History of Denim

Which piece of clothing is the most indispensable part of everyone’s wardrobe? Something that 70% of the population is wearing in college today? Something that you don’t need to consciously think about and just ‘put on’ and know for certain that you will blend in?

Denim, today is like an unconsciously adopted uniform, for it is hard to segregate and categorize someone into a particular section of society if they are wearing a simple pair of jeans. It is the modern day khadi. It is the fabric that represents honest hard work and the expression of angry rebellion.

In 1969, a writer for American fabrics magazine declared, “Denim is one of the world’s oldest fabric, yet it remains eternally young”. However, as far as its history is concerned, one explanation is that ‘denim’ is an English corruption of the French ‘serge de Nimes’. Meaning, a durable twilled woolen or worsted fabric from the town of Nimes in France. However, ‘serge de Nimes’ was also known in England before the end of 17^th century. Hence the dilemma of whether it was imported from France or was it an English fabric with a same name? But then again, it is common human nature to zhuzh up their products by attaching the geographical location to the names for it sounds more prestigious. Another perplexing fact is that serge de Nimes was made of silk and wool, but denim has always been made of cotton. to befuddle facts even more, there also existed, at this same time, another fabric known as “jean” that originated in Genoa. It was much sought after and imported into England in large quantities during the 16th century. Denim also began to be well received. It was stronger and costlier. One major difference between these two cloths was that denim was made of one colored and one white thread whereas jeans was woven out of two threads of same color. During the 19^th century America, they were also used very differently. Fine trousers were made in blue jean and overalls and trousers made for work were offered in blue and fancy denim. The latter offered both comfort and durability.

The whole notion of denims and its identity today is because of Levi Strauss. Bearing his original family name, LOEB, He went to San Francisco to carry on his family business when he began the legendary LS&CO. however all the data was lost in the great san Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906. For decades, the story ran like this: Levi Strauss arrived in San Francisco, and noticed that miners needed strong, sturdy pants. So he took some brown canvas from the stock of dry goods supplies he brought with him from New York, and had a tailor make a pair of pants. Later, he dyed the fabric blue, then switched to denim, which he imported from Nimes. This story likely arose because evidence had been found of some brown pants made of a heavy material, which the company sold in the 19th century. By the 1920s, Levi’s waist overalls were the leading product in men’s work pants in the Western states. During 1930s they caught the attention of the west. Authentic cowboys were seen wearing Levi’s jeans and were cognizing the life of independence and rugged individualism. 1940s were the times of war. American soldiers took their favorite pairs of denim pants overseas thanks to their comfort and sturdiness. As a result, denim pants became less associated with work wear and more associated with the leisure activities of prosperous post-war America. Also women, who started wearing their husbands' (suitably altered) trousers while they took on jobs previously assigned to men, during World War I, increasingly wore trousers as leisurewear in the 1920s and 30s. Levi Strauss & Co. created the first women's jeans in 1934, called Lady Levi's, but they were only for women to wear on dude ranches or on vacation. It still wasn't acceptable for women to be seen in public in jeans.

 Wearing jeans everyday was still not widely accepted, because of its association with the bad boy image. Around 1950s, many school administrators banned wearing of denim in the classroom, fearing that the mere presence of denim on a teenager’s body would cause him to rebel against authority in all of its forms.

1957 the company ran an advertisement in a number of newspapers all over the U.S, which showed a clean-cut young boy wearing Levi’s jeans. The ad contained the slogan, “Right For School.” This ad outraged many parents and adults in general. One woman in New Jersey wrote, “While I have to admit that this may be ‘right for school’ in San Francisco, in the west, or in some rural areas I can assure you that it is in bad taste and not right for School in the East and particularly New York...Of course, you may have different standards and perhaps your employees are permitted to wear Bermuda shorts or golf togs in your office while transacting Levi’s business!” But by late 1960s Levi’s jeans had flooded into the European and Asian markets.

It then caught the eye of designers and gradually began to be accepted till today, when it has become like the second skin for every single human.