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What Happened to Dickies? New vs Old 874 Pants
By Carl Murawski 18:53 144,858 views on YouTube Aug 13, 2026
For years I’ve heard the same thing: "old Dickies were better." The old 874s were tougher. The new ones are thinner. Production went overseas. VF Corporation ruined Dickies. And somewhere along the way, one of America’s... Show more
For years I’ve heard the same thing: "old Dickies were better." The old 874s were tougher. The new ones are thinner. Production went overseas. VF Corporation ruined Dickies. And somewhere along the way, one of America’s most recognizable workwear brands became more interested in fashion than workers. But how much of that is actually true? I tracked down an older USA-made Dickies 874 and put it against a current Original 874 to find out what really changed. I compared the fabric, construction, stitching, pocket bags, measurements and other details you’d never see on a product page, then put both pairs through controlled testing. Along the way, I dug into more than 100 years of Dickies history: its roots in Fort Worth, the creation of the 874, American manufacturing, skate and Chicano culture, the VF Corporation acquisition, declining revenue, factory closures, and the eventual sale of Dickies to Bluestar Alliance. And the answer is a lot more complicated than “they don’t make them like they used to.” READ THE FULL INVESTIGATION: https://carlmurawski.com/what-happened-to-dickies-874/ I purchased the pants used in this video myself. Dickies did not sponsor, preview or approve this video. #Dickies #Dickies874 #Workwear -Coffee With Carl Newsletter: https://rebrand.ly/CoffeeWithCarl - Patreon: https://bit.ly/3CgauCW -Merch: https://exlsv.com/collections/carl-murawski -Website: https://www.carlmurawski.com -Instagram: http://bit.ly/2qIHzaB -Discord: https://discord.gg/RrDrYkAJxH -My other channel: https://www.youtube.com/@CoffeeWithCarl1 BEST OF THE BEST (This list is continually updated) BUDGET WORKWEAR -Work Boots: https://ktku.co/3h -Work Pants: https://carhartt.pxf.io/nXy3r9 -Work Jacket: https://carhartt.pxf.io/K00d39 -Work Shirt: https://wrangler.sjv.io/Vm1z7J TOP TIER WORKWEAR -Work Boots: https://rebrand.ly/duweo8u -Work Pants: https://rebrand.ly/a13vwy1 -Work Jacket: https://ktku.co/oh -Work Shirt: https://rebrand.ly/ji596y7 CASUAL WEAR -Waxed Jacket (bu
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