History of the Fornication Pants Essay Example for Free

History of the Fornication Pants EssayJeans today atomic number 18 much more than a simple item of clothing they are a staple, a comfort and an identity. They are not a piece of clothing that is unique to one culture or society dungarees are jeans no subject area where you are. Jeans sacrifice transcended nationality, race and even war, and yet they are still one of the most ordinary parts of our lives. What many people take for granted is that Jeans have become such(prenominal) a part of their everyday lives that they never stop to think nigh where they come from, and what they have done for people. Jeans had a humble beginning, a colourful and influential life and have a bright future. They are a part of North American history and culture and have specify many peoples lives.Cotton denim started being produced in North America in the eigh teenageth century and with the American cotton industriousness came slave labour. Plantation owners relied on slaves to upkeep prices down, and in 1860 there were almost four 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 side of meat stores, it was shortened to deNimes or denim. (Sullivan p.12) At the conviction, 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 sailed to the impudent World. (Sullivan p.14)Jean shapers buy denim from mills requested dark regretful cloth rather than the pale beige offered as it was a colour that would show less stain and wear. So denim cloth began to be dyed using indigo, but because 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 discovered a way to create the same c olour in a lab. The colour blue was now much more access codeible and cheaper to achieve using the new synthetic indigo dye. (Kyi p.10)There are two Jean companies that played a major part in the action and distribution of the boxers at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, Levi Strauss Co. and Lee Company. Levi Strauss was born Loeb Strauss in 1829 in Bavaria. After immigrating to the San Francisco, he opened up a whole sale business selling high quality fabrics. He struck it blue during the California gold rush in the 1860s, but not by finding gold, but by selling his heavy duty crap pants. (Kyi p.15) nigh the same time in Nevada, a tailor named Jacob Davis, an immigrant from Latvia, was trying to figure out how to make his work pants stronger. Miners were constantly ripping the seams of their denim work pants.Finally while in his barn Davis realised that the copper rivets that were used to reinforce 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 see if he would consider going into business with him and help him purchase a patent. Strauss was convinced and the two employ 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 waist 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 after 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, where the two hired dozens of seamstresses to work in their new factories. To distinguish which pants were his an d to demonstrate how strong they were, Strauss had a leather chase designed for the back waistband, that showed a pair of jeans tied between two draft horses going in opposite directions. The horses were trying to rip the jeans apart, but the fabric was too strong. The label worked so well that for decades the jeans were known as the Two-Horse brand. (Kyi p.23)In the 1890s a pair of Levi Strauss jeans cost about(predicate) one dollar US, about the equivalent of twenty dollars US today, which was enough to make Strauss rich. (Sullivan p.18) When he died in 1902, his society was left in the care of his three nephews, who were eager continue the companys success, but they were facing competition. The patent on riveted pants expired in 1891, and in the early 20th century, a new clothing manufacturer appeared, Henry David Lee. Lee opened H.D. Lee Mercantile Company in Kansas City in 1899, selling fabric and furniture. Soon he opened up his own factory and began producing what would to day be recognized as overalls. (Kyi p.25)He then 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 clothes to keep them clean. In 1913 it was popular with farmers, engineers, and factory workers, and soon became available 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 long-lasting 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 ripe 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 rest of the world. (Kyi p.35) For women working in factories during the war, jeans or coveralls with a bandanna became their snip off code, partly because of the famous portrait of Rosie the Riveter proclaiming We Can Do It while wearing 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 around the waist more suited to motorcycle riding than farming. (Kyi p.39) This developed a trend 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. (Sullivan p.96) Jeans were now something that you could wear while hanging out with your friends they were no longer ju st for working on the farm or in a factory.Parents began to worry that their children were running wild, and jeans were banned in US schools and in churches in England. (Kyi p.41) It seemed as though Brigham Young 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 army 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 wardrobe 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 scrape in Israel the protestors are wearing jeans. They now come in over 200 sizes and countless styles and washes, with some made for wea r on the farm and others consummate for a date on a Friday night.In the 19th century a pair of Levis would set a buyer 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 diamond and gold constellate jeans that were sold in 2001 in Italy for $500,000 US. (Kyi p.13) Light 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 unceasingly looked pretty much the same, and will be around for many more years to come.Works 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 Years of Fashion.Secaucus, New Jersey Chartwell Books, Inc., 1977.