Martha Stewart, who can get down and dirty in the garden, believes you might as well wear something that’s functional and looks good too while planting and weeding.
The nonstop entrepreneur, author and arbiter of entertaining with style, in collaboration with French Dressing Jeans and Marque Brands, has launched the Martha Stewart Garden Apparel Line, which this week officially starts selling exclusively at Tractor Supply Co., the largest rural lifestyle retailer in the U.S.,
The four-way partnership reflects how Tractor Supply continues to expand its apparel offerings for women. The line, initially at least, includes eight clothing items and will be in 50 select Tractor Supply stores and on the retailer’s website.
“This new line of apparel reflects my passion for gardening and outdoor work, so I am thrilled to share it with consumers,” Stewart said in a statement. “With creativity and hard work at the core of gardening, this collection embraces artistry and functionality, bringing ease to those who strive to keep a healthy, beautiful garden.”
The line includes a garden chore jacket, a garden work shirt, a short-sleeve puffer vest, cargo convertible pants, convertible overalls and more. Prices range from $24.99 to $69.99.
“Women’s apparel continues to be an important product category for us at Tractor Supply, especially when it comes to gardening,” Seth Estep, the retailer’s chief merchandising officer, said in a statement. “This launch with Martha Stewart is the perfect way for us to bring fashion and function to our gardening customers, with great new styles and products our customers can’t get anywhere else.”
The Brentwood, Tenn.-based Tractor Supply is striving for greater apparel market share by tapping influencers, pushing social media, forming partnerships, testing shops-in-shop, and in footwear and outerwear, stretching to some higher-priced products. The company has been capitalizing on western trends, like coastal cowgirl, workwear’s widening appeal as a fashion statement and changing demographics and lifestyles as more Americans move from major cities to suburbia and countryfied settings.
The core of the apparel assortment remains functional and durable workwear, whether worn for fieldwork or just for the look. Yet there’s also an emerging layer of sprightly western and coastal-cowgirl sportswear, footwear and accessories — specialty boots, denim, turquoise jewelry, flirty sundresses, embroidered halters and other trendy pieces.
“As a one-stop destination for everything gardening, Tractor Supply is the perfect retail partner for this launch,” said Helaine Peters, president of French Dressing Jeans Inc.
The 85-year-old Tractor Supply caters to recreational farmers, ranchers, rural homeowners, gardeners and pet enthusiasts and the DIY lifestyle. As of Dec. 30, the company operated 2,216 stores in 49 states and tractorsupply.com.
Tractor Supply Company also owns and operates Petsense by Tractor Supply, a small-box pet specialty supply retailer. As of the end 2023, there were 198 Petsense by Tractor Supply stores in 23 states.
Marquee Brands has an extensive portfolio of brands including Martha Stewart, The BCBG Group, Ben Sherman, Dakine, Sur La Table, Body Glove, Emeril Lagasse, Motherhood Maternity, A Pea in a Pod and Bruno Magli.
French Dressing Jeans is a 40-plus-year-old women’s denim and apparel company headquartered in Montreal.
