These characteristic trousers have made their way through history with a huge impact. They were first designed to function as workwear and have developed into an inherent part of fashion. They are an obligatory position in the wardrobes of big fashion designers, presidents, the ordinary man in the street or even members of the Amazon tribes living in the jungle.
PHOTO: LEVI STRAUSS & CO.
Denim (cotton warp-faced textile in which the weft passes under two or more warp threads) has been known since the Renaissance (one of the favourites of then sailors). People first noticed their functionality during the 19th century Gold Rush. The settlers looking for this valuable ore needed very durable and damage-resistant trousers.
The one who catered for these needs was Oscar Levi Strauss. In 1853, he was a 24-year-old Jewish merchant who emigrated from Germany to the USA. At that time, he engaged himslef in opening his brother’s New York haberdashery subsidiary on… the West Coast. In view of the request, the enterprising Strauss began producing trousers from a fabric used for making tents, coloured indigo. The dark blue colour – before then associated with sailors – the cut, the durability and price turned out to be a bull’s eye.
One of his customers was a tailor (Latvian emigrant) who’s job was repairing damaged pants. He came up with an idea to use metal rivets in jeans, at the most exposed places to cutting. Strauss and Davis patented that together on the 20th of May, 1873 for $69. This date is the beginning of jeans history as we know it.
Miners, farmers, breeders – the entire American West wore these trousers.
After the patent agreement had expired, dozens of manufacturers, including those who introduced plenty of upgrades, started copying Strauss and Davis.
In 1911, the Lee brand launched a series of workwear (so-called dungarees) on the market. You can call it the inventor of trousers with a fly (1920). In 1947, the rodeo participants used to wear denim trousers from Wrangler. A bit earlier, during WWII, American soldiers serving in Europe were wearing jeans in their free time and thus helped making them popular.
The story of jeans made a circle because it’s worth to know that they originate from the 12th century Genoa (Genes – jean) where a light woolen fabric (later replaced by denim) was produced and exported. It’s this city which the name ‘jeans’ comes from that became popular in the 20th century by Levi Strauss & Co. Jeans – the synonym of denim trousers.
Rivets, orange thread and the characters known from western movies, like John Wayne, Gary Cooper or Henry Fonda are the components that made jeans recognizable all over the world. Nowadays, they are the most popular clothing product. They are the symbol of lifestyle, individualism and freedom. They are available to everybody, in hundreds of models and thousands of colours. Just legendary! You will find a huge offer of jeans in our shop Bolf.eu. Everyone loves them and has a favourite pair. What about you? Do you wear jeans?