Building Sites - The Real Source of Fashion

Popular clothing labels such as Dickies, Timberland and Caterpillar have always had there fans on the street with Dickies being a favoured label of the alternative scene and Timerland and Caterpillar both courting the attention of the stars of the hip-hop and R n B music scenes. Part of the attraction of these labels for the avergage Joe in the street is not just the hardwearing, resistant build of the clothing but that they have a reputation among the industrial and manual labour industries. While most would baulk at the thought of actually working on a building site, factory or in the role of a security guard or caretaker, the overt masculinity of these roles makes many people want to emulate the look in some way and appear more hardened than they actually are to passers by. Dickies, Timberland and Caterpiller have all made safety footwear , especially the safety boots for which they are famous, for many years now. It must have come as a surprise to them then, that the a large percentage of their customers would be purchasing their boots but never have any intention to do anything more strenuous than carry their shopping home from a supermarket. Obviously, mockery aside, there are quite a few advantages to wearing safety boots in a non-work enviroment. For one, your toes would be well-protected should you drop anything heavy on your feet and the waterproof, hard-wearing construction of a pair of safety boots would fair you well in all weathers (well, maybe not the heat of the Summer months). In recent years, all three manufacturers have seen that there is room to introduce boots that other a compromise between the sometimes too rugged build of their boots and the fashionable appeal of their products. Lite versions of their safety boots have been introduced which don t include the steel toe-cap or some of the safety features that might not be necessary to the man on the street (not everyone has to worry about errant nails going through the bottom of their boot everyday). Similarly, the work versions of their boots have been given makeovers due to the presence of fashion designers within these companies that until now gave little thought to the aesthetics of their products. With Dickies, Timberland and Caterpillar all now make safety boots intended to be worn on and off the work place, now everyone can achieve that gruff look without feeling like they are wearing deep sea diving boots. Rob Camp is a Freelance Writer.