Jeans
The history of denim jeans
Although there have been different stories about how jeans came
about more than a century ago, Levi Strauss and Nevada tailor
Jacob Davis are constantly mentioned in stories and records. When
it comes to the birth of the first pair of jeans, the name, Levi
Strauss, will inevitably be mentioned. Strauss is universally
recognised as the architect of denim jeans.
At the pinnacle of the Gold Rush a German refugee Levi Strauss
opened his goods wholesale company in San Francisco in 1853, he
found miners complaining about their easily ton cotton trousers
and pockets that "split right open", spilling the ore
that miners stored inside. So Strauss came up with the idea of
making rugged overalls from the canvas he originally brought over
to sell as tent cloth. `The miners were very excited and satisfied
with the new trousers. Some say that this innovation only came
about because Strauss was at the end of your tether to dispose
of his canvas, which was not selling well. Levi Strauss slacks
were a great winner.
Although Levi Strauss played a dig part the birth of the jeans
we know today could also not have happened without Jacob Davis,
who was a tailor in a small shop in Nevada. Alkali Ike a miner
in the Comstock mining camp in Nevada, often complained to Davis
his tailor that his trousers were always torn apart while mining
ore. Davis came upon the idea of adding copper rivets which were
used to make Saddles to the corners of the pockets so that they
would do stronger.
He wrote to Strauss his fabric supplier on 5 July 1872 claiming
to be the inventor of riveted trousers and suggesting that the
company should share the patent with him. He also sent a letter
and sample trousers made of denim.
It is hard to get a clear-cut account on the beginning of jeans.
The only proof is the letter from Davis to Strauss and their register
for the patent for riveted trousers which was granted in 1873.
The manufacture of riveted trousers began in 1876 and the history
of jeans was born.
Where do jeans come from?
It is widely thought that the name "jeans" comes from
a kind of endurable trousers called genoese or genes, which were
the uniform for sailors in the Italian port city, Genova. "Jean"
is from the Italian word "da Genova". Other experts,
who carried out further study of the word, acknowledged that it
is the American spelling for genois, which refers to a kind of
canvas. The canvas was used for work-wear from the late 19th century,
but the name "jeans" had not been commonly used until
1920. They were typically called riveted trousers or waist overalls
Indigo denim
At first, the canvas used for the riveted trousers was thick
and firm, and by no means relaxing. This was a worrying dilemma
for Strauss. He later on found a kind of blue and white cloth
sold on the European market, which was both strong and soft. He
straight away imported some. This fabric, called serge, was made
in a small French town, and was referred to as serge de Nimes
(serge cloth from Nimes). But when the cloth arrived in Britain,
the British businessmen found it difficult to pronounce its name,
therefore they called it "denim" for short.
Denim is a cotton twill fabric that is dyed with indigo, a natural
dye from plants. The woven fabric is comprised of dyed warp threads,
the lengthwise threads, and plain weft thread, the crosswise threads.
As the indigo could only dye the surface of the thread, the colour
would fade with time and use. Hence irregular fading and abrasion
would appear, giving the fabric a unique style.
With the production of synthetic indigo in the early 1900s, cheap
blue jeans became more and more popular. This wide recognition
is closely associated with the connection between the colour blue
and work-wear. As early as the 17"` century, indigo was widely
used as a dye for work-wear in Europe. So for the Europeans who
emigrated to America at that time, the familiar blue indigo colour
was easily accepted. Blue denim work trousers became quite common
for workers and indigo blue became the standard colour for Levi's
jeans.
The "jeans" look
lt is said that the original design of jeans was inspired by
the leotards of Texas cowboys, which featured slim hips, low waists
and straight legs. In Levi's jeans, then, an orange- brown cotton
thread was used, which left a conspicuous outer seam line. There
were also five pockets, with each corner strengthened by rivets,
and a zip that fastened the front. Later on, to build up the company
image, several symbolic images were used on its jeans, namely
the stitch, leather patch and red tab. nowadays, the familiar
standard for jeans remains as indigo denim, external stitching,
red tabs and leather patches.
Through the ages
The 20"` century was an exciting era, most notably for the
two World Wars and the Great Depression. In one way or another,
jeans made their presence felt during these times. The period
of war ironically enhanced the popularity of jeans. In World War
I, jeans were designated by the American federal government as
the uniform for their troops. Lee's Union All was the chosen working
uniform for soldiers, and even women who were in the armed forces
were asked to wear the same uniform. As a result of these developments,
jeans became more widespread after the war, particularly for women.
In 1926, the zip, invented by Whitcomb Judson in 1893, was used
by Lee to create the first zipped jeans. While the men's jeans
were zipped in front, women's jeans were zipped at the side as
it was considered unacceptable otherwise. But 50 years later,
Lee Cooper revolutionised women's jeans by zipping them in the
front.
|
