Jeans

Jeans are trousers made from denim. Originally work clothes, they became popular among teens starting in the 1950s. Popular brands include Levi's and Wrangler.

History

Jeans were first created in Genoa, Italy when the city was an independent Republic and a naval power. The first jeans were made for the Genoese Navy because it required all-purpose trousers for its sailors that could be worn wet or dry, and whose legs could easily be rolled up to wear while swabbing the deck. These jeans would be laundered by dragging them in large mesh nets behind the ship, and the sea water would bleach them white. The first denim came from (French:de) Nîmes, France, hence the name denim. The French word for these trousers was very similar to their word for Genoa; this is where we get the term 'jeans' today.

Related Topics:
Genoa - Italy - Nîmes - France

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Jeans were developed in America around 1872. Levi Strauss was a Bavarian dry goods merchant living in San Francisco. One of Levi's customers was Jacob Davis, a tailor who frequently purchased bolts of cloth from the Levi Strauss & Co wholesale house. After one of Jacob's customers kept purchasing cloth to reinforce torn trousers, he had an idea to use copper rivets to reinforce the points of strain, such as on the pocket corners and at the base of the button fly. Jacobs did not have the required money to purchase a patent, so he wrote to Levi suggesting that they both go into business together. After Strauss accepted Davis's offer, on May 20, 1873, the two men received patent #139,121 from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and the blue jean was born.

Related Topics:
1872 - Levi Strauss - San Francisco - Rivet - May 20 - 1873 - United States Patent and Trademark Office

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