Woman Up, a boutique for women in the construction industry-Brooklyn

Here’s how to look good on a girder 30 stories up

BY CLAIRE GLASS

for The Brooklyn Paper

Forget about skinny jeans and high heels, pink power tools are the new black.

Answering the call of tradeswomen who are sick of gloves that don’t fit, reflective vests that sag, and the abject lack of work boots designed for the feminine physique, longtime construction worker Deidre Douglas opened Woman Up, a work-wear store on Washington Avenue in Prospect Heights.

“I have customers as far as California because no one wants to wear stuff that doesn’t fit,” said Douglas, herself a construction worker for a decade. “Women come here for the boots and the gloves and they all tell me how happy they are that I’m here.”

Though the store has been open for a year, Douglas has moved beyond the apparel problem. Next up is a line of pink power tools that are strong enough for a man, but made for a woman.

Her clients aren’t all construction workers. Transit workers, letter carriers, and dockworkers also frequent her store, she said — all with one thing in common.

“We wear boots, not suits,” Douglas said.

Woman Up is not all about pink hues, frills on hardhats or petite sizes. But it is about not losing your femininity even when you’re on a girder 30 stories up.

As such, the store offers a line of sweat-absorbing supportive underwear. Think Hanes Her Way with extra support to straighten spines, lift breasts, regulate body temperature, and generally improves figures while you work.

Men are welcome, certainly. The other day, a United Parcel Service driver stopped by and bought a pair of work gloves because his hands are small for his sex, Douglas said.

He wasn’t the only exception, but Douglas mostly caters to women, including selling nutritional supplements and skin and bath products.

“Because after you stop working you still want to come home and feel like a woman,” she said.

Woman Up [708 Washington Ave. between St. Marks Avenue and Prospect Place in Prospect Heights, (347) 750-6836].

http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/33/9/33_09_cg_woman_up.html?comm=1