Dr. Martens brand is taking its cue from big, black workman shoes or tan construction-worker boots. Biker wallets, dog-tag necklaces and bracelets, and other such hardware complement the look.

“This is the blue-collar decade, and the clothes acknowledge that,” says Erik Sjobeck, who grew up in Costa Mesa. His surname is right on the company’s labels. The Sjobeck collection ($16 to $80) includes lined service jackets, shirts, jeans and caps with patches declaring “Safety First,” “Super Duty” and “Service Manager.”

Sjobeck and other designers have tuned into a market hungry to make a fashionable anti-fashion statement.

“It’s where fashion meets function,” says Bill Hebner, sales representative for Fresh Jive. The Los Angeles-based clothing manufacturer caters primarily to rave-goers with their oversize apparel ($20 to $120) and use of graphics inspired by household products. Several of this season’s items feature a wrench embroidered above the logo.

“Basic, cheap and it won’t go out of style,” says Hebner.

Those three factors have attracted people who have been raiding surplus stores and thrift shops seeking the true gems, such as Mack truck caps, “Cat Power” sweat shirts and Texaco Windbreakers. Work wear with a union label and a few grease stains are also snagged.

City workers, mechanics and skateboarders have long considered Dickies work wear--once found mostly in discount or surplus stores--a wardrobe staple because of its boxy construction, durability and affordability ($15 for a pair of pants or a shirt at K mart).

Boutiques such as Electric Chair in Huntington Beach and Metal Monster in Long Beach are also carrying a wide selection of Dickies apparel. “There’s a great demand for it,” says Jennifer Johnson, buyer for both boutiques. “Everybody is wearing them, because more people are catching on to the work-wear look.”

Johnson says a strong demand has emerged for the brown jackets worn by United Parcel Service drivers. She is stocking shelves with garb by such companies as Fresh Jive, Basic, Stussy, Spot Sport and Truck Brand that are bringing blue-collar fashions to the masses. The stores also sell a wide selection of Dr. Martens, biker wallets and hardware jewelry.

Greg Castle and partner Buddy Carr started their service-station apparel line last year under Basic, their Costa Mesa-based skateboard company. They buy shirts, shorts and pants from a uniform company, then apply their own red embroidered patches with the Basic logo and sell them at skateboard shops and funky clothes boutiques ($25 to $40).

The generic items appeal to “kids who don’t like to conform,” Castle says.

Last year, Jeff Palombo started Truck Brand Co. in Huntington Beach to cash in on the trend. He says kids want easy-to-wear clothes not affiliated with a particular trend or label. “Work wear has a universal look that also has a sense of humor.”

In Los Angeles, where the blue-collar style has hit the bars and dance halls, followers can shop the X-Large Store for incredibly oversized knockoffs of industrial wear plus the authentic uniforms from Ben Davis and Carhart.

An odd band of celebrities has bankrolled the 9-month-old store and affiliated clothing line, including Mike D. of the Beastie Boys, known-L.A. club DJ Skatemaster Tate and actor Howard Hesseman.

Owner Adam Silverman says the interest by young designers to make clothes inspired by real work wear indicates that the trend has spread into a wider market.

That means good business, says Silverman’s partner, Eli Bonerz. “Work wear is going to be big this fall. It’s going to Japan and everywhere,” Bonerz says.