The word jeans comes from

Where does the word Jeans come from? The word Jeans comes from a twilled cotton fabric called ‘Genoa fustian’; often used to make durable workwear. Labourers in the United States referred to their workwear as ‘ Jeans’, after the city Genoa, where the fabric was initially woven.

What was the original name of jeans?

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

How did bluejeans get its name?

Davis and Levi Strauss on May 20, 1873. Prior to the Levi Strauss patented trousers, the term “blue jeans” had been long in use for various garments (including trousers, overalls, and coats), constructed from blue-colored denim.

The company traces its origin to Levi Strauss (1829–1902), a Bavarian immigrant who arrived in San Francisco in 1850 during the Gold Rush, bringing dry goods for sale to miners. Hearing of the miners’ need for durable pants, Strauss hired a tailor to make garments out of tent canvas.

What jean means?

God Is Gracious
The name Jean is primarily a gender-neutral name of English origin that means God Is Gracious. French male name; English female name.

Where does the word denim come from?

The term “denim” derives from the French “serge de Nimes”, meaning “serge (a sturdy fabric) from Nimes”. Yet the fabric is no longer produced anywhere in France. Sagot therefore buys the denim canvas from the Venice region of Italy, made on an old shuttle-loom from the 1950s. Nimes once had a booming textile industry.

Who invented blue jeans and why?

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.

Why are jeans blue?

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.

What is difference between jeans and denim?

What Is the Difference Between Denim and Jeans? Simply put, the difference between denim and jean is that denim is a fabric and jeans are a garment. Denim fabric is used to make a wide variety of garments, including jackets, overalls, shirts, and jeans. Jeans are a type of garment commonly made from denim cloth.

What does Levi’s stand for?

It means “united,” “joined,” or, sometimes, “joined in harmony.” It has Biblical roots: in the Old Testament, Levi is the son of Jacob and Leah. The Levites are also one of the 12 tribes of the Israelites. In this way, Levi is a name signifying the unification or founding of something.

Why are Levi’s called 501?

It started off with a registered trademark of the “Two Horse Pull” icon which was Levi’s® symbol of quality. In 1890, the XX would be renamed to 501®, a nod to the manufacturing batch number the denim jeans were assigned.

Why did Levi invent blue jeans?

Levi Strauss & Co. and Jacob Davis receive a U.S. patent for an “Improvement in Fastening Pocket-Openings.” By adding metal rivets to work pants, which would be known as blue jeans, they created stronger pants for working men.

Is jean the feminine of John?

The French form of John, but also an English and Scottish form of Jane, which is a feminine form of John, originally from the Hebrew name Yochanan meaning “God is gracious”.

Does jean mean John?

From English Jean, from a Middle English feminine form of John, from Old French Jehane.

What does jean mean girl?

Jean is a girl’s name of English origin meaning “God is gracious.” Originally a feminine of John, Jean was popular in Scotland long before it became a favorite elsewhere.

What does Nimes mean in French?

Nîmes. / (French nim) / noun. a city in S France: Roman remains including an amphitheatre and the Pont du Gard aqueduct.

Did Latvia invent jeans?

Jacob William Davis (born Jākobs Jufess; 1831–1908) was a Latvian born American tailor who is credited with inventing modern jeans. Growing up in Latvia, he emigrated to the United States as a young man and spent some time in Canada as well.

Where did blue jeans originate?

Blue jeans were actually an accidental discovery in the 18th century, when people in Nimes, France attempted to replicate a sturdy Italian fabric called serge. What they created was “serge de Nimes” or, as it’s been shortened to, “denim.”

Did a black person invent jeans?

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! (It wasn’t Levi Strauss in 1873.)”

When did jeans become blue?

But the birth of blue jeans came under surprising circumstances—and the ancestral trousers barely resemble the blue jeans of today. It all started in 1871, when tailor Jacob Davis of Reno, Nevada, had a problem.

Who wore jeans first?

Jeans are pants made from denim or dungaree cloth. They were invented by Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss in 1873 and a worn still but in a different context. Jeans are named after the city of Genoa in Italy, a place where cotton corduroy, called either jean or jeane, was manufactured.

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jeans are a type of pants made from heavy, strong cotton material (fabric) called denim. They were invented in the United States by Levi Strauss in 1872. In the late 1800s, jeans were worn by workers. Jeans are one of the most obvious symbols of American cultural influence in the world. They are worn in many countries around the world.

In the 1950s, jeans became a popular fashion for teenagers and young adults. In the 1950s, jeans were part of rockabilly fashion for teenagers. Now, jeans are a very popular type of pants. They are usually worn as casual fashion clothing. Jeans are made in many styles and colors.

