It's All in the Jeans

by Alessandro Yamhure

Bell-bottoms came and went, came back and then left again. Top hats had their era. Platform shoes had an intense, yet short, life. Polyester made a brief appearance. At one time, sailor suits could be seen everywhere; not anymore. Hot pants come and go. Yet jeans seem to have survived. They have achieved the impossible: remaining a major trend from the eighteenth century to the present day. Jeans -- trousers made of denim clothing -- have survived through the decades and the centuries. All trends tend to become old and eventually lose their place in society, some more quickly than others. Whether it is clothing, music, hairstyles or attitudes, all seem to have a time limit. Fashion, in any category, has often made it across borders, oceans, social classes and genders, but few have made it through time. Jeans have made it through all of the above, and more. They have made the ultimate transition from being a trend to being a classic. Eternal. Popularity usually comes with an expiration date, but apparently not for jeans.

As described by the “History of Jeans” website, the history of jeans is complex and goes all the way back to the eighteenth century, when the word “jean” is believed to have originated in Italy. Genoan sailor outfits were made from a mixture of materials. Pants made of this denim cloth were called “jeans” after the Genoan sailors who wore them. “Denim” refers back to a clothing material used in France called “Serge de Nimes”. Translated, “serges” is a kind of material and “de Nimes” means “from Nimes”, a town in the south of France. Trading across the Atlantic, along with European immigration, brought denim cloth and jeans to the country that would make both famous. In the USA, jeans were initially made of a combination of different materials like in Europe. But as slave labor and cotton plantations grew, cotton became the major constituent of jeans. Cotton denim’s strength and durability as a material quickly made jeans popular amongst people doing physically demanding labor.

According to the “Historic Clothing” website, 1848 was a very important year in the history of jeans; gold was found in California and the Gold Rush ensued. There was high demand from gold miners for clothes that would not wear nor tear and could survive harsh abuse. In 1853, Leob Strauss, the great entrepreneur, moved to San Francisco and started a wholesale business supplying miners with clothes. For a reason which no one is quite sure about, Leob changed his name to Levi, and the rest is history.

It was a great help to the popularity of jeans that advertising began to have a profound effect on society and culture around the time when jeans were still young. For example, Levi's Jeans had a leather label on their jeans in 1886 depicting the jeans being pulled between two horses. The purpose of this campaign was to advertise the new clothing item as strong, made of durable material. Advertising would go on to help jeans make a smooth transition into the twentieth century. Although they had been around for quite a while, jeans were still a new and fresh idea that had a long way to go.

In the 1930's jeans took on a new role in society and popular culture; Hollywood was emerging, and Westerns was the big genre of the time. Cowboys were very popular around the nation and they were often depicted in movies wearing jeans. This boosted the popularity of jeans amongst young and middle-aged men. For the first time, jeans gained cult status through their association with pop idols. A decade later, war broke out and, eventually, World War II engulfed the USA. Soldiers were the new national heroes, idols and role-models. The fact that they often wore jeans and overalls in their off-duty time further increased the success of jeans among the men of society who were looking to copy the heroes of the epoch. Following the war, it was common for veterans to wear jeans, especially Navy veterans.

The popularity of jeans continued into the 1950’s. Teenagers began to make jeans their own. 1950’s youth were the first to embrace jeans as a symbol of their generation. The appeal was caused by teenage rebels depicted on TV programs and movies such as “Rebel Without a Cause,” whose star, James Dean, wore jeans through most of the movie. Furthermore, Marlon Brando, a huge star at the time, helped make Levi's the leading jeans brand by wearing them in several of his movies. The fact that jeans were not allowed in schools at the time probably increased their appeal to teenagers and solidified their connection with rebellion. The decade was also important in the history of jeans as Levi's were first sold in Europe in 1959.

During the hippie movement of the 1960's, jeans lived on, stronger than ever. They became the virtual uniform of the anti-war movement and were modified to suit the fashion of the decade; psychedelic colors, embroidery and cut-offs all became new and essential features of the popular clothing. At this point in time, jeans were known and loved East of the Atlantic, in countries such as Russia as well. Further modification of jeans into bell-bottom and stone-washed styles allowed the denim trousers to carry their popularity into the 1970's. Increasing world trade allowed jeans to be made and, hence, sold at lower prices than before, positively affecting sales.

The “Gentrification of Blue Jeans” website claims that, in the 1980's, high fashion designers could no longer ignore the growth of jeans' popularity and began to adopt them into their collections. The fresh trend involved a worn-out look with holes often torn on purpose. Jeans became as popular among women as men, causing sales to rise further. Jeans were unstoppable! They became part of high-class designer fashion as well as working-class wardrobes. The 90's were just as good for denim as the time past, with the new style of jeans being baggy. There are many theories as to how this started. One is that hip-hop artists began to wear them to imitate the clothes worn by prisoners, while others attribute the baggy style to the skating and snowboarding community. Either way, the baggy-style was great for jeans and helped them remain popular. While jeans started out as durable work wear, they evolved into being the symbol of comfort, leisure and youthfulness for all ages that it is today.

So why is it that jeans have survived through time and achieved the seemingly impossible? How did jeans manage to remain hip for more than a century, from one generation to the next, all over the world and equally between both genders? What is the key to survival in general? Evolution. Think about it. It makes sense. In order to survive, something must adapt to its ever-changing environment. This principle applies to all things, alive and non-living. Without adaptation comes extinction. It is essential to evolve. Jeans have done exactly that. In the constantly changing world of fashion and popular culture, jeans have been adjusted every step of the way to suit their new environment. In this case, the environment involves trends, attitudes and looks. With every decade and every new generation, jeans have been adapted in order to ensure their continued popularity.

Note: The sources I have used in this essay are “The Gentrification of Blue Jeans” website www.chass.utoronto.ca/history/material_culture/cynth; “Historic clothing” at histclo.hispeed.com; and “History of jeans” at www2.gol.com/users/bobkeim/Garment/jhistory.html.