Any modern fashion connoisseur is familiar with jeans. These thick cotton trousers are very comfortable and practical, therefore they are popular among men and women of all ages. A few centuries ago, Italian sailors wore similar trousers made of thick canvas. But the American industrialist Levi Strauss is considered the inventor of modern jeans.
From the history of jeans
Fashion historians have established that the first pants made of canvas were worn by Italian sailors. This material was very common, was inexpensive, and products made from it were distinguished by resistance to wear. Subsequently, these trousers were called "genes". It is believed that this word comes from the name of the city of Genoa, located in Italy and famous for its canvas.
At the end of the 18th century, a book with samples of textile products was published in France, which describes pants that look like jeans.
In the middle of the 19th century, the Belgian Leiba Strauss arrived in America, whom the sailors immediately christened Levi Strauss (in English this name sounds like Levi Strauss). The son of a poor tailor, he had very little property with him, including a solid roll of canvas cloth, from which he, upon his arrival on American soil, began to sew tents for gold miners in order to somehow feed himself.
Once a gold digger he knew complained to Strauss that if he had good pants, he could do without a tent, just sleeping under a tree. The enterprising Strauss recalled the tailoring skills passed on to him by his father, and very soon he sewed sturdy trousers from canvas, which he immediately sold to the gold digger for a little over a dollar.
The product was a success, so soon Strauss had new customers.
Jeans: simplicity, comfort and practicality
In 1853, a successful tailor founded his own workshop in the city of San Francisco, where he began to sew pants for gold miners and other workers. Strauss personally visited gold digging villages, finding out the wishes of future customers and improving his products. The workers were pleased with the way Strauss carried out orders.
Soon the trousers were equipped with belt loops, as well as roomy front and back pockets. For greater strength, all the seams Strauss made double. A few years later, the seam joints on the pockets were reinforced with metal rivets. Having patented a new type of workwear in 1873, Strauss began to select a more suitable material for his products. The choice fell on a dense cotton fabric with a diagonal weave. This is how modern jeans appeared.
When the number of people seeking to get rich in gold mines declined, jeans went to the general population, becoming everyday clothes for the most ordinary people. Interestingly, during the Second World War, practical and durable jeans began to be used in the US Army. They were worn by those who directly participated in hostilities.
