Blue Jean Baby

Most of us think of blue jeans, or denim pants, as truly American. Levi's® certainly are, but denim fabric was used long before 1776.  In the 1600's a cloth called "dungaree" was being made in India, and was imported to Europe by Portuguese sailors who wore pants made from this material while sailing.

There is some debate over the origin of the term "denim", but most experts point to Neims, France where the cloth was made. The term "jeans" originated from the navy of Genoa, pronounced "genes" in French. In the 1600s, sailors in that Italian navy wore pants made from a denim fabric, and the pants became known as jeans.

Early on, denim was used for work clothes. It was rugged and long lasting, perfect for the explorers who traveled to and around the new world, and the pioneers who settled in this new land. By the time Levi Strauss, a German immigrant intent on expanding his brother's dry goods business to gold rush territory, transported his treasure trove of goods across country in 1853, denim was already a staple material for American settlers. Levi actually intended to use the material for tents, but the miners needed pants.

As Levi Strauss & Co. grew in San Francisco, Levi gained the respect of other businessmen and the community. Jacob Davis, a tailor from Reno, Nevada and one of Levi's customers, had been using rivets on horse blankets to make them stronger. Jacob had a customer who kept ripping the pockets of his pants, so used copper rivets to strengthen the seams, and they worked. Jacob then contacted Levi to collaborate on filing a patent, and in 1873? a patent was granted to Jacob and Levi.

Levi then hired Jacob to manage production of the riveted pants in San Francisco. In 1890, lot number 501® was used to designate the production, thus was born the famous, still manufactured 501® Levi's jeans. After the exclusive period for manufacturing ended in 1893, other companies were allowed to use rivets in their pants. Although companies such as Lee and Wrangler manufactured blue jeans for decades, Levi's remain popular.

Levi's® jeans have a varied and unique history. In fact, you can visit a museum in San Francisco for Levi's®. Over the years, interesting uses of Levi's® have exemplified the toughness of the jeans. A trainman used a pair of Levi's® to replace a faulty coupling on a train. A man in Wyoming used his jeans as a towrope to haul his car out of a ditch. A construction worker was saved from falling 52-stories, after dangling for some time, because of a rope tied to his belt loop. Several pairs of Levi's® were found in an abandoned mine. The finder, noting that they were in great shape, wore them before discovering that they were sixty-three years old. Those jeans are now on display at the Smithsonian.

In 1935, although pants for women weren't universally accepted in the U.S., Levi's® jeans made for women were featured in a major women's magazine, Vogue. The 1950's saw a growth in teenagers wearing blue jeans as a way to define their generation. Adults at that time didn't wear denim. In the 1960's, jeans became more and more popular, and a mainstream clothing option.

Stay tuned for more on the recent history of blue jeans, and how they have continued to be an American icon for the past