Share This:

Every brand has their iconic range of products that repeatedly make an appearance season after season due to their importance in the companies backbone. Especially in the colder months of the year, the Carhartt WIPWatch Beanie is an essential to help keep you warm outside, and has been for a solid 30 years now. 

It began life within Carhartt Work In Progress’ parent compnay, the legendary Detroit based workwear manufacturer back in 1987. Originally called the A18, it’s the type of product that might have been worn by building site workers, carpenters and security guards when working out in the cold. But throughout the 90’s alongside other flagship workwear products such as the Chore and Active jackets, it began it’s transcendence into a new life within Hip Hop. 

In the same vein as the way brown Timberlands found a home on the feet of Mobb Deep, the streets approved of the functional aspect of the gear as well as the aesthetic appeal. The heavyweight jackets made from thick canvas and filled with insulating liners were rugged, and built for wearing when out for long periods of time in the outdoors. Style trends within music, especially ones so closely associated with everyday, real people tend to pull elements from these cultures and incorporate them into a new kind of look. Assorted rappers ranging from Tupac, to Nas and Prince Paul, began adopting the clothing, and the recognisable ‘C’ labels status outside of building sites began to elevate further.

Media exposure was further placed on the brand (and the Watch Beanie in particular) after it’s wardrobe feature in Mathieu Kassovitz’s cult French drama La Haine, where co-lead character Hubert can be seen wearing Carhartt as his unofficial uniform, with a Black Watch hat sitting on his head at all times. Kassovitz has stated in the past that this costume choice was representative of what was being worn in the Parisian suburbs at that time, with kids spending so much time out in the streets and in the cold, functional Carhartt gear was essential.

To this day I think you’d struggle to walk through a town centre in the winter and not manage to see a Watch beanie, and with the extensive range of colours available, it’s a great addition to complete any outfit.

You can find our full colour range of Carhartt Watch beanie online and in all size? stores now, with more expected to arrive in the coming weeks.

Check out the latest Carhartt x Nike Collection.

Share This: