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Denim is one of those things that you take for granted. It’s just always been there, keeping your jeans in shape for when you need them. But we didn’t always have denim to fall back on. In fact, we didn’t even invent the stuff, which is a hard blow to our proud American psyche, but it’s true. It was actually the French who coined the name denim from their serge de Nîmes. Serge is a type of twill fabric that has been used by the Frenchies to make uniforms and all manner of costume wear. Add some Indigo blue dye to the mix and you have blue denim. The word “jeans” is taken from the way the French say Genoa. And that is how we first got our denim blue jeans.
It wasn’t until 1873, though, that America really got to enjoy their new blue jeans. It was then that a dude named Jacob W. Davis managed to throw the first pair of blue jeans together. Davis soon found that his new blue jeans were a big hit and he began making them by the hundreds for the miners out west who needed something strong to stand up to the streams and muddy waters where they were trying to stake their claim. This, of course, was way too much work for just one dude, and so Jacob W. Davis brought a proposal to Levi Strauss and Company. They were so impressed with Davis’ new blue jeans that they took him on and put him in charge of the mass production of their new blue jeans in San Francisco.
Today, the worldwide market for denim is over $50 billion, and it just keeps growing and growing, Mostly manufactured in China now, denim blue jeans are a hit all across the world as the go to pants for workers and slackers and everyone else. Tough, and meant to be worn to the bitter end, denim blue jeans continue to be a staple in any bros wardrobe.
How do they get those denim blue jeans so blue, though? Well, it starts with indigo dye, which is most native to South Asia. But in Europe, they have the same thing, they just call it woad, which is what you see in Celtic art, or the blue that they paint their warrior faces. Woad or indigo, it is all the same thing, and it is that particular hue of blue that gives us our denim blue jeans today.
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Of course, now, most of our jeans are dyed synthetically, but that doesn’t mean that we can overlook nature’s contribution to our bounty of pants. Synthetic or natural, it doesn’t really matter so long as our denim jeans are nice and blue, right?
It’s time we give thanks to the French for figuring this stuff out for us, and whether Jacob W. Davis or Levi Strauss gets the credit for bringing our beloved blue denim jeans to us, we have to remember that the French were there first.
But we don’t just have denim in our pants. We also find denim popping up in jackets, boots, shoes, shirts, suits… that’s right, the old Canadian Tuxedo, the denim suit. And of course we can’t forget the Daisy Dukes, now can we?
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The Daisy Dukes, above all, are our most triumphant denim creation. Popularized, of course, by Catherine Bach as Daisy Duke in The Dukes of Hazzard TV show. She rocked those denim dukes like no other, and in the years since, all manner of lovely ladies have made it their own trademark. Remember Jessica Simpson parading around in her Daisy Dukes? Yes. Yes, you do. And this is why denim was made.
But it’s not just those sweet, sweet Daisy Dukes that we know and love, denim also shows up in dresses, skirts, overalls, hats and even shoes. It’s everywhere. Get a girl in blue jeans and a denim jacket and you’ve got a good time. Those country girls know what to wear to make bros everywhere want to get in the General Lee and chase after them.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a panhandler looking for gold or just a dude looking for a golden piece of ass, denim has got you covered. From those earliest days, when Jacob W. Davis was just trying to make some nice pants for his bros to today when we can appreciate a hard day’s work in our blue jeans, to all points in between, whether it be on the fine behind of our favorite ladies or used to patch a hole in some well-worn drawers, denim is the answer to so many of our problems.
Denim is so versatile that it even shows up in artwork around the world. Take British artist, Ian Berry, who only uses denim in his artwork. He has made pieces for a variety of art and fashion powerhouses, including Giorgio Armani. The Indigo blue of denim, or the woad, will always find a place in the art world and the fashion world. Whether it’s Armani or our dude Ian Berry, denim has a special place in our hearts.
Especially as Americans, where the denim blue jeans are pretty much a cultural uniform. It is the cowboy in us, the adventurer, the hard worker, the dude who just likes to get down and dirty, playing in grease and playing in grass. Denim catches them all. Denim absorbs their stains, the proof that we are the hardest working people on the face of the earth.
We even tried to put denim in our cars. All through the 1970s, AMC AKA American Motors tried to make denim interiors the selling point of their cars. Most notably in the Gremlin and Pacer cars of the 70s, denim interiors were all the rage. Jeep even got in on it with their Cherokee in the mid 70s and Volkswagen wasn’t far behind with their Jeans Beetle. The 70s were wild, what can I say?
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But leaving the 70s behind, it’s important to note that that denim is our national uniform. It is a symbol of our toughness, our hard work, of not being afraid to get down and get dirty playing in the grass. It is our badge of honor that lets the whole world know what we’re about. We work hard, we play hard, we love hard, we die hard, and we do it all in our denim jeans. And sometimes, we like how it looks on our women and we don’t have to apologize for any of that at all. Whether it’s jeans at work, jeans at play, or jeans in our Daisy Dukes, we have had a long and beautiful love affair with our denim. Thank you to the French and their serge de Nîmes, thank you to Jacob W. Davis, thank you to Levi Strauss, thank you to Catherine Bach and Jessica Simpson, and thank you to everyone who has worn denim through these many years. You have all shown the world who we are, and it all starts with that Indigo Blue.
Previously…
• History Of Things: The Fascinating And Delicious Origin Of Our Beloved Life-Giving Coffee
• History Of Things: The Fascinating Origin Of Alcohol Goes Back WAY Further Than You Might Think
• History Of Things: The Origin Of Chocolate Reveals How It Became The Perfect Halloween Treat