I have worn jeans almost all my life, and in that time I have enjoyed every moment wearing them. However one thing that I didn't think of was, when were jeans invented? who made the first jeans? what exactly is this fabric that jeans are made of?
All I knew from people telling stories about jeans and sometimes mentioning that back in the day jeans were considered workers clothing, and worn by men working in coal mines. And I could understand that because jeans are very though and the fabric is "thick". Now today jeans are something totally different, I would like to take you on a journey through time. I would like to educate you on some very interesting facts that you might not know about jeans.
A merchant named Levi Strauss (you probably know levis jeans right) was selling blue jeans under the "Levi's" brand to the mining communities of California in the 1850s. One of Strauss' customers was Jacob Davis, a tailor who frequently bought bolts of cloth from the Levi Strauss & Co.wholesale house. After one of Davis' customers kept buying cloth to reinforce torn pants, he had an idea to use copper rivets to reinforce the points of strain, such as on the pocket corners and at the top of the button fly. Davis did not have the required money to purchase a patent, so he wrote to Strauss suggesting that they both go into business together. After Strauss accepted Davis's offer, the two men received the U.S. Patent 139,121, for an "Improvement in Fastening Pocket-Openings," on May 20, 1873. And today over 100 years later levis jeans like so many other still use the same reinforcement.
And because of this the American blue jeans were made by Calvin Rogers, Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss in 1873. Moving along starting in the 1950s, the jeans were originally designed for cowboys but became popular among teenagers. The more historic brands Levi's, Lee, and Wrangler sold jeans that came in various fits, including skinny, tapered, straight, boot cut, Mommy-cut, maternity, and flare.
In the start jeans were mostly worn by workers and especially during WW2 in factories. During this period men's jeans had the zipper down the front. However back then women's jeans had the zipper down the right side. But by the 1960s, both men's and women's jeans had the zipper down the front. When the movie Rebel Without a Cause came out in 1955 nominated for 3 Oscars staring James Dean wearing jeans by teenagers and youth and/or young adults became a symbol of youth rebellion during the 1950s. Because of this, they were sometimes even banned in theaters, restaurants and even schools.
However in the 1960s wearing of jeans became more acceptable, and by the 1970s it had become general fashion in the United States for casual wear.
Michael Belluomo who was the editor of Sportswear International Magazine, Oct/Nov 1987 wrote that in 1965, Limbo, a boutique in the New York East Village, was "the first retailer to wash a new pair of jeans to get a used, worn effect, and the idea became a hit." He continued, "Limbo hired East Village artists to embellish the jeans with patches, decals and other touches, and sold them for $200."
In the 1970s the denim industry introduced the Stone-Washing technique developed by GWG also known as "Great Western Garment Co.". Donald Freeland of Edmonton, Alberta pioneered the method, which helped to bring denim to a larger and more versatile market. Acceptance of jeans continued through the 1980s and 1990s to the point where jeans are now a wardrobe staple, with the average North American owning seven pairs.
In the 1970s Hal Burgess first marketed "pre-washed" jeans. He was a salesman for his father, who owned a large jean manufacturing company in Cartersville, Georgia. While on a sales trip, there was a flood in the hotel room where Burgess was storing jeans. He asked the hotel owner if he could rent out the pool to wash the flooded jeans. The jeans shrunk but Hal decided to market them as 'pre-washed' jeans and sold them two sizes smaller than they were initially labeled. This was the first time 'pre-shrunk' jeans were marketed.
So that's about it really, jeans have come a long way. And I'm sure jeans are here to stay. Today you can easily buy jeans almost anywhere and now you can buy jeans online allowing you to choose from a number of different brand jeans for sale like the awesome silver tab jeans from the famous levis jeans with ease.
