The Biography Of Blue Jeans - Essay Example

The Biography of Blue Jeans From the rugged old West to the fashionable runways of New York, bluejeans have become a favorite item of clothing for all types of people throughout the world. As they evolved from rugged, durable clothing to the fashion statements they are today, blue jeans have managed to escape any kind of specific distinction, instead remaining aloofly indifferent to class and taste, making them the perfect icon for the democratic ideals of the country from which they were born. “The new clothes [jeans] express profoundly democratic values. There are no distinctions of wealth or status, no elitism; people confront one another shorn of these distinctions” (Reich, 1997). While the worldwide transformation of the blue jean occurred mostly as the result of its image as portrayed on the cinema screen, the unique style of pant was first made popular because of its durable nature in the rough and tumble life of the old west gold miners and cowboys. Although the base fabric from which jeans were originally made had been known since at least as early as the 17th century and probably even earlier, no one had come up with the unique combination that made the blue jean so popular until immigrants to America put their heads together to meet the needs of miners during the 1800s gold rush in California. The origin of the name ‘denim’ has been argued to have arisen from more than one location. The most likely of the arguments indicates a fabric called serge de Nimes made in Nimes, France or a fabric called ‘jean’ made in Genoa, Italy, both of which were popular in Europe for their durability and resiliency. “Though the two fabrics were very similar in some ways, they did have one major difference: denim was made of one colored thread and one white thread; jean was woven of two threads of the same color. The thrifty Americans took the liberty to wed the two fabric milling techniques and just used the best grade cotton, one thread dyed indigo blue and the other left the cheaper white, to make today’s modern denim jeans” (“History of Blue Jeans”, 2003). This durable material was one of the items sold by a man named Levi Strauss in his San Francisco dry goods store in the mid-1800s, which is only the beginning of the story. According to reports, a tailor by the name of Jacob Davis frequently purchased his cloth from Levi Strauss in order to make tents, packs and clothing for his mining customers in Reno, Nevada. “Among Jacob’s customers was a difficult man who kept ripping the pockets of the pants that Jacob made for him. Jacob tried to think of a way to strengthen the man’s trousers, and one day hit upon the idea of putting metal rivets at the points of strain, such as on the pocket corners and at the base of the button fly” (“History of Blue Jeans”, 2003). Because he didn’t have the money necessary to pay for the patent, Davis contacted his cloth supplier, Levi Strauss, to be his partner and the two began manufacturing the new pant style in great quantity, introducing the popular 501 brand and numerous other additions that were designed to meet the needs of the miners specifically. While this was sufficient to make them popular among the working men of the mining camps, it would take a greater motivator to move the popularity of the blue jean to worldwide status. In the 1930s, the blue jean, which had been widely used by working class individuals as an inexpensive and long-lasting piece of clothing, saw a boom in interest from all classes of society when it began appearing in Hollywood films as the clothing of choice for the era’s biggest heroes, the cowboys. “Western movies from Hollywood elevated ‘authentic’ cowboys, who were often portrayed wearing the garment, to mythic status. Easterners headed west for experience on dude ranches, and brought denim ‘waist overalls’ back east with them” (“The Blue Jeans Story”, 2006). Just as Easterners were beginning to appreciate the tremendous comfort and durability of the new clothing style, World War II forced changes in manufacturing techniques. However, soldiers preferring to wear blue jeans while relaxing overseas helped further change the image of the blue jean from a working class, working style pant to one of relaxation and leisure, as well as of the natural abundance and enviable condition of the American lifestyle. After the war, Hollywood again helped to spread the popularity of the blue jean by clothing their popular ‘bad boys’ such as James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause and Elvis Presley, in the popular garment, immediately associating it with the rebellious youth. “In 1958 a syndicated newspaper report claimed that ‘about 90 per cent of American youths wear jeans everywhere except in bed and in church’” (“The Blue Jeans Story”, 2006), a statistic that would only become more true in the protest movements of the 1960s. Today blue jeans enjoy an unequaled status among the clothing styles of the world. Created by working class as well as designer labels and worn by everyone from the poorest farmer in third-world fields to the richest starlet on Rodeo Drive, blue jeans have become the comfort clothing of the world. Recognized as an art form and enjoying numerous types of treatments from painting, stonewashing, acid dying and fancy stitching, blue jeans have proven themselves to be as versatile as they are long-lasting. Works Cited “(The) Blue Jeans Story.” New Internationalist. (2006). New Internationalist. September 5, 2006 “History of Blue Jeans.” Sloops. (2003). Southfield, MI: Holdup Suspender Company. September 5, 2006 < http://www.sloops.com/history.htm> Reich, Charles. The Greening of America. New York: Random House, 1997. Read More