The origin of the word jeans

Today it is very difficult to find such a person,who does not wear jeans. The origin of the word, however, which we so often use in everyday life, is unknown to almost anyone. In order to better understand what we are saying, and learn a little more about such familiar and convenient things, we decided to write this article. A lot of interesting facts, which will be given below, will tell you not only about how the first jeans appeared. The origin of the word, the term, as well as its adaptation in Russian speech, is what we are going to reveal.

Romance history

Since the beginning of the 16th century in the Italian provinceGenoa was very developed weaving. Among the whole variety of materials that were produced there was also a very rough twill with a diagonal weave. The fabric was not in great demand among the aristocracy, because in those days it did not even have its own name. Over time, this material interested the French and, buying it in Genoa, they called it — Gene. When the fabric was already more or less adapted in France, the name was transformed into Janne. From there already and moved to English a little bit modified — Jean, which remains until our days. Thus, it turns out that the history of the origin of the word «jeans» does not apply to American immigrants, to cowboys from the wild west and horsemen. The word is purely European, which only later fell into the vastness of America.

Denim, who has not changed at all

Surely each of us is familiar with the term»Denim». In many modern and ancient sources it is used as a synonym for the word «jeans». The origin of this word is also a very fascinating story. After they began to supply Italian fabric to France, the designers drew attention primarily to its unattractive color — light brown. Because it was decided to paint the material in a blue tone, and all this was done in a town called Nim. So the term «denim» appeared, which now can mean both a certain color tone, and an element of the wardrobe of a man or a woman.

Coping in antiquity

According to some sources, for the first timesuch a fabric was used by people as early as 300 AD. e. In this period, the story of the origin of the word «jeans» begins, as in the documentation the material is written under the names denim and gene. It is curious that a very extensive supply of such a fabric could be traced from Genoa to the UK. The English, when they received this product, renamed it in their own way, and the word jean was known to us. Later, in 1429, Christopher Columbus set out on his expedition to find a new way to India. The sails with which his ship was capped were sewn from a denim unpainted cloth. However, it is officially believed that the origin and history of the word «jeans» originate directly from the 16th century. After Columbus discovered the New Earth, his «canvas» also became famous. It was from this matter, which was then called then jen, then denim, that most Italian sailors began to wear pants. By the way, by their cut they had a lot in common with modern jeans.

Looking for answers in painting

In the USSR it was customary to believe that jeans pants- this is the work of American designers, in fact, like the material itself. In fact, if you look closely at some old canvases, you can find a funny thing. Some canvases depict people who are clothed in clothes from a given fabric or simply in ordinary jeans. The origin of the word just dates from the same years as the work of unknown masters. In one of the paintings you can see a woman standing in a dark blue skirt. By the type of fabric, you can determine that it is denim. There is also a canvas where a boy in a denim shirt is depicted, from beneath which a white lining sticks out. Many sailors and even vagabonds who lived in Europe in the 16th century, were sealed by artists in denim trousers straight cut. It’s funny that it was not possible to establish the identity of the artist (or artists) to whom these paintings belong. Therefore, conditionally in history he was given the name «Master of blue jeans».

Distribution of the term and clothing itself

The origin of the word «jeans» in a more modernunderstanding can really be attributed to America. During the period when the Wild West was being built, when the middle and southern parts of America were populated by farmers from Europe, it was for them that they began to sew jeans outfits. Since the majority of the population spoke precisely in English, the name of the material that was supplied here for sewing working uniforms was attributed to the letter s. This indicates, as it were, the plural of an uncountable noun — a fairly common occurrence in the English language (trousers, shorts). By the beginning of the 20th century, this «uncountable noun» moved to the expanses of the Russian Empire, although only the richest people knew of it, who had the opportunity to purchase foreign goods. In our country, the word «jeans» was turned into a plural according to our rules, in the course of which the «jeans» that everyone knew today turned out.

