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Vintage Jeans
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Is there any item of clothing more associated with America’s rugged individualism and unpretentious worldview than blue jeans? Since their debut in the 1870s, denim pants have gone from work wear to luxury commodity and everything in between....
Is there any item of clothing more associated with America’s rugged individualism and unpretentious worldview than blue jeans? Since their debut in the 1870s, denim pants have gone from work wear to luxury commodity and everything in between. Today, blue jeans appeal to people of all ages and classes, but it’s been a long slog for the pants to make it into mainstream fashion.
Levi Strauss & Company introduced its distinctive indigo-dyed denim trousers, whose seams were riveted with copper for extra durability, in the early 1870s. Originally, Strauss had used imported canvas for his pants, but to counter fabric shortages he turned to denim manufactured by the Amoskeag mill in New Hampshire. (In 1915, Levi Strauss & Co. moved most of its denim production to Cone Mills in Greensboro, North Carolina.)
The word “denim” came from the material’s birthplace in the south of France, where it was known as the fabric from the town of Nîmes or “serge de Nîmes.” The word “jeans” was likely spawned from the French word for Genoa—Genes—an Italian port town where sailors were some of the first denim adopters.
Blue denim was well-suited to the tough work environment of California’s ranchers and gold miners, and after a Nevada tailor named Jacob Davis added rust-proof rivets in 1872, Levi’s were in high demand. The brand added its signature leather label in 1886, marked with an illustration of two horses attempting to pull apart a pair of jeans, a publicity stunt Strauss had supposedly organized to convey his product’s strength.
Though Levi’s created the gold standard with its sturdy 501 XX button-fly jeans, many companies would soon copy this style of denim pants. Among Levi’s competitors. H.D. Lee, who began producing denim work clothes like overalls in the 1890s, has had the most staying power. However, it wasn’t until the 1910s that Lee’s clothing business really took off, after he developed a one-piece garment called the Union-All. Combining a denim jacket and dungarees, the Lee Union-All was such a success that the U.S. army contracted the company to make as many pairs as possible for its forces during World War I. During the 1920s, Lee also led the industry in making garments from heavier denim that was even more durable while also improving fit with tailored sizing and zipper closures.
A few decades later, in the 1920s, another upstart called the Blue Bell Overall Company began manufacturing blue jeans, eventually giving birth to the Wrangler brand in the 1950s. Hollywood’s love affair with Wild West helped boost jean sales in the ‘50s and ‘60s, along with the denim-clad teenage rebels played by iconic actors like James Dean and Marlon Brando. By the 1980s, all the hippest American labels were offering blue jeans—from Calvin Klein to Guess—and often distressing or bleaching their coloring before they even hit the shelves.
In the last few decades, vintage blue jeans and denim jackets have become an international commodity, as rare high-priced garments have made headlines across the world. Some of these are heavily worn antique specimens discovered in old mining tunnels while others are known as “dead stock” or “new old stock,” older designs that were never worn and often bear original tags. The largest producers like Levi’s caught on to the demand for well-made selvedge denim, and have since launched new product lines in vintage styles.
Continue readingIs there any item of clothing more associated with America’s rugged individualism and unpretentious worldview than blue jeans? Since their debut in the 1870s, denim pants have gone from work wear to luxury commodity and everything in between. Today, blue jeans appeal to people of all ages and classes, but it’s been a long slog for the pants to make it into mainstream fashion.
Levi Strauss & Company introduced its distinctive indigo-dyed denim trousers, whose seams were riveted with copper for extra durability, in the early 1870s. Originally, Strauss had used imported canvas for his pants, but to counter fabric shortages he turned to denim manufactured by the Amoskeag mill in New Hampshire. (In 1915, Levi Strauss & Co. moved most of its denim production to Cone Mills in Greensboro, North Carolina.)
The word “denim” came from the material’s birthplace in the south of France, where it was known as the fabric from the town of Nîmes or “serge de Nîmes.” The word “jeans” was likely spawned from the French word for Genoa—Genes—an Italian port town where sailors were some of the first denim adopters.
Blue denim was well-suited to the tough work environment of California’s ranchers and gold miners, and after a Nevada tailor named Jacob Davis added rust-proof rivets in 1872, Levi’s were in high demand. The brand added its signature leather label in 1886, marked with an illustration of two horses attempting to pull apart a pair of jeans, a publicity stunt Strauss had supposedly organized to convey his product’s strength.
Though Levi’s created the gold standard with its sturdy 501 XX button-fly jeans, many companies would soon copy this style of denim pants. Among Levi’s competitors. H.D. Lee, who began producing denim work clothes like overalls in the 1890s, has had the most staying power. However, it wasn’t until the 1910s that Lee’s clothing business really took off, after he developed a one-piece garment called the Union-All. Combining a denim jacket and...
Is there any item of clothing more associated with America’s rugged individualism and unpretentious worldview than blue jeans? Since their debut in the 1870s, denim pants have gone from work wear to luxury commodity and everything in between. Today, blue jeans appeal to people of all ages and classes, but it’s been a long slog for the pants to make it into mainstream fashion.
Levi Strauss & Company introduced its distinctive indigo-dyed denim trousers, whose seams were riveted with copper for extra durability, in the early 1870s. Originally, Strauss had used imported canvas for his pants, but to counter fabric shortages he turned to denim manufactured by the Amoskeag mill in New Hampshire. (In 1915, Levi Strauss & Co. moved most of its denim production to Cone Mills in Greensboro, North Carolina.)
The word “denim” came from the material’s birthplace in the south of France, where it was known as the fabric from the town of Nîmes or “serge de Nîmes.” The word “jeans” was likely spawned from the French word for Genoa—Genes—an Italian port town where sailors were some of the first denim adopters.
Blue denim was well-suited to the tough work environment of California’s ranchers and gold miners, and after a Nevada tailor named Jacob Davis added rust-proof rivets in 1872, Levi’s were in high demand. The brand added its signature leather label in 1886, marked with an illustration of two horses attempting to pull apart a pair of jeans, a publicity stunt Strauss had supposedly organized to convey his product’s strength.
Though Levi’s created the gold standard with its sturdy 501 XX button-fly jeans, many companies would soon copy this style of denim pants. Among Levi’s competitors. H.D. Lee, who began producing denim work clothes like overalls in the 1890s, has had the most staying power. However, it wasn’t until the 1910s that Lee’s clothing business really took off, after he developed a one-piece garment called the Union-All. Combining a denim jacket and dungarees, the Lee Union-All was such a success that the U.S. army contracted the company to make as many pairs as possible for its forces during World War I. During the 1920s, Lee also led the industry in making garments from heavier denim that was even more durable while also improving fit with tailored sizing and zipper closures.
A few decades later, in the 1920s, another upstart called the Blue Bell Overall Company began manufacturing blue jeans, eventually giving birth to the Wrangler brand in the 1950s. Hollywood’s love affair with Wild West helped boost jean sales in the ‘50s and ‘60s, along with the denim-clad teenage rebels played by iconic actors like James Dean and Marlon Brando. By the 1980s, all the hippest American labels were offering blue jeans—from Calvin Klein to Guess—and often distressing or bleaching their coloring before they even hit the shelves.
In the last few decades, vintage blue jeans and denim jackets have become an international commodity, as rare high-priced garments have made headlines across the world. Some of these are heavily worn antique specimens discovered in old mining tunnels while others are known as “dead stock” or “new old stock,” older designs that were never worn and often bear original tags. The largest producers like Levi’s caught on to the demand for well-made selvedge denim, and have since launched new product lines in vintage styles.
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