The word «jeans» came from the French name of the city in Italy where a strong cotton fabric was made. The Italian city’s name, Genoa, was spelled «jene» in Middle English and «Gênes» in the French language.^[1]

References[change | change source]

1. ↑ «Bartleby.com». Archived from the original on 2005-05-13. Retrieved 2009-07-09.

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

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.

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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?

The word jeans comes from a kind of material that was made in Europe. The material, called jean, was named after sailors from Genoa in Italy, because they wore clothes made from it. The word ‘denim’ probably came from the name of a French material, serge de Nimes: serge (a kind of material) from Nimes (a town in France).

At first, jean cloth was made from a mixture of things. However, in the eighteenth century as trade, slave labour, and cotton plantations increased, jean cloth was made completely from cotton. Workers wore it because the material was very strong and it did not wear out easily. It was usually dyed with indigo, a dye taken from plants in the Americas and India, which made jean cloth a dark blue colour.

In 1848, gold was found in California (not too far from San Francisco) and the famous Gold Rush began. The gold miners wanted clothes that were strong and did not tear easily. In 1853, a man called Leob Strauss left his home in New York and moved to San Francisco, where he started a wholesale business, supplying clothes. Strauss later changed his name from Leob to Levi.

A big problem with the miners’ clothes were the pockets, which easily tore away from the jeans. A man called Jacob Davis had the idea of using metal rivets (fasteners) to hold the pockets and the jeans together so that they wouldn’t tear. Davis wanted to patent his idea, but he didn’t have enough money, so in 1872, he wrote to Levi Strauss and offered Strauss a deal if Strauss would pay for the patent. Strauss accepted, and he started making copper-riveted ‘waist overalls’ (as jeans were called then).

In 1886, Levi sewed a leather label on their jeans. The label showed a picture of a pair of jeans that were being pulled between two horses. This was to advertise how strong Levi jeans were: even two horses could not tear them apart.

In the 1930’s, Hollywood made lots of western movies. Cowboys — who often wore jeans in the movies-became very popular. Many Americans who lived in the eastern states went for vacations on ‘dude ranches’ and took pairs of denim ‘waist overalls’ back east with them when they went home.

Fewer jeans were made during the time of World War 2, but ‘waist overalls’ were introduced to the world by American soldiers, who sometimes wore them when they were off duty. After the war, Levi began to sell their clothes outside the American West. Rival companies, like Wrangler and Lee, began to compete with Levi for a share of this new market.

In the 1950’s, denim became popular with young people. It was the symbol of the teenage rebel in TV programmes and movies (like James Dean in the 1955 movie Rebel Without a Cause). Some schools in the USA banned students from wearing denim. Teenagers called the waist overalls ‘jean pants’ — and the name stayed.

In the 1960’s many, many university and college students wore jeans. Different styles of jeans were made, to match the 60’s fashions: embroidered jeans, painted jeans, psychedelic jeans…

In many non-western countries, jeans became a symbol of ‘Western decadence’ and were very hard to get. US companies said that they often received letters from people all around the world asking them to send the writer a pair of jeans.

As regulations on world trade became more relaxed in the late 1970’s, jeans started to be made more and more in sweatshops in countries in the South. Because the workers were paid very little, jeans became cheaper. More people in the countries of the South started wearing jeans.

In the 1980’s jeans finally became high fashion clothing, when famous designers started making their own styles of jeans, with their own labels on them. Sales of jeans went up and up.

Who invented jeans?
Jeans were first made by a sail-maker, Oscar Levi-Strauss, in San Francisco in the 1850s.
The word jeans may come from ‘jene fustien’, a strong cotton cloth, first made in Genoa, Italy. The original jeans were brown until denim was used. The word denim, in its turn, comes from the name of the French manufacturing town Nim. In French, de Nim means ‘from Nim’. However, jeans are believed to be a 100% American invention and Levi’s is still one of the most popular brands!
Nowadays, people all over the world, men and women, rich and poor, wear jeans on all occasions: in classrooms and at parties, to theatres as well as to work.
Кто изобрел джинсы?
Джинсы были впервые сделаны изготовителем парусов, Оскаром Леви-Страусом, в Сан-Франциско в 1850-е годы.
Слово джинсы может происходить от «Jene fustien», прочная хлопковая ткань, впервые изготовленная в Генуе, Италия. Оригинальные джинсы были коричневого цвета, пока не был использован деним. Слово деним, в свою очередь, происходит от имени французского производственного города Ним. По-французски, де Ним означает «из Нима». Тем не менее, джинсы, как полагают, являются 100% американским изобретением и Леви по-прежнему является одним из самых популярных брендов!
В настоящее время люди во всем мире, мужчины и женщины, богатые и бедные, носят джинсы на все случаи жизни: в классах и на вечеринках, в театры, а также на работу.