The official history of jeans

Due to the fact that for all cowboys and othersworkers who came to the States, it was necessary to sew massively the working form, it was decided to use the described fabric as the main material. The patent for the production of a new type of clothing was first acquired by Leib Strauss (or Levi Strauss), the son of a certain Jew who had long been living in America. According to the official version, it was he who came up with the very design of jeans, which for many years was considered a classic. At that time, such a development was a real sensation. Pants had a total of four pockets. Two were located in front, one behind, and one on the front of the pants — small, for the clock. Pants for the working class, which were sold in America, were painted in the color of indigo — saturated blue. At that time, their price was $ 1 and 46 cents for one unit of the product.

Unofficial version of creating jeans

All sources, describing the origin of jeans,for some reason, with full certainty that this is the work of Levi Strauss. But if you dig more carefully in history, then very interesting facts come to light, which point to the opposite. In accordance with them, the design of new work clothes was developed by Jacob Davis (by the way, a native of Russia). It was he who came up with pants that can be sewn from natural and durable fabric, and plus to this make them a real design discovery. He designed pockets, pants, and rivets. Money for a patent was not found in the workaholic, therefore he borrowed them from Strauss. The same one took the discovery to himself, and everyone forgot about Davis.

</ p>>

Jeans are a type of pants or trousers made from denim or dungaree cloth. Often the term «jeans» refers to a particular style of trousers, called «blue jeans», with copper-riveted pockets which were invented by Jacob W. Davis in 1871^[1] and patented by Jacob W. Davis and Levi Strauss on May 20, 1873. Prior to the patent, the term «blue jeans» had been long in use for various garments (including trousers, overalls, and coats), constructed from blue-colored denim.^[2]

«Jean» also references a (historic) type of sturdy cloth commonly made with a cotton warp and wool weft (also known as «Virginia cloth»). Jean cloth can be entirely cotton as well, similar to denim. Originally designed for miners, modern jeans were popularized as casual wear by Marlon Brando and James Dean in their 1950s films, particularly The Wild One and Rebel Without a Cause,^[3] leading to the fabric becoming a symbol of rebellion among teenagers, especially members of the greaser subculture. From the 1960s onwards, jeans became common among various youth subcultures and subsequently young members of the general population. Nowadays, they are one of the most popular types of specialty trousers in Western culture. Historic brands include Levi’s, Lee, and Wrangler.

History[edit]

Fabric[edit]

Research on the trade of jean fabric shows that it emerged in the cities of Genoa, Italy, and Nîmes, France. Gênes, the French word for Genoa, may be the origin of the word «jeans». In Nîmes, weavers tried to reproduce jean fabric but instead developed a similar twill fabric that became known as denim, «de Nîmes» , meaning «from Nîmes». Genoa’s jean fabric was a fustian textile of «medium quality and of reasonable cost», very similar to cotton corduroy for which Genoa was famous, and was «used for work clothes in general». The Genoese navy equipped its sailors with jeans, as they needed a fabric that could be worn wet or dry.^[4][5] Nîmes’s «denim» was coarser, considered higher quality, and was used «for over garments such as smocks or overalls».^[6]: 23 In 1576 a quantity of «jean fustians» arrived into the port of Barnstaple on a vessel from Bristol.^[7] Nearly all indigo, needed for dyeing, came from indigo bush plantations in India until the late 19th century. It was replaced by indigo synthesis methods developed in Germany.^[8]

By the 17th century, jean was a crucial textile for working-class people in Northern Italy. This is seen in a series of genre paintings from around the 17th century attributed to an artist now nicknamed The Master of the Blue Jeans.^[6]: 10 The ten paintings depict impoverished scenes with lower-class figures wearing a fabric that looks like denim. The fabric would have been Genoese jean, which was cheaper. Genre painting came to prominence in late 16th century, and the non-nobility subject matter in all ten paintings places them among others that portray similar scenes.^[9]

Dungaree was mentioned for the first time in the 17th century, when it was referred to as cheap, coarse thick cotton cloth, often colored blue but sometimes white, worn by impoverished people in what was then a region of Bombay, India a dockside village called Dongri. This cloth was «dungri» in Hindi. Dungri was exported to England and used for manufacturing of cheap, robust working clothes. In English, the word «dungri» became pronounced as «dungaree».^{[10][relevant?]}

Rivets[edit]

