Jeans

Denim is a thick, diagonally ribbed fabric that was first marketed commercial as early as the 1930s. Jeans are conventionally made out of denim, however today they are also made out of fabrics such as corduroy, cotton, and linen. They were first made in Genoa, Italy. Initially, they were made to be work clothes, however they gained popularity with the American youth in the 1950s and the popularity of denim jeans has since been sky rocketing. During the pop music boom in the 1980s, denim was popularized by record breaking artists such as Status Quo, Tiffany, and George Michael.

The word denim originated from the French word 'de Nimes'; as the first denim came from N'®mes, France. Levi Strauss, today a multi-national fashion brand was back then a Bavarian dry goods merchandizing company from San Francisco. They were one of the first to market denims; they sold them to Californian mining communities. During the 1950s, when blue jeans were widely worn by teenagers, they were considered as a symbol of rebellion against orthodoxy. During the same period certain restaurants and movie theaters did not allow the wearing of blue jeans. A decade later by the 1960s blue jean began being accepted as a fashionable wear in the US.

Jeans are often referred to as cult wear and have been associated to bikers, sailors, rappers, and even cowboys. By the 1980s and all the way to today denim wear has gained high momentum in fashion. Today, an average North American owns 7 pairs of jeans. Apart from blue jeans, stone washed, fade blues, colors such as grey, black and white among other are the type of jeans available. Fits such as boot cuts, low waist, straight fits, slim fits, bottom flares, and stretchable, are just a few styles available in the current market. The big names on jeans today are Levis, Wranglers, Guess, Tommy Hilfiger, Diesel, and Lee among others.