Jeans: The True Story

Every wondered wear “jeans” came from….?

It’s actually pretty interesting.  It all started in 1873 by a man name Jacob Davis and another man we have all heard of, Levi Strauss.  The actual name of “jeane” came from Italy where corduroy was manufactured.

 In the 1850’s Levi Strauss came from Germany to New York.  This was shortly after the Gold Rush had begun so the miners were needing good, strong clothes to work in so Strauss partnered up with Davis, who was a tailor that purchased cloth from the Levi Strauss & Co.  Davis had attempted to make pants durable enough for the miners but had problems so he reinforced his pants with the metal rivets that we still have today on modern jeans.  Eventually, Strauss and Davis, together, were able to patent their pants and “jeans” were born.

Jeans were worn mainly for work in the form of overalls until the 1950’s.  That’s when the movie “Rebel Without a Cause” aired featuring James Dean and jeans then became identified with teenage rebels (worn without the overall bib).  Jeans were banned from schools because of what they represented until the 1960’s and 70’s when they became accepted as part of fashion.

The first retailer that washed jeans so that they were worn looking and displayed patches and decals was the boutique “Limbo” in East New York’s East Village.  Limbo sold the first “distressed” jeans for a whopping $200 in 1965.  Since then, jeans have continued to evolve and change, but are still popular and worn by people of all ages.  You can’t beat a great pair of jeans!!!

References:  Blue Jeans History - Who Invented Jeans? Retrieved from http://www.historyofjeans.com/jeans-history/who-invented-jeans/