| Jeans are trousers stitched from dense cotton fabric, tinged with indigo, with the riveted joints of stitches on the pockets. Jeans were manufactured for the first time in 1853 by Levi Strauss as a uniform for cowboys and gold diggers. Originally, jeans were stitched from Italian or French-made hemp sailcloth, which was considerably cheaper due to the decline in the sailing fleet. Particularly owing to this material, jeans won the glory of exclusively strong clothes. Further, the hemp was displaced by cotton and the hemp fabric was already not being used by the beginning of the “jeans revolution” in world fashion (1960s).
History:
The fabric, which later got the name “Denim”, was imported from Genoa to Great Britain and trousers were stitched and sold in Europe with the name “Jane” or “Jean”. In 1750, John Holker authored a “Sample Book of the textile industry in France”, in which eight models of trousers, bearing a strong resemblance to modern jeans, were described and represented. Around 300 B.C, the linen Serge De Nimes - Serge from Nimes, which had a destiny of entering the history, was manufactured in the French city “Nimes”. After 150 years, jeans were stitched from this fabric under the name “de Nіmes” (denіm). Serge - (from the Latin: sericus — silk) - cotton, silk or artificial fabric with the diagonal weaving of threads; developed mainly in one-color and printed. Around 1492, Christopher Columbus’s expedition went in search of a new route to India. Sails on the ships were stitched from “serge de Nіmes” fabric.
1597 - Frenchmen called Genoa - “Genoa” and its inhabitants —Genes. Italian sailors from the city of Genoa wore trousers made from sailcloth.
On May 20, 1873, Levi Strauss, son of a Jew-hawker, who reached America 290 years before this, was issued the patent № 139.121 from the US Patent and Trademark Office for manufacturing “working overalls without shoulder straps and with pockets for a knife, money and watch”. By then, Strauss traded fabrics in New York without much success and moved to California during the peak of the “Gold Rush”: he expected to stitch trousers from English sailcloth and market them to gold prospectors. The trousers appeared to be in demand - thick, made from cotton but not from leather so that they can be washed and with three big pockets – two in the front and one at the back and also with a small pocket. Indigo (dark blue), which was the most durable at that time was selected as the dye. The first jeans were priced at 1 dollar and 46 cents.
The show business industry, which gained quick popularity, played a major role in the unprecedented steep rise of interest towards denim in all circles of American society. Courageous cowboys like John Wayne and Gary Coopers in such sexual jeans, fitting all men's qualities, flashed on the screens of many theaters in the 1930s. Hollywood and the entire world literally fell in love with this simple and so convenient material without parting from it till the appearance of the present-day pop and film stars, who with pleasure shock the public with bare bellies, very narrow T-shirts and invariable figure-fitting dark blue/blue/white and even black trousers.
Latest trends:
Designers have already transformed denim long ago into an inexhaustible source of self-inspiration. Henceforth, it is not simply sufficient enough to wear but it is necessary to get updated about the latest trends and patterns of the “Jeans fashion” to look stylish. In the ensuing season, the following are used with special popularity on the streets of all large cities in the world:
Bohemian style:
Elegant fitting trousers with multi-colored gussets, made from other materials. As a variant, flounces, embroidery and gleaming vertical strips are possible.
The glamour style is for those who prefers bright tinsel, fur and natural fibers, which so effectively shade-in simple denim but so dear to our hearts.
The classic is the simple American jeans, desirably in a natural blue color. However, even this was hit by innovations: leather lacing or a specially highlighted bright stitch.
Hip-hop:
The streets of Paris, London and New York are literally overcrowded with young men in identical baggy jeans, which persistently slip from the hips showing-off the belly. As a variant, tight-fitting jeans however were obviously made for long-legged owners. As a result, we get the whimsically torn ends of the trousers, which drag along the ground behind the mistress like an obedient doggie.
If such radical styles of modern jeans fashion do not scare you and you decide to replenish your wardrobe with another wonderful bagatelle, made from denim, then remember:
* While buying jeans, you should choose a size less since the jeans are of stretchable material and after one to two months of use, it can droop in the most non-elegant manner;
* Prefer trousers with a low waist, extending from top to bottom as it can stretch your silhouette a little bit;
* Wash the jeans, turning them inside out; it will help in retaining the initial color of jeans for longer period;
* Before the first wash of dark colored jeans, preliminarily soak them in slightly salted water.
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This Thursday is the 180th birthday of Levi Strauss, who founded the first company to manufacture blue jeans. Strauss lived in San Francisco during the Gold Rush years, where miners were complaining that their cotton trousers were tearing too easy. Levi then designed blue trousers from strong sailcloth with pockets strengthened by copper rivets. This is how blue jeans were born as we know them.
