New Hire Workwear Checklist for Las Vegas Contractors: What to Order Before Day One

New hires show up Monday. The job started Friday. Your operations manager forwards you their size, hopes for the best, and the new hire spends week one looking like the odd one out — the only person on the crew without branded apparel, while everyone else looks like a unified professional team. That's the gap this checklist exists to close.

Bighorn Threads runs company-store programs for Las Vegas trades that automate this entirely — pre-approved SKUs, sizing on file, fully decorated apparel shipped to the new hire's home address before day one. For everyone not yet on a company store, here's the spec by trade for what to actually order. Realistic budgets, realistic timelines, the brands that hold up.

General Contractor Field Crew

For framers, concrete crews, finish carpenters, and general field labor, the day-one kit is straightforward but should be complete enough that the new hire isn't borrowing or buying their own gear in week one.

• 5× Carhartt K87 heavyweight cotton tees, embroidered or screen-printed left chest, in your company colorway
• 2× Carhartt B11 work pants or B324 carpenter pants (hemmed if specified)
• 1× Carhartt K121 pullover hoodie (for fall/winter starts)
• 1× Carhartt 100286 FastDry Logo Cap or Richardson 112 trucker hat with embroidered logo
• Hard hat sticker (vinyl decal for ANSI Z89-rated hard hat)

Talk to us for current kit pricing and lead time. For Vegas summer hires, swap heavyweight tees for Carhartt Force performance tees at the same price point.

Electrical Contractor (FR-Required)

Electrical hires need the FR baseline when they start — no exceptions. Apprentices and journeymen working anywhere near energized panels, switchgear, or commercial 480V systems must have NFPA 70E CAT 2 minimum.

• 5× Bulwark SLU2 Excel-FR ComforTouch work shirts (CAT 2, 6.5 oz, dual NFPA 70E + 2112)
• 5× Bulwark PEW2 Excel-FR work pants
• 1× Bulwark JLR8 hi-vis lined bomber (for night utility work)
• 1× embroidered Carhartt cap with company logo
• FR-safe certification sheet for safety binder (we include this with every order)

Talk to us for current kit pricing and lead time. More on NFPA 70E FR selection here.

HVAC, Plumbing, Mechanical Service

Service-trade hires need a clean professional uniform from day one because their first impression is at a customer's front door. Industrial work shirts with embroidered logos and woven name patches are the Vegas standard.

• 5× Red Kap SP14 industrial work shirts (short sleeve summer / long sleeve winter)
• 2× Red Kap PT20 industrial work pants (hemmed)
• 1× Red Kap JT22 insulated duck work jacket (for fall/winter hires)
• Embroidered company logo (left chest) + woven name patch (right chest)
• 1× Richardson 112 trucker hat with embroidered logo

Talk to us for current kit pricing and lead time. For shops on industrial laundry programs, we coordinate with your laundry partner so the apparel ships pre-tagged.

Hi-Vis Road, Utility, Paving Crews

Road and utility hires need ANSI 107-compliant hi-vis decorated with embroidered company logo that preserves retroreflective tape coverage. The class depends on the work — daytime traffic under 50 mph is Class 2; highway work over 50 mph or night-shift utility is Class 3.

• 5× ML Kishigo Class 2 mesh-back tees (Premium Black Series 9100 series for daytime / 1565 long-sleeve Class 3 for night)
• 2× Carhartt B11 work pants or Class E hi-vis pants
• 1× ML Kishigo 2024 Class 3 contrast color block jacket (for night/winter)
• Embroidered company logo, compliant placement (we follow Kishigo decoration guides)
• ANSI 107 compliance certification sheet for safety binder

Talk to us for current kit pricing and lead time. More on Class 2 vs Class 3 selection here.

Solar EPC and PV Maintenance

Solar hires need FR for combiner and inverter work, lightweight UPF performance for sun protection, and (for crews working remote sites near vehicle traffic) hi-vis FR for combined ANSI 107 + NFPA 2112 protection.

• 5× Bulwark Excel-FR shirts (CAT 2 minimum) or Carhartt FR Lightweight
• 5× FR-rated work pants
• 3× lightweight UPF performance long-sleeve shirts (for non-electrical day work)
• 1× Bulwark JLR8 hi-vis lined bomber (for vehicle-traffic remote sites)
• Hard hat with embroidered company decal

Talk to us for current kit pricing and lead time.

Project Manager / Office / Client-Facing

PMs, estimators, business development, and ownership need a different baseline — sharp, professional, jobsite-walkable. The Vegas standard is embroidered performance polos with optional name embroidery.

• 5× Port Authority K540 Silk Touch Performance polos with embroidered logo + name
• 1× Carhartt or Eddie Bauer softshell jacket (for cold-weather walkthroughs)
• 1× Carhartt FastDry cap with embroidered logo
• 1× embroidered tote bag or backpack for trade-show season

Talk to us for current kit pricing and lead time.

Sizing Tips

Get the new hire's t-shirt size and the size of the work pants they currently wear. Carhartt and Bulwark run "loose fit" generally — most hires order their normal size and the fit works. Red Kap industrial shirts run slightly large because they're designed to layer; size down one if the hire is between sizes. Hi-vis Class 2 garments are sized for over-shirt wear; size to fit over a t-shirt comfortably. For FR pants, the waist and inseam matter — get both numbers, don't guess.

The Company-Store Solution

For shops hiring more than a few new crew members per quarter, the company-store program eliminates this entire workflow. Pre-approved SKUs, sizing on file, per-employee allowances, and direct shipping to the new hire's home address before day one — all triggered by your HR onboarding checklist. New hires show up Monday in a fully-decorated kit that matches the existing crew, and your operations manager doesn't spend Friday afternoon chasing apparel orders.