STYLE
From Issue #9
The Evolution
of Jeans
By
Jen Ashby
Did
you know your jeans are an actual piece of history?
While
there is a bit of controversy over which came first denim or
jean, (technically they aren’t the same) they are both
linked to a European background stemming from the 1700’s.
In France and England, (de)nim was gaining popularity as a fabric
that was durable and comfortable, while in Italy jean was being
made into topcoats and fine trousers for working men not engaged
in ‘manual labour’.
In
1872, Levi Strauss, a successful dry goods salesman was approached
by Jacob Davis, a tailor who improved the strength of the pants
he made by adding metal rivets. Davis couldn’t afford
to patent his ‘rivet’ idea so asked Levi to pay
for the patent application. Levi, being a smart businessman,
became partners with Davis and in 1873 received a patent for
an “Improvement in Fastening Pocket-Openings.”
Almost
immediately, coal miners in California adopted them as their
‘unofficial uniform’ as they stood up extremely
well to the rigors of the mines. It was this connection to the
mines that set jeans as a symbol of economic status that was
associated with the working class.
Although
‘waist overalls’ were traditionally made with jean,
Levi and Davis chose to make their pants from denim for their
comfort and durability. By the 1920s, Levi's® Waist Overalls
were the leading product in men's work pants in the western
states and despite the fact that they were now being made with
denim, they were still referred to as jean pants.
By
the ’30s, cowboys in the United States had also adopted
this seemingly indestructible pant. The rise in popularity of
Western movies in the U.S. introduced the general public to
jeans and soon every boy and man wanted to imitate their screen
idols and get a pair. The rugged lifestyle of jean wearers helped
to create a jean identity.
Wearing
jeans could now be used to make a ‘statement’. The
’60s and ’70s saw jeans reinvented and the casual
look became a symbol of a carefree generation. Jeans were bell-bottomed
and were often decorated with beads, embroidery and paint. It
was a statement of non-conformity. The ’80s was the rock
scene: acid wash, rips, holes and ‘cut offs’. The
’90s was about a neat and classic look. Jeans were literally
climbing the social ladder of taste.
Jeans
have made their way into our everyday lifestyle and have lost
its association as a ‘working-class’ garment. Today
millions of people still wear their jeans to work, not only
to the mines but also into the boardrooms of the upper class.
Levi Strauss and the miners that his denim clothed.
At the top right of this page is an example of the jeans
that were being worn in the 1890s.
