History of blue jeans- Some fascinating facts

history of blue jeans

Timeline of Dates in the history of Jeans – the world-famous pants made out of a specific type of fabric called denim.

15th Century – Genoa – A Coarse cotton blend fabric is woven with two colored threads produced in the city of Genoa, Italy.
Late 16th century – “Serge de Nîmes,” a fabric woven with one colored thread (the warp) and the other white (the weft) was developed in France.
Early 19th century – A very durable Denim is woven in America with cotton fibers.
1872 – Levi Strauss and John Davis formed a partnership to produce work clothes with metal rivets to the highly stressed seams for durability
1873 – The first jeans, known as XX were born. Jeans was then known as Waist Overalls – it became the most widely used workers’ pants in America.
1880’s – All Levis characteristic were incorporated – orange topstitching, 5 pockets, ticket pocket, bar tacking, and the leather patch with two horses
1890’s – The XX Jeans is given the iconic number 501
1920’s – Levis pants in denim started to be sold all over America
1930’s – The first denim jeans for women is made
1940’s – Levi Jeans 505 with zipper fly was launched.
1950s – In the 1950s Other Jeans brands Lee Cooper and Wranglers, arrived. European countries also adopted jeans.
1950’s – Pre-washed/preshrunk denim ; Jeans was officially adopted as the name of the denim pants
1970’s – Jeans became popular among the youth, with many celebrities sporting blue denim jeans. A.Smile Jeans was a popular brand back then with their favorite Stove pipe jeans. Banana jeans had a buckle on the back – it was popular in the mid 1970’s. Britannia Brand jeans were another favorite – It was straight and had a wide hem. The first labeled Jeans was Ditto Jeans. Gloria Vanderbilt was known as the jeans queen because of her success in selling branded jeans. Her jeans with Embellished pockets were a hit among girls. HASH blue jeans were bell-bottom jeans – they had a double-star design and the letters H.A.S.H. stitched in gold thread on the back pocket. Red snap hip hugger bell bottom jeans were very popular in the 1970s. San Francisco riding gear was bell-bottomed jeans with a buckle on the back. Sea fair jeans were a Sailor style denim jeans. Star Jeans had a Star embroidered on the back pocket, and it was immensely popular. Levi’s straight-leg blue jeans were also a hit.
1980’s – Big American fashion designers adopted denim. Personification and customization became popular. In the 80’s Acid wash jeans became very popular. Most of them came with wide legs. Jordache brand of jeans was very popular in the early 1980s. They were very tight-fitting jeans. Luv It, and Lee Painter were other popular jeans brands. Bonjour jeans and Calvin Klein jeans were popular brands. A style of jeans with a loose fit at the hips and tapered legs were popular.
1990’s – Slim fitting Jeans became popular.
2000’s – Premium denim became popular.

In the city of Genoa in 15th century Italy, there was a coarse cotton wool and/or linen blend fabric by the same name as the city – Genoa. It can be assumed that maybe this is the ancestor of modern-day Jeans by the similarity of their names. Genoa was a fabric used for making clothes for sailors in Italy. The jeans which were later produced bear a striking resemblance to these sailor pants.

In the 16th century, another fabric by the name Serge de Nimes emerged in France, which may be the predecessor of modern-day denim. It was a fabric woven with one colored thread (the warp) and the other white (the weft) – the same way that modern-day denim is woven. Denim, as we know it today, is a heavy twill woven cotton fabric that is very durable as well as very comfortable to wear.

Levi Strauss, an immigrant trader from Europe, made the jeans as we know them today popular. He formed a partnership with a tailor named John Davis in America to produce working clothes that were durable. Levi Strauss was already selling cotton cloth when they met.

And John Davis was a tailor, making many functional items like tents and wagon covers. He had made sturdy work pants for a customer of his, with cotton duck fabric he had bought from Levi Strauss.

He found that adding rivets to high-stress areas like pockets and the bottom of the fly would prevent the seams from ripping and made them very durable. He partnered with Levi Strauss to apply for a patent for this – The patent was rightfully called “an improvement in Fastening Pocket-Openings.”

Together they made waist overalls for the use of Northern California’s gold miners, and They were very popular, especially due to their strength and durability. It was made of canvas cloth which was more suitable for tents and sails and was very stiff and uncomfortable. Later they were made in blue denim, which was more comfortable.

At first, in America, Jeans was solely regarded as suitable clothing for the working class. Inexpensive, Strong, hardwearing, functional, and comfortable were all adjectives associated with denim jeans in those days. Fashion, stylish, and modern were not anywhere near. Miners, cowboys, farmhands, and other workers were the only people sporting sturdy blue jeans.

But later, blue Denim jeans began to be regarded as synonymous with youth, progressiveness, freedom, and American culture and later high fashion.

It was mainly due to the western cowboy movies of the times and the popularity of rock and roll bands that denim became very popular among the fashion-conscious youth. Movies played a very important part in popularizing the idea of the jeans-clad youth. Thus Jeans started to evolve as a fashion statement rather than just utilitarian clothing for the working class.

Did you know that early jeans for women had the zipper fly down the side seams rather than the front like in today’s jeans?

Many changes have since been made to denim jeans- stylish pockets, reinforcing rivets, top-stitching details, different types of wash, rise, fly, cut, hem, embroidery details, distressing effects, and deliberate skin revealing rips and tears. Panels are added to the hems; images are printed directly onto the garment; rhinestones and other embellishments are added, including even lace and feathers.

Different colored denim other than the staple blue are favorites of modern youth. Low-rise jeans, Bell bottom jeans, Peek-a-boo jeans , figure-hugging jeans – all styles adopted and discarded with changing times and styles.

Today Jeans is an American Icon that has been welcomed with open arms by all the fashion-conscious people on this earth. There is not a class of people who have not taken jeans as their own.

Nowadays, Asian countries produce almost half of the total jeans made in this world and maybe wear them too. Jeans continue to evolve according to the preferences of the same people who love them.

Reference : Fortune.com has some great pictures representing the emergence of Jeans.