Dickies has redesigned its work jeans to tug less, shift more and improve comfort. Just don't say the pants defend against the unsightly blue-collar phenomenon known as plumber's crack.
The new design does seem to curtail rear exposure, but Fort Worth-based Williamson-Dickie Mfg. Co. isn't promoting that aspect. In fact, after a newspaper first made the suggestion, Dickies spokesman Jon Ragsdale insisted the designers never had that in mind.
"(The pants) will stay more on the high-hip area," said Constance Russo, who led the new design at Dickies. "So when he moves in the jean, the jean will stay in place."
Dickies, one of the nation's most visible brands in workwear apparel, says the new design will be incorporated into its line of pants by the spring. Ragsdale called it the most significant change for the manufacturer's denim line in almost 20 years.
The new design replaces the traditional V-shaped cut inside the jeans with a rounder U-shaped design, which Russo said provides less restriction and pull during movement.
Dickies' new cut wasn't spurred by the nation's collectively growing waistline, but the new fit does respond to "more of the way men are shaped now," Russo said.
There's also a more "natural tilt" to the jean, featuring a lower front and higher incline in the back.
But that's about as far as Dickies wants to go in discussing the backside of the pants. There will be no cute or subtle plumber references when Dickies begins marketing the jeans next year, Ragsdale said.
But Ragsdale didn't rule out putting the new jeans on Big Tex, the stiff five-story cowboy who sports a giant pair of Dickies while greeting visitors to the State Fair of Texas every fall.
"It might be time for a change," Ragsdale said.
Of course, Big Tex never bends over.
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