Americans Love Denim Clothing And Accessories


By Toni Vang


People all over the world love blue jeans and other garments made from the heavy cotton twill known as denim. Americans in particular love denim clothing and accessories. In fact, many erroneously think that this material is an American invention, and that the world-wide craze is just one more example of USA global influence. American teenagers in post World War II times adopted jeans as their generational fashion statement, and the faded blue pants have never lost popularity.

Denim wears exceptionally well, gets softer as it is worn and washed, and fades in areas of greatest wear, giving it a unique well-worn look that was part of the cowboy image of the West and now has become high fashion. In fact, sometimes modern pants are more holes than whole cloth.

Once 100% indigo-blue-dyed cotton, the diagonally-woven material now comes in many weights, colors, and composite fabrics (such as stretch when combined with spandex.) However, the faded blue, heavyweight cotton material is what people think of when they hear the term. They probably always will.

The fabric is not an American innovation but originated in Italy in the 1700's. It was used for military uniforms and factory wear. However, Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss made 'levis' famous in the California Gold Rush days, when they created overalls and pants made of this strong cloth and reinforced with rivets at stress points. Miners, farmers, and ranchers all loved the unsurpassed durability of levis.

Today North America still buys most of the jeans made in the world, but the style is worn virtually everywhere. Once considered informal wear, blue jeans are now paired with blazers at fancy restaurants or worn with tweed coats to trendy outdoor activities (hunt races, polo games, soccer matches). Ladies wear jean skirts, and everyone likes jackets made of this material.

Pants, skirts, and jackets are made for people of all ages, even infants and toddlers. Other garments and accessories may look like the real thing but be fashioned from synthetic materials for lighter weight or from plastic, (watch bands, for instance). Hats, scarves, belts, shoes, boots, and handkerchiefs look like they're made from well-worn jean scraps. The look is popular for den furniture, picture frames, and lamp shades.

Actually, the word is now a color, the faded blue of a well-worn and well-loved garment. Even the 'stone-washed' craze for pre-faded and pre-washed garments of a grayer tint did not erase the predominance of the original blue. The world has never tired of its blue jeans.

From Laurel, MD to Los Angeles, CA, and from New York City to Japan and Africa, people are wearing jean jackets, pants, skirts, scarves, and footwear and carrying jean purses and wallets. They sit on denim beanbags and tie faded-blue bandannas around the necks of their dogs. Although 50's and 60's music has declined in popularity and the original hippies are now grey-haired and bearded, the universal appeal of these pants patented by Levi Strauss almost 150 years ago is still going strong.




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