A great pair of jeans can become your best friend. Someone you can develop a deep long lasting relationship with. The longer you wear them the closer you become. Over time they’ll mold and shape to your body and create an individual look that is only yours. But, like any good relationship, you need to treat them with the love and respect they deserve for it to be a mutually satisfying one.
In 1853, the California gold rush was in full swing, and everyday items were in short supply. Levi Strauss, a 24-year-old German immigrant, left New York for San Francisco with a small supply of dry goods with the intention of opening a branch of his brother’s New York dry goods business. Shortly after his arrival, a prospector wanted to know what Mr. Levi Strauss was selling. When Strauss told him he had rough canvas to use for tents and wagon covers, the prospector said, “You should have brought pants!,” saying he couldn’t find a pair of pants strong enough to last
I’m focusing on a selection of denim essentials from their latest range. The word ‘jeans’ comes from the French phrase ‘bleu de Genes’ meaning ‘the blue of Genoa’. The denim fabric originated in the French town of Nimes and owes its name to the location, which was quickly known as ‘denim’ abroad.
Spunky Genoese Navy sailors first strutted around in denim back in the 1500’s but it wasn’t until the 1870’s in the gold rush boom that denim took off. This was when Levi Strauss – a name now synonymous with denim – created a strong style of workers pants with rivets that was quickly adopted by Californian coal miners. Originally made from uncomfortable hemp, Strauss eventually discovered and started using the twilled cotton cloth that originated from the French town of Nimes and denim.
It was largely worn by workers but become popular in American Pop Culture when jeans became symbolic of protest against conformity. Worn by teenagers and young adults they were often refused admission to movies, restaurants and other everyday haunts when wearing them. But the trend grew and during the 1960’s wearing blue jeans become more acceptable and by the 1970’s they were truly established as a fashion trend. The 80’s brought with it “designer jeans” and denim took to the catwalks.
Adopting an 1980s skate revival theme, this latest look book teams a skate park location with post-modern styling. Concentrating on a selection of current trends, from layering and clashing colors to extreme washes, the denim collection places a contemporary twist on a number of traditional staples.
Today jeans are a staple of everybody’s wardrobe and often a key element in seasonal trends and fashion around the world. Each season brings with it new cuts, features, treatments and embellishments
Acid bleach, light washes and tie-dye techniques, reminiscent of the Hippie movement, transform simple shirts, jackets, jeans and dungarees into statement pieces. Available in a selection of fits and styles, from spray-on skinny to vintage slim, this latest offering caters to your every need.
As with many modern American icons, denim can trace its origins back across the Atlantic to Europe. But it was in the New World of America – the land of opportunity – that denim would become much more than a humdrum fabric, but rather a living and vibrant cloth with innate qualities: youth, freedom, rebellion, and heritage.
Its history is the history of America and, as the USA grew to become the dominant world superpower, the US would export its denim and its flag-waving brand of democracy and freedom to the world. From humble origins, it began as a lowly workman’s fabric that clothed laborers, pioneers, and frontiersman. Now it is a ubiquitous style that can be pick up in supermarkets for $5 dollars or designer stores for $500 dollars.
Worn by everyone from pensioners to presidents, denim has come a long way in a relatively short space of time. This is the short and riveting history of a fabric with a life of its own: denim, like hats were worn in 1920’s, what we would do without it?
My special equation for you: Blue + Jeans = Forever Love!