Whether you’re talking auto mechanic shirts or some other workwear, everyone has been there at some point in life. Laying on the back of the chair, that work shirt doesn’t look too bad. Then you try it on, and it’s potato sack time.
It’s like they used a donkey to model the designs. Who fits into those things?
Getting into an auto mechanic shirt that can look good, even after a day of rooting around under the hood, isn’t a fantasy. You can have your brakes and eat ‘em too. (Did I use that saying correctly?)
Anyway… The key to success is starting with a workwear distributor you can trust. (See URL above.) That distributor should be able to assist you by providing helpful and informative blogs (such as this one).
They should also provide prompt customer response time to your queries, and carry the auto shop workwear brands that are worth wearing, brands like Red Kap, Dickies, and Bulwark.
Speaking of being helpful, let’s get this party started with a practical tip for selecting the right shirt, no extra charge. Then we’ll get into the specific shirts.
This is gonna be awesome.
The Inside Trick to Getting the Best Fit
The trick to getting the right fit with a mechanic’s shirt, without looking like you’re trying too hard, is to shop only the long sleeve versions.
Many mechanics think of cropped sleeves first because the labor tends to work up a sweat. That’s where their hard-working wisdom comes up short.
A long sleeve work shirt will not only protect the whole arm from minor burns and grime when necessary, you can just as easily roll up those sleeves to cool off.
Plus, the cut of long sleeves tends to be fitted, versus short sleeves which do not, i.e., they look better.
Not exactly sold on long sleeves? No problem. The winning shirts below come in short versions too. You can roll however you prefer.
Why Red Kap Rules the Roost
When Claude H. Williams, William Wirt Harlin, Sr. and Alexander F. Harlin started Red Kap in 1923, they didn’t call it Red Kap. It was Central Overall Manufacturing.
The Central Overall Manufacturing company specialized in, you guessed it, overalls.
From a marketing perspective, the name ranked high for branding their product, but it lacked creativity and sounded too serious.
They renamed themselves after the Red Cap Smoking Tobacco company, with a quick switcheroo on the lettering, swapping K for the C in the word cap, er kap.
Red Kap developed a name for washable work clothes, designed to take a beating at work, but also strong enough to take endless trips to the laundry.
To prove it, they teamed up with a laundry service to round out their product offering.
Of the brands listed in this blog, Red Kap stands out as the one most recognized in the automotive industry. Check the tag on most mechanic’s shirts, and you’ll find Red Kap.
Don't miss Red Kap’s full line of workwear for mechanics
Red Kap Men’s Durastripe Long Sleeve
The Durastripe long sleeve from Red Kap isn’t your Dad’s candy-striped shirt. The lines run like a subtle watermark, lending class to a category of shirts which don’t normally come in “classy.”
The material for this shirt, albeit soft, is actually a blended 4.5-ounce poplin, cotton, and polyester. That means it breathes and resists stains. It also holds its shape wash after wash.
A nice convenience afforded this design, almost always found in mechanic shirts, is the buttoned double breast pockets, complete with a bartacked pencil stall on left pocket.
Bartacked means reinforced, which means it won’t rip off your pocket after pulling out that pen for the umpteenth time.
This makes a good shirt for a smaller garage, one where the owner is often the same person talking to the customers. It also works well for the front office manager of a larger operation.
Red Kap Men’s Long Sleeve Motorsports Shirt
In the battle between short and long-sleeved shirts, this mechanic’s shirt rides in the Goldilocks middle. For many mechanics, this is THE perfect shirt.
It’s a hybrid length, neither long or short. The sleeves end just past the elbows.
Because the cut of the sleeves stays close to the body, it gives this shirt a more fitted look. It also doesn’t force the wearer to deal with so much fabric when pushing up said sleeves.
The angular cuts of fabric, available in five color pairings, make this shirt look like you just came out of the racing pit. It’s perfect for motorsports fans or anyone who cares about looking good.
Red Kap was smart enough to understand that some of us have longer torsos than everyone else too. They designed this one with a long version so you don’t have to spend all day retaking your shirt.
Like many of the shirts featured here, it’s a blended fabric, 65 percent polyester, and 35 percent cotton. You can have it laundered if you want, but it will go in your home washing machine without problems.
Why Dickies’ Heritage Matters
Although most workwear brands All Seasons Uniforms carries have sizable histories, Dickies is one of the most venerable. They’ve been at this game since 1922.
For fans of Dickies, their heritage is their draw. Dickies doesn’t only pull fans from the legions of hard-working laborers. They’ve also earned a cult following in the urban culture.
