Next time you leave your house for a casual social event, take a look around and try to notice what people are wearing on specific occasions. You might have noticed by now that outside of a professional environment, official meetings, or gatherings, jeans are probably everyone’s favorite choice of clothing.
What most people don’t know is that jeans were first created in the 16th century but became popular when Levi Strauss began using Denim to make clothes for the common man. This article sheds light on interesting facts about jeans that will get you in the mood to put on some denim as well.
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Jeans was The Common Man’s Clothing
Even though Jeans had been around since the 16th century, Levi Strauss made them the apparel for the common man in the 1870s. Manufacturing jeans were cheaper than other clothing items because a bale of cotton could make as many as two hundred and twenty-five (225) pairs of jeans, making them more affordable for blue-collar workers, sailors, and miners. Since it was cheap, trendy, and fashionable, the prospect of wearing denim soon became a popular choice for regular people.
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Levi Strauss Never Wore Jeans
It might come as a surprise to some but the man responsible for hyping up jeans and denim, Levi Strauss was never actually seen wearing a pair of his own jeans. Why was this the case you may ask? The answer is that he made jeans for the common man and so, in his mind, they were cheap clothing. Since Levi Strauss was a wealthy businessman and could afford clothes of a higher taste, he couldn't be bothered to try the clothing trend he had helped create.
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Billions of Feet of Denim Fabric Are Produced Annually
Well, as we pointed out earlier, jeans are the go-to clothes for the common man and denim fabric is also used to produce shoes, bags, caps, and many more. In the USA alone, on average, each person is estimated to have seven pairs of jeans, and globally speaking, almost 7.5 billion feet of denim fabric is produced every year to meet consumer demand.
Denim Jeans Were Called by A Different Name Until The ‘50s
Denim jeans were referred to as ‘overalls’ before they began to be referred to as jeans. In the old days, farmers, fishermen, sailors, and almost everyone wore them for work every day, with these ‘overalls’ being mass-produced by manufacturers like Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis. They often came in blue color, created using an indigo dye, because this color helped hide dirt and stains from other items during working hours. May 20th is celebrated as the birthday of blue jeans because Levi Strauss patented blue jeans on this day in 1873.
