What TIME Got Wrong About the Invention of Blue Jeans (2024)

FAQs

What is the myth of the invention of blue jeans? ›

A popular myth is that Strauss initially sold brown canvas pants to miners, later dyed them blue, turned to using denim, and only after Davis wrote to him, added rivets. Initially, Strauss's jeans were simply sturdy trousers worn by factory workers, miners, farmers, and cattlemen throughout the North American West.

An immigrant and tailor named Jacob Davis teamed up with dry goods merchant Levi Strauss to patent the first riveted blue jeans in 1873.

Naturally, everyone wanted to emulate these idols. Culturally, jeans became a symbol of the youth rebellion during the 1950s and 1960s as college students started wearing them as a protest against the Vietnam War and the formality of the establishment.

Denim as we know it today originated in 1860, when Levi Strauss & Co., which was making work pants out of a stiff canvas fabric, added serge de Nîmes to its product line at the request of customers wanting a softer, less chafing fabric.

Enslaved BLACKS INVENTED BLUE JEANS. They did it in South Carolina and other Southern states in the mid-1700s by knowing how to skillfully process the indigo plant that had been skillfully cultivated by their ancestors 6,000 years ago!

Jacob W. Davis

Levi Strauss

Until the end of the 18th century, bifurcated European garments took forms such as breeches, knickerbockers, and pantaloons. By 1820 trousers as they are known today had come into general use among men.

With Strauss' financial backing, the men received U.S. Patent 139,121, "Improvement in Fastening Pocket-Openings," on May 20, 1873. Some consider that day to be the official "birthday" of blue jeans. The riveted pants, which the men originally called “waist overalls," were an instant hit with workers.

Denim was originally dyed with indigo dye extracted from plants, often from the genus Indigofera. In South Asia, indigo dye was extracted from the dried and fermented leaves of Indigofera tinctoria; this is the plant that is now known as "true indigo" or "natural indigo".

(Although, we should note that they were called “waist overalls” or “overalls” until 1960, when baby boomers adopted the name “jeans.”)

What did people wear before denim jeans? ›

Back in the day—the mid-1800s to be exact—dungarees a.k.a. "waist overalls" were all the rage. And not because they were stylish, but rather, practical.

Jeans have been around for centuries. They were made as workwear and served a practical purpose: to be durable and functional. That's why they were made from denim; a durable, versatile and inexpensive fabric.

Elizabeth Smith Miller is often credited as the first modern woman to wear pants.

A pair of men's work pants that auction officials believe could be the world's oldest pair of jeans have sold for $114,000 (£92,010). The white pants were found in a sunken trunk in a shipwreck in 1857 near the coast of North Carolina. They feature a five-button fly and are believed to have belonged to a miner.

Blue jeans symbolize informality, rugged individualism, and classless respect for hard work.

Initially, trousers were a military garment. They came in the form of snug shorts or loose fitting trousers that closed at the ankles. In the late 14th century, they developed into tight trousers with attached foot coverings. This garment had the appearance of hose and was worn by knights underneath plate armour.

On May 20, 1873, San Francisco businessman Levi Strauss and Reno, Nevada, tailor Jacob Davis are given a patent to create work pants reinforced with metal rivets, marking the birth of one of the world's most famous garments: blue jeans.

Our 1903 catalog featured black denim riveted pants, which would have made them our first line of “black jeans.” It's also possible they were offered even earlier, but that is the type of company information lost to the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire.

The rips and holes popularized during this decade were a symbol of the anger and non-conformity with society that defined the punk rock movement. Ripped jeans became synonymous with dissident cultures that traditional thinkers deemed outcasts of '“normal” society.

Blue was the chosen color for denim because of the chemical properties of blue dye. Most dyes will permeate fabric in hot temperatures, making the color stick. The natural indigo dye used in the first jeans, on the other hand, would stick only to the outside of the threads, according to Slate.

Are blue jeans an American thing? ›

However, as far as modern-day people are concerned, the history of blue jeans really began when a Bavarian immigrant named Levi Strauss brought denim to America in 1853. He was based in San Francisco at the time, when the Gold Rush was at its peak.

