We all know and love denim as a decades-old fashion staple dubbed the world’s favorite fabric. But nowadays, these blue jeans are not your average denim.
During the American Gold Rush (1848-1855), we learned about miners needing sturdy fabric to stand up to the physical demands of their work. Tailor Jacob Davis partnered with dry-good supplier Levi Strauss to patent and make riveted trousers in 1873.
In 1890, Mr. Strauss discovered an equally utilitarian fabric called serge de Nimes (denim) from France. The jean’s name comes from the Genoese sailors’ trousers, based on the now-iconic Levi’s 501 jeans.
During the 1950s, rebels James Dean (Rebels Without A Cause) and Marlon Brandon (The Wild One) glamorized wearing blue jeans in movies.
In 1976, Calvin Klein became the first designer to show blue jeans on the runway. It didn’t take long for other high-end designers to follow suit. Remember, Gloria Vanderbilt wasn’t a fashion designer but had the best-selling jeans during the 1980s.
I should recall why denim is a premium material from my college fabric classes at Philadelphia University, formerly The College of Textiles and Science. The online references better describe denim as cotton double twill textiles in which the weft passes under two or more warp threads.
I love that I found this Coexist Gallery mural in Steelton to take this photo. In its heyday, the borough was a working-class melting pot, a blue-jean-wearing community with jobs at the local Bethlehem Steel plant.
The Ganni denim I’m wearing is 100% certified organic cotton. Organic cotton has proven a lower environmental impact by reducing its carbon footprint. I’m not a jeans kind of girl. However, the evolution and inclusive sizing over the years changed my mind. Everyone’s wardrobe must include a chic denim blue jeans outfit,
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