If you have women on your team and you have only ever ordered one range of kit, there is a good chance somebody is putting up with trousers that do not sit right and a jacket with sleeves over their hands. It is not a small thing. Badly fitting workwear is uncomfortable, it looks unprofessional, and in some cases it is a genuine safety issue.
Why "unisex" often does not work
Unisex workwear is generally built on a men's block and offered in a wider range of sizes. Sizing down gets you a smaller version of the same shape, not a different shape. The result is the familiar set of compromises:
- Shoulders that are too wide, so the whole garment hangs off the wrong point.
- Sleeves and legs too long, so hems get rolled or trodden on.
- A waist that gapes when the hips fit, or hips that are tight when the waist fits.
- Chest fit that pulls in the wrong places, particularly on shirts and zipped tops.
People deal with this by rolling, belting and tucking, which is fine until a loose hem catches on something.
What a women's fit garment actually changes
It is not just a smaller size or a different colourway. The pattern itself is cut differently:
| Area | What changes |
|---|---|
| Shoulders | Narrower, so the seam sits on the shoulder rather than partway down the arm |
| Bust | Shaping through the chest, with darts or panels instead of a straight tube |
| Waist & hips | A different waist-to-hip ratio, which is the main reason unisex trousers fit badly |
| Sleeve & leg length | Proportioned to the rest of the garment, not just scaled down |
| Rise | Trouser rise adjusted so the waistband sits where it should when kneeling or bending |
Where it matters most
- Work trousers — the biggest difference by far, because of the waist-to-hip cut and the rise. If you change one thing, change this. See our work trousers page.
- Safety footwear — women's feet are typically narrower with a different instep. A men's boot in a small size is not the same as a women's fit boot, and ill-fitting boots cause real problems over a long shift. Our safety boots page covers the range.
- Hi-vis — a garment that hangs wrongly does not sit as the design intends. Women's fit hi-vis is available and worth specifying. See hi-vis workwear.
- Polos and shirts — the easiest win, and usually the most visible one. A properly cut polo immediately makes a mixed team look smarter.
- Maternity and adjustable options — worth asking about if you employ women long term. Being able to keep someone in company kit through a pregnancy is a small thing that says a lot.
How to specify it without doubling your admin
The concern most employers raise is that offering two ranges means twice the ordering complexity. In practice it does not, if you set it up once:
- Pick styles that come in both cuts. Many garment ranges offer a men's and women's version of the same style in the same colour, so the team still looks uniform.
- Keep colour and branding identical. Same colourway, same logo, same placement. The cut differs, the look does not. Our logo placement guide covers keeping that consistent.
- Let people choose. Do not assign a cut by gender. Some women prefer the unisex cut and some men prefer a slimmer fit. Offer both and let people pick what they will actually wear.
- Use samples. Free 48hr samples in a couple of sizes will save you far more than they cost in returns and unworn kit.
- Record it. Note each person's size and preferred cut so reorders and new starters are straightforward.
Measure properly, once
Whatever cut you choose, sizing off a guess is where most of the pain comes from. Take chest, waist, hip and inside leg measurements, and check them against the specific manufacturer's size chart rather than assuming sizes are consistent across brands, because they are not. Our workwear sizing guide walks through how to measure a team properly and what to record.
The short version
Offering women's fit workwear is not a special accommodation, it is just buying kit that fits the people wearing it. It costs about the same, it looks better, it is more comfortable over a shift, and where PPE is involved it works the way it is meant to. If your current kit is unisex-only, start with trousers and footwear and go from there.
Kitting out a mixed team? Tell us the roles and sizes and we will put together options in both cuts, in the same colours and branding.
