Levi Strauss : The History of Blue Jeans

In 1853, the California gold rush was in full swing, and everyday items were in short supply. Levi Strauss, a 24-year-old German immigrant, left New York for San Francisco with a small supply of dry goods with the intention of opening a branch of his brother's New York dry goods business. Shortly after his arrival, a prospector wanted to know what Mr. Strauss was selling. When Strauss told him he had rough canvas to use for tents and wagon covers, the prospector said, "You should have brought pants!," saying he couldn’t find a pair of pants strong enough to last.

Denim Blue Jeans

Levi Strauss had the canvas made into waist overalls. Miners liked the pants, but complained that they tended to chafe. Levi Strauss substituted a twilled cotton cloth from France called "serge de Nimes." The fabric later became known as denim and the pants were nicknamed blue jeans.

Levi Strauss & Company

In 1873, Levi Strauss & Company began using the pocket stitch design. Levi Strauss and Nevada tailor David Jacobs co-patented the process of putting rivets in pants for strength. On May 20, 1873, they received U.S.Patent No.139,121. This date is now considered the official birthday of "blue jeans."

The two-horse brand design was first used in 1886. The red tab attached to the left rear pocket was created in 1936 as a means of identifying Levi’s jeans at a distance. All are registered trademarks that are still in use.

Type of Jeans

1. Straight cut
Straight cut is a kind of jeans pants which the circumference of their legs is consistent from the hip down to the leg. The straight-cut jeans are usually cut straight down from the waist making it fits your natural waist and is slim through the ankles and bottom. The bottom does not flare out. This type of jeans is classic but it has set some conditions for those who are fond of it. You have to make sure if your body is perfect enough for the straight-cut jeans as it’s tapered off slightly at the ankle.

2. Flare cut
Flare cut is similar to boot cut but a little bit tighter and is cut wider or flare out from knee down, looking much more a bell-like shape at the hem. The flare-cut jeans are fitted at the waist down to the leg and pretty roomy of the ankle part. This style of jeans is usually worn below your natural waist and should not be so much tight through the leg. Some said this kind of jeans is never out of style and it’s so common to wear at any occasions.

3. Boot cut
Boot cut is sometimes known as flare cut, but it’s less roomy at the ankle part. The boot cut is tapered to the knee and are slim in the thigh area but is made slightly wider from the knee down to the hem in order to accommodate a person’s boots without bunching up.

4.Bell bottom
Bell bottom is wide-legged pants which are loose from the knee downwards and fitted tightly around the hips. This style of trousers was worn by both men and women and suit with a hip length tunic, was very typical of fashion trends of 1971 and 1972. Bell-bottomed pants were widely used among sailors in the past and also known as the sailors’ traditional clothing. With its wide legs, the sailors can easily pull wet pants off over heavy boots, helping them to discard heavy clothing when fell overboard.

5. Skinny jean
Skinny jeans come in many names such as tapered pants, carrot leg pants, ice-cream cone pants, old-school hood jeans and so on. The skinny jean is slim-fit pants which are tapered through the end of the ankle. This type of jeans always looks chic on those wearing them, however, perfect shape of your body is strongly required (people with smaller hips and taller women). The skinny jeans look best with high-heeled shoes or knee high boots.

Ref: http://www.jeansguide.net/types-of-jeans