The term jeans appears first in 1795, when a Swiss banker by the name Jean-Gabriel Eynard and his brother Jacques went to Genoa and both were soon heading a flourishing commercial concern. In 1800 Massena’s troops entered the town and Jean-Gabriel was entrusted with their supply. In particular he furnished them with uniforms cut from blue cloth called «bleu de Genes» whence later derives the famous garment known worldwide as «blue jeans».^[11]

Levi Strauss, as a young man in 1851, went from Germany to New York to join his older brothers who ran a goods store. In 1853, he moved to San Francisco to open his own dry goods business. Jacob Davis was a tailor who often bought bolts of cloth from the Levi Strauss & Co. wholesale house. In 1872, Davis wrote to Strauss asking to partner with him to patent and sell clothing reinforced with rivets.^[12] The copper rivets were to reinforce the points of stress, such as pocket corners and at the bottom of the button fly. Strauss accepted Davis’s offer,^[13] and the two men received US patent No. 139,121 for an «Improvement in Fastening Pocket-Openings» on May 20, 1873.^[14]

Davis and Strauss experimented with different fabrics. An early attempt was brown cotton duck, a bottom-weight fabric.^[a] Finding denim a more suitable material for work-pants, they began using it to manufacture their riveted pants. The denim used was produced by an American manufacturer. Popular legend incorrectly states that it was imported from Nimes, France. 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.^[12]

Initially, Strauss’s jeans were simply sturdy trousers worn by factory workers, miners, farmers, and cattlemen throughout the North American West.^[15][16] During this period, men’s jeans had the fly down the front, whereas women’s jeans had the fly down the left side.^[17] When Levi Strauss & Co. patented the modern, mass-produced prototype in the year 1873, there were two pockets in the front and one on the back right with copper rivets.^[11] The small riveted watch pocket was first added by Levi Strauss to their jeans in the late 1870s.^[18]

20th century evolution[edit]

In 1901 Levi Strauss added the back left pocket to their 501 model.^[19] This created the now familiar and industry-standard five-pocket configuration with two large pockets and small watch pocket in front with two pockets on the rear.

Fewer jeans were made during World War II, but ‘waist overalls’ were introduced to the world by US soldiers, who sometimes wore them off duty.^[20][21] By the 1960s, both men’s and women’s jeans had the zipper down the front. Historic photographs indicate that in the decades before they became a staple of fashion, jeans generally fit quite loosely, much like a pair of bib overalls without the bib. Indeed, until 1960, Levi Strauss called its flagship product «waist overalls» rather than «jeans».

After James Dean popularized them in the movie Rebel Without a Cause, wearing jeans became a symbol of youth rebellion during the 1950s.^[22][23] During the 1960s the wearing of jeans became more acceptable, and by the 1970s it had become general fashion in the United States for casual wear.^[24] In Japan in 1977, a professor of Osaka University Philip Karl Pehda chastised a female student wearing jeans in the classroom. Then he was protested by the students, and a controversy arose in the country.^[25][26]

Examples of intentional denim distressing strictly to make them more fashionable can be seen as early as 1935 in Vogue’s June issue.^[27] Michael Belluomo, editor of Sportswear International Magazine, Oct/Nov 1987, p. 45, wrote that in 1965, Limbo, a boutique in the New York East Village, was «the first retailer to wash a new pair of jeans to get a used, worn effect, and the idea became a hit.» He continued, «[Limbo] hired East Village artists to embellish the jeans with patches, decals, and other touches, and sold them for $200.» In the early 1980s the denim industry introduced the stone-washing technique developed by GWG also known as «Great Western Garment Co.» Donald Freeland of Edmonton, Alberta, pioneered the method,^[28] which helped to bring denim to a larger and more versatile market. Acceptance of jeans continued through the 1980s and 1990s. Originally a utilitarian garment, jeans became a common fashion choice in the second half of the 20th century.^[29]

Manufacturing processes[edit]

Dyeing[edit]

Traditionally,^[vague] jeans were dyed to a blue color using natural indigo dye. Most denim is now dyed using synthetic indigo. Approximately 20 thousand tons of indigo are produced annually for this purpose, though only a few grams of the dye are required for each pair.^[30] For other colors of denim other dyes must be used. Currently, jeans are produced in any color that can be achieved with cotton.

