What Clothes to Wear on the Homestead

Overalls?  Maybe, but Probably NOT!

Surely you don’t have the idea that you need a new pair of overalls to be able to farm your homestead! I hope my blog here will help bust some crazy misconceptions and stereotypes that you may have seen.  But, what clothes DO you wear on the homestead?

This post was inspired by this article:  Recovering the Lost Art of Dressing Up

And by a 4-week Design Your Wardrobe   with Seamwork magazine  by Colette.

What clothes should you wear on a Homestead or Farm? One of your first considerations has to do with serviceability and safety.  You don’t want your clothes and hair loose when you are working around equipment. Please be safe!

For Mr. Graybeard’s first 30 years or so, he wore jeans & tee shirts, as you probably wear.  Once he tried some Dickey’s slacks & shirts, he hasn’t looked back. These uniforms are typically worn by mechanics, truck drivers, and the guy behind the counter at the parts store, but you can wear them, too!

Slacks

Here is one popular style of slacks made by Dickies.  They make several different styles, so you can find what works for your own comfort.  I suggest the flat front.

Shirts

Shirts come in short sleeves or long sleeves and the ever handy pockets.  We prefer the ones with two pockets on the front.  One carries a 3×5″ spiral notebook for the daily To-Do List and a pen or pencil.

One of the cool things about Dickies work clothes is that they also come in Tall sizes! Mr. Graybeard is 6’1″ and this is great for him!  My farmer is now retired, so Dickies are now his “town clothes”!  They are comfortable, as well as neat.

Laundry Service

Now, let me include you in a little secret. Check the laundry services in your area, you know, the ones that launder the work clothes for your favorite auto mechanic. Some of them will deliver to you with a subscription service for two people. I planned to do that when my son became a teen, but life circumstances happened to derail our farming plans when he was old enough. Sad. However, it is worth taking the time to call around to the local ones and find out what they will do.

The pricing structure was going to be about the same for us as purchasing the clothes & laundering them myself. If you are going to launder them yourself, you may want to get a separate machine for work clothes or even use the laundromat. If the pocket rips off or something, then you have further work to do for repair. All of that is included in your work clothes laundry subscription. For me, though, having this subscription was going to save me some time each week at no additional cost.  Pretty sweet!

Tee shirt

Under that long sleeve work shirt, you can wear a Tee Shirt. We recommend the pocket tees, too.

And Clothes for Women

Dickies also makes work clothes to fit women well, too.  While I prefer to wear this Denim A-Line Skirt and plain tees, I know that skirts aren’t for everyone, especially on the homestead!

What do you like to wear?