samedi 9 mai 2015

Americans Love Their Denim Clothing And Accessories

By Toni Vang


Millions around the globe love wearing denim. North Americans buy almost half of the world's supply, and many citizens of the USA consider this tough cotton material a red, white, and blue trademark. It's true that a couple of clothing manufacturers became famous from supplying sturdy trousers for miners back in the Gold Rush days, but they didn't invent the material itself. American teenagers coming into their own after World War II adopted blue jeans as their uniform, and the popularity of the close-fitting trousers spread gradually to every country. Today, denim clothing and accessories are big business.

The original heavy cotton twill (diagonally woven fabric) held up to hard use and softened as it was worn and washed for a comfortable fit. It also faded where it was rubbed or stretched, becoming the emblem of a hard-working man. Today, manufacturers fake that look, so people can have it without all the effort. Some fashionable pants have 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.

North America is still the world's largest market, but jeans and other denim clothing are worn virtually everywhere. Once considered working clothes and then informal wear, jeans are now high fashion, with people paying astronomical prices for designer labels. They are worn with a sport coat in the evening or a tweed jacket for country chic.

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.

All across America, from Laurel, MD where every groom on the racetrack wears it to the Los Angeles movie scene, denim is king. Even well-dressed Labs wear it tied around their necks. The garments made by Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis over 150 years ago changed the nation and the world.




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