History of the Fornication Pants Essay

dung atomic number 18es today are very frequently more(prenominal) than a simple item of article of clothing they are a staple, a comfort and an identity. They are not a piece of materialing that is unique to angio ten-spotsin-converting enzyme culture or society jeans are jeans no matter where you are. Jeans micturate transcended nationality, race and in time war, and yet they are electrostatic one of the most ordinary demotes of our lives. What many people intromit for granted is that Jeans have become such a part of their routine lives that they never stop to think intimately where they come from, and what they have make for people. Jeans had a humble beginning, a glossinessful and influential life and have a bright future. They are a part of North American history and culture and have defined many peoples lives.Cotton dungaree started being produced in North America in the eigh teenagedth century and with the American cotton industry came slave labour. orchard testifyers relied on slaves to keep prices down, and in 1860 there were almost four one million million slaves in the southern United States. (Kyi p.10) Denim got its name from a French fabric woven of silk and wool. The fabric was made in Nimes, France, and as a result it was dubbed serge de Nimes, but when the fabric began being stocked in face stores, it was shortened to deNimes or denim. (Sullivan p.12) At the time, denim was the strongest fabric and was even thought to have been the fabric of choice for the sails of the ships that Christopher Columbus sai direct to the late World. (Sullivan p.14)Jean manufacturers buying denim from mills requested dark blue cloth rather than the pale beige offered as it was a colour that would try less dirt and wear. So denim cloth began to be faded using indigo, but beca character of the time needed to make the dye it was one of the most expensive dyes in the world. That changed in the 1880s, when a German scientist by the name of Johann von Baeyer disc all overed a way to create the same colour in a lab. The colour blue was now much more accessible and cheaper to achieve using the new synthetic indigo dye. (Kyi p.10) in that respect are two Jean companies that played a major part in the payoff and distribution of the huffs at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the 20th century, Levi Strauss & Co. and leeward political party. Levi Strauss was born Loeb Strauss in 1829 in Bavaria. After immigrating to the San Francisco, he overt up a whole barter business selling high quality fabrics. He struck it privileged during the California gold rush in the 1860s, but not by finding gold, but by selling his heavy duty conk pants. (Kyi p.15) Around the same time in Nevada, a tailor named Jacob Davis, an immigrant from Latvia, was nerve-wracking to figure out how to make his work pants stronger. Miners were constantly rive the seams of their denim work pants.Finally spot in his barn Davis accomplish ed that the copper rivets that were used to honor the seams of horse blankets could be used to reinforce pants as well. (Kyi p.18) His pants were a hit, so he contacted his denim supplier, Levi Strauss, to pay heed if he would consider going into business with him and help him buy a patent. Strauss was change overd and the two applied for a patent in 1873. This was the birth of blue jeans, although they were not called jeans yet. They were still being called high shank overalls or waist overalls. (Kyi p.21) The first cloth called jean was made in Genoa, Italy, and was worn by sailors. In Italian, Genoa is pronounced Genes, but Strauss did not use the Italian fabric and his pants were not worn by sailors so he never used the term jeans.It was not until years afterward his death that Levi Strauss & Co. Began using the word. (Contini p.158) It did not take long for the riveted jeans to catch on, and production began to soar and Strauss invited Davis to move to San Francisco, wher e the two hired dozens of seamstresses to work in their new factories. To distinguish which pants were his and to demonstrate how strong they were, Strauss had a welt label designed for the back waistband, that showed a correspond of jeans tied mingled with two draft horses going in opposite directions. The horses were trying to bout the jeans apart, but the fabric was too strong. The label worked so well that for decades the jeans were know as the Two-Horse brand. (Kyi p.23)In the 1890s a pair of Levi Strauss jeans cost about one dollar US, about the equivalent of twenty dollars US today, which was full to make Strauss rich. (Sullivan p.18) When he died in 1902, his company was left in the billing of his three nephews, who were eager continue the companys success, but they were liner competition. The patent on riveted pants expired in 1891, and in the primordial 20th century, a new clothing manufacturer appeared, Henry David Lee. Lee opened H.D. Lee Mercantile Company in Ka nsas City in 1899, selling fabric and furniture. Soon he opened up his own factory and began producing what would today be recognized as overalls. (Kyi p.25)He so came up with the idea to sew a denim shirt onto a pair of jeans to form a denim coverall. The Lee Union-All was first marketed to men who loved cars as it could be worn over other attire to keep them clean. In 1913 it was popular with riseers, engineers, and factory workers, and soon became unattached for women and children. When the American Army was preparing to join WWI, thousands of Lee Union-Alls were ordered for the soldiers as they were found to be more durable than any other clothing. (Kyi p.26) In 1926, the Lee Company revolutionized jeans, by putting a zipper in place of the buttons in the fly to ease access.During the depression Lee Company managed to convince people that Lee jeans would last twice as long as other pants, making them a good investment. The Company even opened up a new factory in 1936. (Kyi p.31) During WWII, wartime rationing led to shortages of blue jeans, and owning them became a status symbol. At that time jeans were only available in North America, but when soldiers set sail for Europe and Asia, jeans were introduced to the peace of the world. (Kyi p.35) For women working in factories during the war, jeans or coveralls with a bandanna became their dress code, partially because of the famous portrait of Rosie the Riveter proclaiming We Can Do It while draining a denim shirt. (Sullivan p.70)After the war, the young soldiers who came home became the first teen rebels. They no longer wanted coveralls but pants that fitted snugly roughly the waist more suited to motorcycle riding than farming. (Kyi p.39) This developed a style that was popularized by Hollywood and stars such as James dean in Rebel without a Cause. (Sullivan p.92) Marilyn Monroe began wearing hip-hugging jeans that became popular for women in the 1950s, making jeans sexy for women as well as men. (S ullivan p.96) Jeans were now something that you could wear while hanging out with your friends they were no longer just for working on the farm or in a factory.Parents began to worry that their children were running wild, and jeans were proscribed in US schools and in churches in England. (Kyi p.41) It seemed as though Brigham puppyish could see into the future when in the 1830s he called jeans the fornication pant, appalled at the button fly. (Sullivan p.9) Denim had left behind its host reputation and had become the newest style trend. Hollywood stars such as Marilyn Monroe and Bridget Bardot began wearing them for press appearances and parties, and thats when the worldwide love affair with denim began. (Sullivan p. 98)Jeans are now a staple of pretty much everyones pressure in the 21st century. No matter what ethnicity or social class, everyone wears jeans. You see them on movie stars, your teachers, Presidents and Princes, and when you see news footage of a peace resile in Israel the protestors are wearing jeans. They now come in over 200 sizes and countless styles and washes, with some made for wear on the farm and others perfect for a date on a Friday night.In the nineteenth century a pair of Levis would set a purchaser back about $1.50 US, but today the sky is the limit. Jeans vary in price (for adults) from around $20 US at Wal-Mart to a pair of baseball diamond and gold studded jeans that were sold in 2001 in Italy for $500,000 US. (Kyi p.13) loose wash or dark wash, boot cut or flare, diamond studded or embroidered, jeans are jeans, and are a North American icon. Jeans are one of the only pieces of clothing that have survived over ten decades worth of styles, and have always looked pretty much the same, and will be around for many more years to come. industrial plant Cited1.Kyi, Tanya Lloyd. The Blue Jean Book The Story behind the Seams. New York, New York Annick Press, 2007.2.Sullivan, James. Jeans A Cultural History of an American Icon. New York, New York Gotham Books, 2006.3.Contini, Mila. 5000 geezerhood of Fashion.Secaucus, New Jersey Chartwell Books, Inc., 1977.