For more information on dyeing, refer to denim and the discussion there of using pigment dyes.

Pre-shrinking[edit]

In 1962 Levi Strauss introduced their own pre-shrunk jeans (Lee and Wrangler jeans had already long been pre-shrunk); these did not shrink further after purchase, allowing the consumer to purchase a correctly fitting size. Pre-shrink is most common in jeans nowadays.^[31] These jeans were known as the 505 regular fit jeans. The 505s are almost identical to the 501s with the exception of the button-fly. The Levi’s Corporation also introduced a slim boot-cut fit known as 517 and 527. The difference between the two is that the 517s sit at the waist line and the 527s sit below the waist line. Later, Levi’s would develop other styles and fits such as the loose, slim, comfort, relaxed, skinny, and a regular fit with a tapered leg.

Used and distressed looks[edit]

The used or «acid wash» look is created by means of abrading the jeans or treating them with chemicals, such as acryl resin, phenol, a hypochlorite, potassium permanganate, caustic soda, acids etc.^[32]

Ripping or distressing of jeans, though also arising naturally as a result of wear and tear, is sometimes deliberately performed by suppliers—with distressed clothing sometimes selling for more than a nondistressed pair. For example, Pucci sold «embellished mid-rise boyfriend jeans» for £600 (US$860).^[33]

Sandblasting or abrading with sandpaper[edit]

Consumers wanting jeans that appear worn can buy jeans that have been specially treated. To give the fabrics the worn look, sandblasting done with chemicals or by adding pumice stone to the washing process or abrading with sandpaper is often done.

Environmental and humanitarian impact[edit]

A typical pair of blue jeans uses 3,479 litres (919 US gal) of water during its life cycle. This includes the water to irrigate the cotton crop, manufacture the jeans, and the numerous washes by the consumer.^[34] During production, the typical amount for washing with traditional Pullman machines reaches 90 litres per jeans, which can be reduced to about 27 litres using modern frontloaders.^[35] Novel washing processes such as Droptima can reduce that to 6 litres fresh water plus 4 litres used water.^{[35][36][37][38]}

The production of jeans with a «used look» can be more environmentally damaging than regular jeans, depending on how the waste compounds are processed. Sandblasting and treating with sandpaper has the risk of causing silicosis to the workers, and in Turkey, more than 5,000 textile workers have been stricken with this disease, and 46 people are known to have died. Some companies have announced they are banning the use of sandblasting.^[39]

Care and wear[edit]

Despite most jeans being «pre-shrunk», they are still sensitive to slight further shrinkage and loss of color from being washed. The Levi Strauss company recommends avoiding washing jeans as much as possible. Carl Chiara, Levi Strauss director of brand and special projects, has a credo: The less you wash your jeans, the better your jeans become.^[40] These and other suggestions to avoid washing jeans where possible have encountered criticism. Cory Warren, editor of LS&Co. Unzipped, clarifies in a response to such a criticism:

Our advice is to wash less often, but clearly, you have to judge for yourself what’s appropriate. Hot day, dirty job? Wash your jeans. Please! Cold day, office job? Maybe you can wear them twice or more before they go back to the washing machine. Personally, if I wear a pair of jeans to work on Friday—cool climate, office job—I tend to wear them on Saturday. And if Saturday is spent indoors and I’m not spilling food all over myself, I might even wear them on Sunday.

— Corey Warren^[40]

For those who prefer to refrain from washing their jeans there have been suggestions to freeze them in order to kill the germs that cause odor. However, this advice has been proven ineffective.^[41]

Legal cases[edit]

Italian rape trial[edit]

In Rome, Italy, in 1992, a 45-year-old driving instructor was accused of rape. When he picked up an 18-year-old girl for her first driving lesson, he allegedly raped her for an hour, then told her that if she was to tell anyone he would kill her. Later that night she told her parents and her parents agreed to help her press charges. While the alleged rapist was convicted and sentenced, the Italian Court of Cassation overturned the conviction in 1998 because the victim wore tight jeans. It was argued that she must have necessarily had to help her attacker remove her jeans, thus making the act consensual («because the victim wore very, very tight jeans, she had to help him remove them… and by removing the jeans… it was no longer rape but consensual sex»). The court stated in its decision «it is a fact of common experience that it is nearly impossible to slip off tight jeans even partly without the active collaboration of the person who is wearing them.»^[42]

