Yahoo News Gap's Chore Coat Puts in the Work—No Matter Where You're Working
SHOP WHITE $89, gap.com
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I'm sure you've heard the news: Putting on a piece of workwear no longer requires an agenda that includes manual labor. In fact, slamming your fingertips on a keyboard 10 hours a day is now enough to justify throwing on a chore coat and referring to your office as "the mines." Hell, now that we're banished from the mines, and reserved to to confines of our homes, getting dressed is hard work enough on its own.
On those days when the sweats feel like they're getting a little to close to a second skin, looking to your closet to provide some sense of normalcy isn't such a bad idea. But even in the moments where we cling to our sense of style for comfort, a measured level of effort still comes in handy. Buttoning up a button-up, or sliding into a pair of trousers can feel like a little much. A happy medium is in order.
It's in these moments where I highly suggest you keep that T-shirt on, embrace whatever pants you want, and throw on Gap's workwear-inspired chore jacket. Here's why.
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It's got the cut.
In your journey toward wider silhouettes, there may exist no better vessel than this jacket (and its matching pants). Both are straight, not slim. Roomy, but not baggy. Skinny-jeans-and-tight-tee loyalists who aren't quite ready to go oversized and wide-legged will find solace in how this set lands. Size it right, and you've got a low-key stand in for a blazer for any of your in-office looks that don't require a tie. Button the middle button, just like you would a blazer, and pair it with denim. You have my permission to pop the collar.
SHOP WHITE $89, gap.com
It's not too rugged.
A sturdy dose of 100 percent cotton paired with all the patch pockets you'd expect from a piece of workwear makes for a garment that hits the mark on utility and its ability to endure the elements. But over time—have no fear throwing this in the washing machine—sturdy will turn to soft. The aesthetic is more industrial artist than "operates heavy machinery," but its got all the edge you're looking for in a piece inspired by get-your-hands-dirty work. Keep on washing. Keep on wearing. If you're lucky, you might even be blessed with a small hole in the elbow or a paint splash on the sleeve. This is a coat that can take a little beating—and benefit from it, too.
It's a new way to suit up.
If you're not a suit guy, or a tracksuit guy, or a head-to-toe in sweats guy, becoming a workwear guy offers a whole new method for going full-kit. All the streamlined, low-key elements you love about suiting up hold up here, but the working-man vibrations bring a different level of character to the table. You can go head-to-toe in hefty cotton, add a simple T-shirt and a pair of Chucks and boom. You're in a full-on matching set that looks neither under- nor overdressed, but all-the-way considered.
SHOP WHITE $89, gap.com
Prop styling by John Olson
Photography by Timothy Mulcare
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