How old is denim

In midth century America, jean fabric was used for trousers and overcoats and was solid colored, usually indigo, olive, or brown. Denim, on the other hand, was always spun from both white and indigo yarn, and was used exclusively for workwear for miners, mechanics, cowboys, and farmers that required the toughest materials. In , a man named Levi Strauss emigrated to the US from Bavaria and began working with his brothers selling wholesale dry goods in New York.

He soon decided to head west to San Francisco, which was in the thick of the California gold rush. Once there he began selling sturdy work pants to the thousands of miners who were hoping to strike gold. They needed pants that could withstand weeks and months of daily wear, without shredding to rags. Denim fabric was thick. The stitching was heavy. It could protect you from scrapes and cuts. Even still, the real innovation happened later.

Jeans also acted as a bridge in social disparity. Gone were the days where the rich wore only suits and finery and the poor wore workwear and rags, jeans were now worn by everyone.

From the 60s onwards, almost every cult and subculture, from extreme to passive have worn jeans. From hippies to skinheads, skaters to football casuals and from bikers to ravers, denim has been a universal piece of almost all social rebellions since the 60s. Denim jeans are the ultimate example of form following function. Their strength, versatility, durability and comfort are what have made them the most popular item of clothing ever.

They can be worn in almost any environment and used for any activity. History of the Fabric Denim was invented in the French city of Nimes, where tailors began weaving cotton together in a unique way, in which the weft passes under two or more warp threads, resulting in a reinforced fabric.

Levi Strauss' Journey to the States In , in an endeavour to escape antisemitism and pursue financial prosperity, Loeb Strauss left his hometown Buttenheim, Germany to head for New York, where his brother owned a dry goods store textile shop. Foundation and Innovation In , a local tailor known as Jacob Davis purchased some denim strips from Levi Strauss to craft high strength trousers for his own client. Strauss and Davis initially made jeans in two types of fabric, brown duck and blue denim, but the creation of the denim style in helped the latter fabric take off.

Hollywood helped romanticize the blue jean in the s and s by putting the trousers on handsome cowboy types played by the likes of John Wayne and Gary Cooper.

This glamorous new image spoke to consumers who sought casual leisurewear to wear at the weekends and on holidays. Publicity photos of actresses like Ginger Rogers and Carole Lombard wearing jeans helped convince women that the style was for them too.