The ruling sparked widespread feminist protest. The day after the decision, women in the Italian Parliament protested by wearing jeans and holding placards that read «Jeans: An Alibi for Rape». As a sign of support, the California Senate and the California Assembly followed suit. Patricia Giggans, the executive director of the Los Angeles Commission on Assaults Against Women (now Peace Over Violence) soon made Denim Day an annual event. As of 2011 at least 20 U.S. states officially recognize Denim Day in April. Wearing jeans on that day has become an international symbol of protest against such attitudes about sexual assault. As of 2008, the court has overturned its findings, and there is no longer a «denim» defense to the charge of rape.^[42]

Rokotov-Faibishenko case[edit]

In 1957, during the 6th World Festival of Youth and Students held in Moscow, Soviet Union (present-day Russia), Western-made jeans were first introduced to the communist state and sparked «jeans fever» at the time. People preferred to wear Western-made blue jeans rather than local-made black ones. In Soviet ideology, such an action challenged communist-made jeans and symbolized Western victory. In 1961, two ringleaders, Y. T. Rokotov and V. P. Faibishenko, were caught with their group for smuggling currencies from other countries along with blue jeans and other contrabands. Under the leadership of Nikita Khrushchev, the duo was executed.

Trends[edit]

Worldwide market for jeans[edit]

North America accounts for 39% of global purchases for jeans, followed by Western Europe at 20%, Japan and Korea at 10% and the rest of the world at 31%.^[43]

United States consumers spent more than US$14 billion on jeans in 2004 and US$15 billion in 2005.^[11] US consumers bought US$13.8 billion of men’s and women’s jeans in the year that ended April 30, 2011, according to market-research firm NPD Group.^[44]

Soviet Union[edit]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (July 2015)

In the Soviet Union, jeans were the symbol of the Western way of life. The «jeans fever» in the USSR started in 1957 during the World Festival of Youth and Students.^[45] According to a 1961 Soviet textile dictionary, jeans were initially referred to as a «worker’s uniform» (рабочий костюм, rabochii kostyum).^[46]

The jeans brand Rokotov and Fainberg is named after the defendants in the Rokotov–Faibishenko case, Yan T. Rokotov and Vladislav P. Faibishenko, who were executed for, among other things, trafficking in jeans.^[45]

Although not outright banned, jeans were hard to come by in the Soviet Union since they were seen as a symbol of rebellion by the Soviet youth, who wanted to emulate the style of film and rock stars of the West. The Soviet government resisted supplying the market with jeans as it would mean responding to the market, a capitalist principle.^[47] People went to great lengths, sometimes by resorting to violence and other illegal activities, to obtain real Western-made jeans. That led to the creation of black markets and to the bootlegging of jeans, which since has become an important cultural element of the history of the Soviet Union.^[48]

[edit]

In 2014, teens were buying more fashion and athleisure clothing from brands such as Nike and Lululemon over denim classics from brands like Abercrombie & Fitch.^[49] Activewear in 2014 comprised 28% of teens’ apparel purchases, up from 6% in 2008. In 2014, Nike, Lululemon, Under Armour, and Adidas were the most popular brands for athletic apparel among teen consumers. Fashion retailers have begun to adjust their offerings accordingly. Bloomberg reports that Levi’s stuck to its core product (denim) instead of adapting to consumer trends. As a result, Levi’s sales decreased from over US$7 billion to US$4.8 billion in 2015.^[50]

In February 2021, it was found that sales for athleisure had risen by 84% since March 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 lockdowns.^[51]

Variations on the basic type[edit]

