WHAT: A full-cut, wind-resistant, snag-proof, heavy-duty jacket originally designed for workers and outdoorsmen. In recent years, Carhartt has kept its traditional public -- hunters, construction workers, farmers and coal miners -- while becoming a fashion accessory for rappers, club kids, preppie hangers-on and the otherwise chronically cool.

As plain as a Mao tunic, the Carhartt is most often seen in mustard and navy blue. The jackets are made from 12-ounce cotton canvas and held together by triple-stitched seams, with metal rivets at stress points. It comes in waist- and three-quarter lengths and has patch pockets and more snaps than Blaine and Antoine on "In Living Color." New ones hang as stiffly as bulletproof vests. Prices range from $40 to $140, depending on the style and on whether the jacket is lined or has a hood. HISTORY: Carhartt Inc. was founded by Hamilton Carhartt in 1889 in Detroit, and the company made, as it still does, pants and overalls in the same colors and material as the jackets. Back then, "a good pair of Carhartts was just what a man needed for homesteading in the Oklahoma Territory, hunting deer in Michigan or stoking the fires of Mr. Carnegie's mills," says a three-page brochure included with each jacket.

For generations, the Carhartt jacket was "strictly utilitarian," said Jonathan Van Meter, the editor in chief of Vibe, a hip-hop magazine. "It's basically a barn jacket. I grew up around barns and horses, and Carhartt was part of my childhood."

In the late 1980's, crack dealers, who also spend a lot of time outdoors, discovered the Carhartt. "They needed to keep warm and they needed to carry a lot of stuff," said Steven J. Rapiel, the New York City salesman for Carhartt. "Then the kids saw these guys on the street, and it became the hip thing to wear."