Even traditional men have moved away from denim. This is because their image of the man in blue jeans and white t-shirt has been replaced by the man in sportswear, streetwear or – at the other end of the scale – the man gone full suave.

Most cowboys, especially early on, didn't wear jeans, since Levi's didn't start selling blue jeans until 1873. Prior to that, cowboys and miners either wore riveted canvas pants or secondhand wool trousers.

From the fifteenth through the eighteenth centuries, knee breeches or pants were common daily wear for men. They were replaced during the 1800s by long trousers, which then became the standard accepted male attire.

In the 1970s, bell-bottoms moved back into mainstream fashion via Brian Spiller; Sonny and Cher helped popularize bell-bottoms in the US by wearing them on their popular television show. The pants were typically flared from the knee down, with bottom leg openings of up to twenty-six inches.

They were awarded the patent in 1873 and blue jeans were born. Originally called “waist overalls,” they sold for $3 a pair in 1873 ($58 today). Sales soared to miners in the California gold rush. The original jeans had buttons for suspenders, and a button fly.

They were first designed as workwear for labourers on the farms and mines of America's Western states in the late 19th Century. When a Nevada tailor called Jacob Davis was asked to make a pair of sturdy trousers for a local woodcutter, he struck upon the idea of reinforcing them with rivets.

Jeans, The Originals

The cloth itself was known as serge, so the phrase people used to describe it was serge de Nimes, which sounds quite a bit like "denim." Soldiers from Genoa, Italy — whom the French called "jeans" — began wearing the pants, and thus, the nickname was born.

1853 – On May 1, German immigrant Levi Strauss founded the wholesale dry goods business, Levi Strauss & Co., in San Francisco after making money during the Gold Rush. This essentially makes Levi the first denim brand ever.

All traditional Wild West cowboy outfits use jeans as the pants. This material was made popular at the end of the 19th century. Likewise, it was common to wear denim shirts.

What are broken jeans called? ›

Distressed jeans are a type of jeans that have been purposely damaged or ripped. The damage can be in the form of holes, fraying, or even fading. Distressed jeans are usually made to look like they've been worn for a long time. Distressed jeans work for all body shapes and for both casual and dressy occasions.

The pants - called “waist overalls” - have one back pocket with the Arcuate stitching design, a watch pocket, a cinch, suspender buttons and a rivet in the crotch.

Like the words pants and trousers, jeans is always used in the plural form when referring to the pants. The word jean (without an s at the end) can be used to refer to the material and is typically used as a modifier to describe garments that are made of this material, as in jean jacket or jean shorts.

In Britain from the mid 19th century until the 1970s, dustmen, coalmen, and the manual laborers known as navvies wore flat caps, corduroy pants, heavy boots, and donkey jackets, often with a brightly colored cotton neckerchief to soak up the sweat.

Clothing. To create a pair of blue jeans, about 1,800 gallons of water are needed just to grow enough cotton for one pair. To grow enough cotton to create one t-shirt, 400 gallons of water are consumed.

Patented by Levi Strauss, these buttons are called rivets and they're there to make sure your denim holds up to the wear and tear your body puts it through as you move about each day. The idea dates back to 1829, when Strauss noticed that miners were complaining about their pants not lasting through long work days.

You should aim for 4 to 5 pairs of denim jeans, excluding shorts. It is a good number to meet your everyday needs, even though a woman own 7 pairs on average, and men 6.

New denim, especially new dark wash denim, has a tendency to bleed its excess dye during its first wash. Put a light-colored piece of clothing in there with that bleeding dye and it could come out with a blue or black tint. To avoid that, we recommend washing your new jeans by themselves for the first go-round.

Levi Strauss & Co. is the oldest brand of jeans in the world, having been founded in 1853 by Levi Strauss in San Francisco, California.

However, a salvaged pair of miner's pants from Mexican-American war veteran, merchant, and possible gold rusher John Dement stole the show, pulling in a total of $114,000—more than double their $50,000 estimate. Holabird said the trousers could be the earliest known example of Levi Strauss craftsmanship.