• Cigarette: Designed to fit quite closely, but not tightly, to the thigh area, with a less close fit to the calf^[52]
• Cropped: Where the leg is cut to a lesser length, to somewhere above the ankle^[52]
• Relaxed^[52]
• Skinny: Worn to flatter the figure in the fashion of tight or close fitting^[52]
• Wide-leg; or with cropped variant: The waist line rides up past the wearer’s actual waist, material below the knee is altogether away from the leg and descends as a straight line, standard type descends down to the ankle; cropped variant: the leg ceases at the lower leg mid-way down (or stops further down toward the ankle)^[52]
• Mom: Jeans which have a high waist (above the belly button), and are loose around the thighs, with a somewhat tapered fit.^[53]
• Straight-leg: Jeans which are the same width at the leg opening as they are at the bottom of the leg, making for a slightly baggy fit.^[54]
• Boyfriend: Often with a mid-low waist, boyfriend jeans have a baggy, «borrowed from the boys» fit.^[53]
• Flared, or bell-bottomed: Often fitted around the thigh area, then become wider from the knee down.^[55]

Distressed jeans[edit]

Distressed denim emerged from the cultural punk movement in the 1970s. Early punks tore apart consumer goods as an expression of their anger towards society.^[56] Denim became a key target of this politically fueled deconstruction, with both men and women donning torn pants and jackets, accessorized with safety pins and slogans. The trend became popular again in the 1990s with the emergence of grunge fashion. The grunge youth wore loose-fitting ripped jeans, flannel shirts or woolen Pendletons layered over T-shirts. Their anti-conformist approach to fashion led to the popularization of the casual chic look, a trend which continued into the 2000s.

Low-rise jeans[edit]

Media reported in 2017 that the trend of low-rise jeans, famous in 1990s and 2000s as sagging, was coming back into fashion due to celebrities like Justin Bieber endorsing it.^[57]

Low-rise jeans are usually worn 2–3 inches (5–8 cm) or more below the navel.^[58]

In the early 2000s, low-rise jeans were commonly seen on celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez, Paris Hilton, Gwen Stefani and Christina Aguilera, attributing to the Y2K style. In 2021, online searches for ‘y2k fashion’ had risen by 193%,^[59] showing that the fashion style was making a comeback, and low-rise jeans were becoming a common clothing item for teenagers and young adults.^[60][61][62]

Industrial production[edit]

• 

  How denim fabric is stored in the factory

• 

  Automated cutting machines are used in RMG factory to cut the pieces.

• 

  P P Spray and P P Sponging being applied to jeans to give them a new look

• 

  Adding 3D crunching, whiskers, and wrinkles to jeans to make them look more used

• 

  Applying permanent wrinkles to jeans

• 

  Hand scraping of jeans

• 

  Resin treatment process on jeans

• 

  Tacking on jeans (adds strength to high-stress areas).

• 

  Socks dyeing machine in a washing plant for washing jeans

• 

  The process of washing and drying jeans

• 

  The final steps of preparing jeans for market

• 

  Checking the fit on a live model

• 

  Quality checking and quality assurance

• 

  Jeans are displayed for the buyer in the RMG factory showroom.

See also[edit]

• Athleisure
• Baggy jeans
• Daisy Dukes
• Denim skirt («jean» skirt)
• Designer jeans
• Drainpipe jeans
• Jean jacket
• Jeggings
• Jorts
• Mom jeans
• Trousers as women’s clothing
• Western fashion

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Riveted: The History of Jeans at PBS’s American Experience

In our days it is very difficult to find a man who doesn’t wear jeans. The origin of the word, however, which we so often use in everyday life, unknown to almost anyone. In order to better understand what we say and learn a little more about such a familiar and comfortable things, we decided to write this article. Lots of interesting facts that will be presented below, will tell you not only about how appeared first jeans. The origin of the word, the term, as well as its adaptation in the Russian language-that’s what we’re going to disclose.

Roman history

Since the beginning of the 16th century in the Italian province of Genoa highly developed weaving. Among a variety of materials that were manufactured, was also very rude twill with a diagonal weave. The fabric is not in great demand among the aristocracy, because in those days even had their own names. Over time, this material became interested in the French and, purchasing it in Genoa, they called him – Gene. When the tissue is already more or less adapted in France, the name was transformed into Janne. From there and migrated to English is a bit modified – Jean, what remained to the present day. Thus, it appears that the history of the origin of the word “jeans” does not apply to American settlers to the cowboys of the wild West and horse-riders. The word is purely European, which only later came to the wilds of America.

