When was denim first created

Films like Rebel Without a Cause, The Wild Ones, and The Misfits quickly convinced most of the baby boomer generation that denim was what you wore if you were a badass. Basically, we wear jeans today because our parents and grandparents thought they were cool.

The point is, before they were cool, miners and cowboys and farmers were pretty much the only folks wearing jeans. This is why blue jeans, even though they technically originated in Europe, are also undeniably tied up in the mythology of the American west. The nostalgia for the frontier, for individuality, for self-determination, and for bucking the system.

And, because of the demand for jeans as an everyday staple, manufacturers changed the way jeans have been made. The jeans from large-scale manufacturers typically come pre-washed to be softer and more comfortable right away.

Japanese denim manufacturers catered to a niche audience of denim connoisseurs, making jeans out of raw and selvedge fabrics made on old shuttle looms to create inborn character imperfections into the material.

Still to this day, die-hard denim lovers will tell you most of the best denim in the world is made in Japan. There are dozens of startups and companies working to rekindle quality denim in the states, and that is something we can get behind.

Levi Strauss immigrated from Bavaria to North America and like a lot of immigrants at the time made ends meat selling various goods as he traveled westward across the North American continent. In the s like so many others he followed the Gold Rush to California where he continued to supply miners and their families with various essentials. The miners in need of more suitable clothing for the heavy work they were involved in asked Strauss if he could create more durable work pants that could withstand the harsh environment of gold mining.

Strauss together with a tailor made heavy duty work pants out of canvas that he was currently selling for tent making. Strauss took inspiration for his original Design from Genoese sailors that wore a loose fitting trouser with a flared leg to allow it to fit over heavy work boots. Although the first work pants that Strauss designed were made from heavy canvas it was not until he choose a hard wearing fabric known as Serge de Nimes denim did they really take off in popularity.

Denim had already gained considerable popularity in France by the time that Strauss had discovered it. It is made from a heavy twill-woven cotton that is extremely hard wearing, and dries quickly making it a much more suitable clothing fabric than canvas. The jeans were dyed using an artificial indigo which was considerably cheaper than real indigo.

Indigo was the natural choice as it producing a nice deep dark blue color which helps to hide stains and dirt but also lasts a long time even after repeated washing. Although the new jeans were well received they still had trouble standing up to the demands that hard manual labor such as mining in the s would put on work pants.

The jeans had significant weak points namely at the corners of the pockets and the bottom of the button fly. Miners needed jeans that could carry heavy gold nuggets in their pockets and they would often rip at the stitching at the bottom edge of the pocket. Rivets were then also added to the bottom of the button fly in and later that same year the back pockets received reinforced stitching in the shape of a double arc design using orange thread.

Levi became responsible for manufacturing the jeans in his San Francisco factory, employing Jacob Davis to oversee production and design. However, it was the next 30 years which would cement the rise of denim in mainstream industry as they began to sell their product nationwide. The first catalyst for the rise of denim was Western style movies, from around to Men saw gunslinging cowboys such as John Wayne taking names, riding horses and saving lives in blue jeans although films were in black and white to start with and before long, blue jeans went from the clothes of working men to the high streets of most American cities.

World War Two then broke out in Denim jeans and jackets became very popular amongst returning or off duty American GI's. These soldiers shocked the system as instead of settling down in the suburbs with a family, they wore jeans and rode motorbikes around the US. This rebellion was attractive in the eyes of the American consumers, cementing their position in male fashion as they were viewed as the clothes of rebellious heroes.

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.