It’s safe to say, Dickies is top of the pile when it comes to cool workwear brands.
From their humble background of manufacturing pants and shirts for working people, they’ve learned that fashion and function can coexist.
As such, this blog features three mechanic shirts from Dickies. There’s even one for the ladies because more and more women find they can wrench just as well as their male counterparts.
Investigate all Dickies' mechanic shirts for yourself.
Dickies Worktech Long Sleeve
This Dickies Worktech long sleeve is the mechanic shirt that doesn’t look like it belongs in the garage until you wear it there.
It’s true, you could put on a tie and throw a jacket over this beauty, even go out to dinner in it, but what a waste.
The poplin that makes up the fabric of this shirt is a perfect blend of polyester and cotton, spun into a 4.2-ounce mechanic stretch weave. It moves. It breathes. It rocks.
Poplin is the ideal blend for breathability and comfort, but this shirt also features breathable mesh where it counts.
Also, Dickies was kind enough to put their logo low on the shirt so you can have it embroidered with your company brand on the chest. The Dickies logo tucks into your trousers.
We carry three color options of this great shirt, black, dark blue, and light blue. Wash after wash, it retains its shape and color, losing only the grime.
Dickies Performance Team Long Sleeve
If the above shirt is too straight for your tastes, Dickies’ performance team long sleeve adds in just enough swagger to make the shirt stand out without looking silly.
They cut it with two triangular cuts of fabric at each shoulder, giving the shirt a sharp look and better mobility. Those little swatches of fabric don’t just look cool. They make this shirt easier to move in.
Whether your build is athletic or a little round, this will be your goto shirt every time as it makes everyone look like a superhero. That’s what customers want really, a superhero to fix whatever’s broken on their vehicle.
A 4.6-ounce flex twill, this one is another blend of polyester and cotton. Dickies designed it to resist wrinkles and stains, and yes you can throw it in the regular laundry or the industrial washing machine.
Dickies Women’s Long Sleeve
Thought this blog was only for the fellas? There’s a women’s shirt in the All Seasons lineup which deserves some attention.
Cut for a woman’s body, Dickies’ long sleeve for women pairs well with the other shirts in this blog to round out a mixed gender team of mechanics.
It also works perfectly as a stand-alone option for the garage full of female mechanics. Yes, there is such a thing.
Like most of the mechanic shirts featured here, it’s a blend of polyester and cotton, this time in a poplin. To give the shirt a trim athletic look, Dickies put racing stripes on the side, available in three different color pairings.
Day after day of wrenching, wash after wash, this shirt will hold it’s shape and color like a boss. It will look good, even when your wearing grease like it were makeup.
Looking for something else in a women’s mechanic shirt? Check these.
Why Bulwark is Bullish on Heat
The newest brand on this list, Bulwark might be young by comparison, but they aren’t naive. They’ve been at this game for half a century.
Bulwark’s brand stands for excellence, especially when it comes to flame resistant products. They take ownership of the manufacturing process from the farm to shipping their products, across 60 manufacturing touch points.
As such, it will come as no surprise that the Bulwark entry on this list not only wears well, looks sharp, and takes a beating, it also stands up to fire like a glacier.
Bulwark Excel FR Long Sleeve Welding Shirt
Some would argue this isn’t a mechanic’s shirt, but for those mechanics who operate a welding torch every day, there’s no other option.
Couched on Bulwark’s reputation for flame resistant (FR) clothing, the Excel long sleeve brags a seven-ounce FR cotton shell, with 8.5-ounce Tuffweld® FR sleeves made of synthetics.
The Arc rating for this bad boy is 7.7 calories/cm². It’s not easy to offer all that protection and not look like a potato sack, but Bulwark pulls it off beautifully.
It fits a little looser than the options on this list but remains a sharp looking shirt. If your day has you working with torches, this will be your goto every day.
Wash it however you like. There is little that can harm this shirt.
Find a pair of Bulwark FR pants to go with your shirt.
Are there other options out there? Sure. We carry short sleeve versions of most of the mechanic shirts mentioned above.
Still stuck on which shirt is the best option for you or your crew? Contact us. We love helping our customers find the best option for their budget and needs. That’s what we do best.
About the Author
Nick Warrick
Nick Warrick is the Sales Manager at All Seasons Uniforms. With over 15 years of experience in the work uniform business, he has worked with hundreds of clients across 20 different industries. Holding bachelor’s degrees in both Business Administration and Information Technology, Nick revamped the company’s online presence, offering its customers a new uniform shopping experience.