Denim, which hasn’t changed

Surely each of us are well familiar with the term ‘denim’. In many modern and ancient sources it is used as a synonym for “jeans”. Origin of the word – also a very entertaining story. After France began to supply the Italian fabric designers drew attention primarily for its unattractive color-light brown. Therefore it was decided to paint the material in a blue tone, and all this was done in a town called Him. And coined the term ‘denim’, which now can mean either a certain hue and element of the wardrobe of a man or woman.

Dig into antiquity

According to some sources, the first time such tissue has started to be used by people in the year 300 B. C. In this period and begins the story of the origin of the word “jeans”, as in the documentation material recorded under the names of denim and gene. It is curious that a very extensive supply of such tissue was traced from Genoa in the UK. The British, receiving this product, renamed it in his own way, and made known to us the word jean. Later, in 1429, in search of a new route to India went Christopher Columbus with his expedition. The sails, which were topped with his ship, was custom-made from undyed denim cloth. However, officially, the origin and history of the word “jeans” originate directly from the 16th century. After Columbus discovered the New Land, partly famous for his “canvas”. It is because of this matter, which they called the gene, denim, most of the Italian sailors began to wear pants. By the way, in their cut they had a lot in common with modern jeans.

Looking for answers in painting

In the USSR it was customary to believe that denim pants – this is the work of American designers, in fact, as the material itself. In fact, if you look closely at some old canvases, it is possible to detect a funny thing. Some paintings depict people who are dressed in clothes from this matter or just ordinary jeans. The origin of the word just dated the same years as the work of unknown craftsmen. In one of the pictures you can see a woman in a dark blue skirt. On the type of fabric you can determine that it’s denim. There’s also canvas, which depicts a boy in a denim shirt, which sticks out from under the white lining. Many sailors and even the beggars who lived in Europe in the 16th century, was captured by the artists in denim pants straight cut. It’s funny that establish the identity of the artist (or artists) who owns these paintings, failed. Because conventionally, in the history he was given the name “Master of the blue jeans”.

Spread the term and even the clothes

The origin of the word “jeans” in a more modern sense can really be attributed to America. In that period, when they built the Wild West, when the Central and southern part of America was settled by farmers from Europe, for they began to sew clothing from denim. Since the predominant part of the population spoke English, the name of the material that was delivered here for tailoring work uniforms, attributed the letter s. This pointed as if in the plural uncountable noun-a fairly common phenomenon in English (trousers, shorts). By the beginning of the 20th century is “uncountable noun” and moved to the expanses of the Russian Empire, however, knew about it only the rich people who had the opportunity to purchase foreign goods.In our country the word “jeans” made in the plural according to our rules, in the course of what happened is known to all today “jeans”.

The Official history of jeans

Due To the fact that for all the cowboys and other workers who came to the United States, needed massively to sew uniforms, the decision was made as the main material that is used to describe fabric. A patent for the manufacture of a new type of clothing first got leyba Strauss (or Levi Strauss) – the son of a certain Jew, who had long lived in America. According to the official version, he came up with the same design of jeans, which for many years was considered a classic. At the time of such development became a sensation. The pants had a total of four pockets. Two were located in the front, one in back and one on front of pants – small, for hours. Pants for the working class, which were sold in America, was painted in the colour Indigo-a deep blue. At that time the price was 1 dollar and 46 cents per unit of product.

Unofficial version of the creation of jeans

All the sources, describing the origin of jeans, for some reason with full confidence say that this is the work of Levi Strauss. But if a more thorough delve into history, then float some very interesting facts, which point to the opposite. According to them, the design of new working clothes were designed by Jacob Davis (by the way, comes from Russia). He invented pants that you can sew from natural and durable fabrics, and plus to make them a real design opening. He designed the pockets, fly and rivets. Money to patent a workaholic was not because he took them from Strauss. The assigned opening yourself, and about Davis all forgotten.

Published August 21, 2016

Whether they’re boot-legged, low-rise, or skinny, most Americans have at least one pair that they can’t live without. Blue jeans are as American as apple pie, right?

