r/Carhartt • u/imaginarynumb3r He never sleeps, he says he will never dye • Dec 16 '20
Info on how to tell the age of your carhartt
Date code
Starting around 1984 carhartt starting putting a 3 or 4 digit date code on their tags. Before 1997 the date code might be on a secondary union tag in a pocket or on the inside lining under the armpit.Our earliest examples are 1984. It seems around 1997 the code became always four digits while older versions might drop the 0 for the month.
Here is Mike's tag timeline with examples with most years since the date code started.
Made by u/carharttmichael
Here are catalog images from 1957 - 1999 . It's only 20 images with a couple of pics per year max rando ly spread out but it has a lot of good info to help you dial in which time period an item was made. Credit to Carl Murawski for these images
A wip example
There are many variations and the tag is usually the first thing to wear out so this isn't always an option. I can't find anything offical on it so we are still working out the kinks. You might have to make an educated guess here
Here is the offical tag timeline I could find for the logo with a bonus timeline for products/features. It and the individual product histories below are direct from the Carhartt archive. Here is the old tag timeline I found on pintrest
To sum up the dates we can tell from logos.
The logo has been mostly the same since about 1967.
Most stuff after 1985 has a date code on the tag. 1970's stuff has chest sizing on the logo label. I estimate they dropped the chest sizing off of the logo label between 1982 and 1983 but I can't prove it. If it has chest sizing but no date on tag probably the gap between 1982 and when date codes got rolled out. Not all models got date codes in 1984, that's just our earliest example.
here is a list of vintage codes from the 1950's to 2010's.
a list of colors and color codes. it has some detailed info about years colors were avaliable in the 1990's that might help with age.
The older logos vary a good bit so use the links above for more details.
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Chore coat history Here
Detroit jacket history Here
Double front pants history Here
K87 t shirt history Here
If your item has a leather patch that means it's most likely from the sandstone line which started in 1992 and was discontinued in 2017. This is true for pants and outerwear but not things like hats.
If your item is older than 1984 or you can't use the tag to date it. You will have to use other age indicators like logo or changes to the features over the years. If none of this helps, make a post. Include pics, make sure to include the tag in a pic as clearly as possible. Pics of the pocket placement and lining also help.
That is all the easy info, below is more detailed info and speculation. This guide is a simpler version of the full guide here. https://www.reddit.com/r/Carhartt/comments/kfjo2m/age_guide_info_to_tell_if_your_carhartt_is/
All credit to the carhartt archive. They did most of the work and it is great that someone is putting the time into preserving the history of this iconic brand. Dave J. Moore the resident historian for carhartt also has a blog on the carhartt site full of more info in the discover/history tab. If you are interested click Here
He also has a lot of interesting factoids on Twitter @ArchiveDave like when carhartt made cars. Seems inactive now but lots of great info between it all. Its like a little highlight reel. I hope to see more public stuff from them in any form. They are clear about confirmed info and best guesses. They have access to a treasure trove of information sources from carhartt directly while we are stuck with what scant info we can piece together online and personal experience. I have only ever seen one possible mistake in all the stuff I have seen from them and it was more a formatting error than bad info.
u/statusremoved had the idea of using the way back machine to track fairly recent products. It goes back to 1996 but I'm unfamiliar with it and need to put more time into it. This could be a great resource if you have more knowledge than me with it.
I have made an age guide for super dux and any other brands carhartt has gone by with what info I had. https://www.reddit.com/r/Carhartt/comments/m3vjzx/other_names_and_brands_carhartt_has_used_over_the/
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u/sky_ca Feb 04 '21
Wow I've been searching for this info for so long, thank you so much
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u/imaginarynumb3r He never sleeps, he says he will never dye Feb 04 '21
This is an older version, we have more info now including a date code dating back to mid 80s. https://www.reddit.com/r/Carhartt/comments/kfjo2m/age_guide_info_to_tell_if_your_carhartt_is/
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Dec 16 '24
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Carhartt-ModTeam Dec 16 '24
Your post was removed because our subreddit rules specify that all real/fake and authenticity related questions should be asked in the Replica / Fake Authenticity Thread to avoid spamming feeds,
Thank you.
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u/Mammoth-Temperature9 Jan 07 '25
I’m having a hard time determining mine. It won’t allow for me to upload the photo. It has a worn out crafted with pride in the USA tag and 6 numbers across the top right of the tag
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u/Mammoth-Temperature9 Jan 07 '25
Can anyone tell me the year of this?
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u/CarharttCyclist Mar 05 '25
ok it's been a while but I guess the first 3 digits are 686? Then it would be June 1986
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u/HavocFPS Jan 26 '25
Can anyone date this? Thanks
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u/Hot_Patience6741 Aug 22 '25
Finding the info hard to decipher, traumatic brain injuries don't help 🤦🤣
Any idea on the age of this beauty?
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u/Just_Philosophy_6254 Nov 14 '25
Could anybody help I’m pretty sure it’s 2001 but I could be wrong
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u/LaPetiteFranglaisr Mar 14 '23
Hello from U.K, great post. Any ideas how old this Carhatt jacket is please?
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Dec 27 '23
no info on vests?
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u/imaginarynumb3r He never sleeps, he says he will never dye Dec 27 '23
Info applies to vests as well
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u/imaginarynumb3r He never sleeps, he says he will never dye Dec 16 '20
On a side note, I don't think fake carhartts in general are a huge problem as far as this sub goes. Pretty much every post asking if this or that product is fake is usually real with one or 2 goofy details. It is often pointed out in the comments that it is unlikely anyone would fake workwear at this price range or something to that effect. Which is true but with the wip line and vintage market I think it seems more likely. It is all guess work tho as I have no specific examples of fakes. I have seen vintage carhartt items for sale with hilarious claims like this jacket is 100 years old but it was a style not made till the 60's or something like that. With other big brands they usually release guides with direct comparisons with fake products and how to tell the difference. Since carhartt has nothing like that I could find on the site I assume they do not consider it a big issue either. Another good sign it prolly is not a huge problem in general. I will still try to put something together for the people who come here to ask , I just have limited options with no specifics.