The Evolution of Jeans


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(Jean pants blue shop shopping via Pixabay https://pixabay.com/en/jeans-pants-blue-shop-shopping-428613/)

As we all know, fashion circles around, reinventing itself constantly. If you consider that in the mid-19th century, rougher, ‘ultra-masculine’ male grooming style of a moustache and facial hair was very much in fashion, then dropping off somewhat in the 20th century, when the clean-shaven look was preferred - and now, in the early 21st century, beards are back! Most prominently, this fashion carousel can be noticed in jeans. Below are five variations on jeans throughout the times, some of which we hope might make a comeback, others we pray away.

1873 - The Original: It might surprise you to know that the first pair of jeans were not at all about fashion. Typically worn by male workers, the rough, loose fitting denim trousers were fitted with metal rivets in the pockets to increase their durability for manual labour. They were originally referred to as ‘waist overalls’.

1920’s - The Western Jeans: an important step forward in the fashion industry in general, the western jeans were the first to be made with a designer label stitched into them. Levi Strauss, who were the financiers for the original jeans previously mentioned, were the first designer brand to do this. The western style was slightly more fitted than the original, resembling a more modern style.

1950’s - James Dean Jeans Dream: this was to be the birth of a ‘cooler’ style of jean. Vogue, who had predicted jeans might be more of a fashion trend than a practical solution for male workers, had begun to model jeans in their magazine. This sparked a more rebellious use for jeans, depicted most famously by James Dean with his classic white t-shirt, dark jeans combination.

1960’s - Hippie Jeans: the free-love era of the 1960’s brought with it a group of people who expressed themselves in a much more vibrant way. The acid designs of loose draped t-shirts, in contrast to the dull business driven America, seemed to merge and mesmorise like portals into alternate colourful worlds. This moved to the jeans of the time as well, as patterns and patches began to emerge in their designs, as well as tight hip-fits and loose lower legs - or flares.

1970’s - The wholesome propaganda: almost seeming as though it were a direct response to the free-love sexuality of the hippie movement, who had reinvented jeans as their own, the American government tried to claim them back. Using plain, stylish jeans as fashion symbols for what they considered healthy and wholesome female sexuality - such as Farrah Fawcett.


1980’s - Designer as we know it now: bigger brands such as Calvin Klein began selling jeans for a much higher price, thereby increasing the products value - after all, the worth of an item is what someone is willing to pay for it. This did bring newer and more fashionable designs, such as the slim fit jean which is so popular today.

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