Well, kind of. The word “jean” comes from the French jean fustian. Fustian is a type of twilled cotton cloth originally from Genoa, Italy. But the plural form of the word was first used in the United States, in 1843. Levi Strauss designed a pair of durable work trousers for laborers, complete with copper rivets that reinforced wear-and-tear seams. Eventually, average Joes and Janes adopted jeans, and they became the preferred casual pants for many Americans.

A lot of jeans are made of denim, “a heavy, Z-twist, twill cotton for jeans, overalls, and other work and leisure garments,” which derives from the French serge de Nîmes. Serge is another another twill fabric, “from Nimes,” a town in Southern France!

And of course, “pants” is short for pantaloons, a type of tights that were popular centuries ago. But what you might not know is that pantaloons were associated with “Pantaloun“, a silly old man character in Italian comedy who wore tight trousers over his skinny legs. The character was originally San Panteleone, a Christian martyr and a popular saint in Venice.

Read more!

So, whether you prefer jeans or some other kind of trousers, here’s one last bit of trivia for the next time someone tells you to do something by the seat of your pants (which means “by human instinct”). Supposedly, the expression was originally used to refer to pilots who were able to sense the condition of the plane by the engine vibrations they felt through the seat of their pants. But we have to wonder—what was the best fabric for their flying attire?

Today it is almost impossible to find a person whowho in his wardrobe has jeans or clothes made of such cloth. It so happened that very few people know, thanks to which jeans acquired their name. But in order for you to eliminate this gap, we wrote this article. You will read many interesting facts, and also you will know the etymology of the word «jeans».

Italian weavers

In the XVI century, weaving was perfectly developed inone of the Italian provinces — Genoa. The materials produced were diverse. Among the fine and exquisite fabrics was also rough with diagonal weave twill. Naturally, aristocrats did not buy it for making their elegant and expensive dresses, so this fabric did not even have a name. Who would have thought that the etymology of the word «jeans» deeply rooted in the history of Italy and even other countries!

Popular imported material

After some time, the demand for this material began to grow among the French. Procurement of the goods took place in the city of Genoa, also called Gene.

So, the etymology of the word «jeans» leads us to Paris. The French liked the material, they called it janne. From France, this verbal unit «migrated» into English, where it changed slightly — in jean. The word retained its appearance and writing until today. This is the history of the word «jeans». Etymology (the science of the origin of words) confirms this to us.

There is a false version of the jeans, whichsays that jeans owe their origin to cowboys, American settlers, and riders. This opinion is a deep delusion, since this word comes from Italy, which after many centuries fell into America.

And what does the cowboys have to do with it?

The etymology of the word «jeans» prepares for you yetone story. In the XIX century, cowboys came to America for work. For them it was necessary to sew massively a form. The main material was jeans. Leiba Strauss, known to mods as Levi Strauss, acquired a patent for the manufacture of clothes of this type. It was he who developed and sewed a classic version of jeans. This became the threshold of the sensation in the fashion world. The model developed by Strauss had only 4 pockets: front — 2, rear — 1, small front for hours — 1. These American pants were painted in a saturated blue (indigo). In these years, their cost was one and a half dollars per unit of goods.

Fashionable synonym

Lovers of shopping are always in boutiques and salonspay attention to promotional brochures. And probably many of them met the word «denim». Popular sources, be it the explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov and Shvedova or the academic dictionary of Evgenieva, treat «denim» as a synonym for jeans. Its origin is no less fascinating.

Unusual Italian fabric light browncolor did not suit the Parisian fashion designers, they decided to make it more attractive. Couturiers agreed that the fabric would have to be painted in blue. This procedure was carried out in the town of Nîmes. Of course, you have already noticed the similarity of the word «denim» with the name of the city. Literally de Nim means «from Nyima». Now the term denim means a certain color and tone, as well as clothes in the wardrobe of a man and a woman.

The etymology of the word «jeans»

Briefly summarize. The lexical unit that interests us calls the kind of tissue (jene) that was produced in the city of Genoa, the same city. The word migrated to France, then to the UK, where it acquired the final version of spelling and pronunciation — jeans.

Thanks to our article you learned the originthe word «jeans», the amazing «journey» of the verbal unit, the origin of its synonym, as well as the creator of the fashionable clothes described — Levi Strauss.