Carpenter Jeans: Not Just For The Handyman

So, what does a carpenter jean offer? First are foremost, a loose, comfortable fit. This can be key, whether you're overweight or just always on the run. Also, the wide leg can easily accommodate boots, if that's your chosen style of footwear.

Certainly, there is plenty of storage, as there are pockets everywhere: two in front, two in the back, and one or two hanging around mid-thigh. Pockets might be more than a foot deep in some cases. Not everybody needs that much storage, but if you happen to have a cell phone, handheld computer, music player and who knows what else, that many pockets sporting that much room can be a godsend. And you'll still have some space left over for keys, wallet and a few extra like mints, lip balm or whatever else you need to carry. With a pair of cargo pants, a woman might be able to ditch her purse for the day. And a guy will not have to secretly envy women for the fact that they CAN carry purses and have a place to put all their essentials.

If you really haven't paid attention and aren't sure exactly what carpenter jeans are, it's pretty simple. It's a style of jean that has many pockets and flared legs from hip to ankle. In addition, if it's truly a carpenter style, there will be a strip of material resembling a belt loop at a diagonal slant, which sits on one or both sides at about hip level and is designed primarily to hold a hammer (if you were actually using the pants as part of a carpentry job). It's easy to confuse carpenter jeans with cargo pants, except that cargo legs aren't as wide, and cargos don't (or shouldn't) sport the hammer loop.

Of course, this style of pants was originally intended for workers. Like many other kinds of worker attire, such as overalls, the ability to look cool in them is often tied not just to your personality but also your age. The older you are, the less likely it is that you will look right in this style, unless you're on a work site hammering away. If you're out of your twenties, and particularly if you're well into your thirties, you might want to make sure you this style doesn't look awkward on you. Ask some friends for an honest opinion.

If it's a style you can still pull off, and if you don't want to look so worker-like, never fear. One way to differentiate your carpenter jeans from the run-of-the-mill is to look for styles that add something more stylish, hip or outright wild to the basic design. That could be anything from angled flap pockets that button shut, legs that flare out more at the bottom, stitching that's in a much brighter color than the jeans material, colored or patterned hammer loops, or pockets/patches in materials and colors different than the jeans themselves, such as leather, flannel or corduroy.