What is the oldest 501 Levi's? ›

As it turned out, Heath's 501® jeans were old, but not the oldest 501® jean discovered. The Calico 501® jean, discovered in the 1940s by a teenage girl in Southern California, dates to the 1890s. And in 2003, Levi Strauss & Co. acquired a 501® jean dubbed “XX” that dates to the late 1870s.

Specifically during late 1970 and early 1971, SEALs donned Levi's jeans in combat. Denim could better withstand the rigors of the jungle climate, providing improved protection from leeches, mosquitos and other bugs, especially when combined with a layer of pantyhose underneath.

Ecru refers to the color of undyed denim and is the natural hue of cotton. Jeans that have not been dyed with indigo are called ecru jeans; however, they are more difficult to find.

The orange thread traditionally used to sew Levi Strauss blue jeans was intentionally selected to match the copper rivets that doubled the durability of the jeans.

In the 1960s, denim came to symbolize a different kind of rebelliousness. Black activists donned jeans and overalls to show that racial caste and black poverty were problems worth addressing. “It took Martin Luther King Jr.'s March on Washington to make [jeans] popular,” writes the art historian Caroline A.

This fabric was exported to other countries, and eventually known as the Blue from Genoa, or in French "Bleu de Gênes" since Genoa at that time belonged to France. The English adaptation of the expression then became “Blue Jeans”.

Durable. Part of what makes blue jeans practical is their durability. Blue jeans can withstand innumerable wears and washes, and they are just thick enough to hold up during active and heavy-duty work. Blue jeans are a great pair of pants that can be worn regularly and still last a long time.

Denim was originally dyed with indigo dye extracted from plants, often from the genus Indigofera. In South Asia, indigo dye was extracted from the dried and fermented leaves of Indigofera tinctoria; this is the plant that is now known as "true indigo" or "natural indigo".

As reported this week in The Economist, “As far back as the 1930s, when the popularity of cowboy films helped jeans make the leap from workwear into the wardrobes of Hollywood stars, denim has been understood to stand for something larger about the American spirit: for rugged individualism, informality and a classless ...

The rips signified rebellion: early punks tore apart consumer goods as an expression of their anger towards society, and denim became a key part of this political statement. Celebrity devotees included The Sex Pistols, Iggy Pop and Bros, while stars such as Bananarama and Madonna helped popularise the trend for women.

Who came up with the idea of ripped jeans? ›

In 1870, a German businessman named Leob (known as Levi Strauss), the owner of Levi Strauss & Co., made the first pairs of known ripped jeans. Levi Strauss was also known for creating customizable trousers for working men.

As etiquette guru Debby Mayne wrote for the Spruce, even just for casual Fridays, you should still try to look professional. She writes: “Jeans with holes take away from your professionalism. Even if they were ripped with intention, they're still not appropriate for the office.

We made our first jeans out of denim — the traditional fabric for men's workwear. Within a very short time, the jean was a bona fide success. (Although, we should note that they were called “waist overalls” or “overalls” until 1960, when baby boomers adopted the name “jeans.”)

A pair of men's work pants that auction officials believe could be the world's oldest pair of jeans have sold for $114,000 (£92,010). The white pants were found in a sunken trunk in a shipwreck in 1857 near the coast of North Carolina. They feature a five-button fly and are believed to have belonged to a miner.

This essentially makes Levi the first denim brand ever. 1873 – On May 20, Latvian emigrant and tailor Jacob Davis and his fabric supplier Levi Strauss patent and manufacture the “XX” pants, which would later become known as the Levi 501. These are perhaps the world's first pair of jeans.

White and grey are the two most suitable colors for a light blue jeans combination. You can also try on some of the dark blue shades or black colored shirts with your light blue jeans. Try to avoid any funky or bright-colored shirt, as it won't go well with the look.

Expensive jeans are made from expensive fabrics because high-quality fabrics demand a high price. That quality can also require special care and treatment, bringing up our next section.