Every Carhartt piece tells you when it was made — if you know where to look. Here is the exact method we use at Dian's Collection to date every piece that comes through the shop, from the tag alone.
THE DATE CODE — THE FASTEST METHOD
Since the mid-1980s, Carhartt has printed a small date code on the care tag sewn inside the garment (usually at the waistband or side seam). It's 3 or 4 digits: the first one or two digits are the month, the last two are the year.
Look at the top line of this tag from a pair of B73 dungarees in our archive: the code starts with 1119 — that's November 2019. The line below the code also shows RN# 14806, the registration number Carhartt has carried since the late 1950s — a quick authenticity check that fakes often get wrong.
Another B73 from the shop: 1116 — November 2016. Older tags from the '80s and '90s sometimes drop the leading zero, so a code like 598 reads as May 1998. From around 2000 the code is always 4 digits.
READING THE REST OF THE TAG
The care tag holds more than the date. From top to bottom you'll usually find: the Carhartt address line (Dearborn, Michigan), the country of manufacture, the fabric content, and at the bottom the style code, size, and fit name — this one reads B136 MOS, 38×34, Original Dungaree Fit. That style code is how collectors identify exactly what a piece is: B01 double knees, B73 dungarees, J01 Detroit jackets, and so on. We list every item in the shop by these codes.
Country of manufacture is a rough era clue on its own: Made in USA dominated into the late 1990s (the oldest pieces even carry union labels — ILGWU or ACWA), while Made in Mexico and other offshore tags take over through the 2000s.
NO DATE CODE? READ THE LOGO
If the care tag is faded or cut out, the branding itself narrows the era. (The r/Carhartt community keeps a photographic timeline of every tag and logo variation going back to the 1930s — the deepest reference there is: reddit.com/r/Carhartt) The heart-shaped "Car-heart" logo belongs to pieces made before the late 1960s. The yellow "C" logo took over around 1967 and is still used today — but early C-era tags were printed on cotton with the size right next to the logo, a detail Carhartt dropped in the early 1980s. Modern tags are embroidered on synthetic fabric.
The patches on the outside evolve too:
A darkened, worn leather back patch like this one — on a pair of faded duck double knees from our archive — is honest wear that's very hard to fake. But the patch itself is also a dating tool: measure it. This one is 1.25″ × 1.25″, which places it after 2004 — on B136s and B73s made in 2004 or earlier, Carhartt used a larger 1.5″ × 1.5″ patch.
The woven square patch with the yellow C is the style you'll see on most '90s-to-today pieces; its exact weave and colors shifted over the years.
OUR QUICK CHECKLIST
1. Find the care tag and read the date code (month + year). 2. Confirm RN# 14806 is present. 3. Match the style code (B01, B73, J01…) to what the garment actually is. 4. Check country of manufacture against the claimed age. 5. Measure the leather patch: 1.25″ square = after 2004; 1.5″ square = 2004 or earlier (B136/B73). 6. No tag? Read the logo era, sizing style, hardware, and fabric hand.
Every piece we sell has already been through this process — the date, style code, and condition are checked before it's ever photographed. If you're ever unsure about a piece you found elsewhere, message us and we'll gladly take a look.
🇵🇭 Nationwide shipping 🌎 International shipping available