Denim: the journey of jeans

Nímes - Denim originally comes from this city in France, produced under the name serge de Nímes, meaning "fabric from Nímes."

Ordinary stuff - The material became very popular, but not in the clothing industry. It was just an ordinary material that was relatively strong.

Levi Strauss (1829-1902) - In 1851, Levi Strauss went to New York from Germany in order to help his brother with the family dry goods store.

Jacob W. Davis (1831-1908) - Meanwhile, a man named Jacob W. Davis was making a business for himself in Reno, Nevada.

Working trousers - A man came into his shop and requested some trousers. Davis used the tough denim he had bought from Levi Strauss to make the trousers.

Reinforcement - Davis ensured that the trousers were strong by putting copper rivets in the flies and pockets, as these are the parts that rip the most.

Partners - The trousers worked so well that Davis wanted to patent them. He got in contact with Strauss and they became partners in the production of denim jeans.

Workers wares - At first, jeans were only really popular in 1920s America, and only workmen and those working the land needed their robustness.

WWI (1914-1918) - Jeans got more popular when, during WWI, they became an essential commodity for defense workers.

Celebrity status - In the early 1950s, jeans were still not fashionable. They were largely regarded as overalls and only worn as dungarees or as working clothes.

Rebel fashion - However, their popularity slowly grew later in the 1950s. Denim was adopted as a fashion trend.

Levi's 501 - The most popular style was the Levi's 501. They're "shrinkable jeans" that all come in the same size but shrink to your shape.

1950s - The 1950s trend was to wear straight-cut jeans with a plain white tee. Jeans were usually rolled up and were not fitted on the leg.

Boot cut - People usually associate the ‘60s with only flare jeans, but the boot-cut jean was also very popular.

Bell bottom - One of the most defining moments for jean culture was the invention of the bell bottom jean.

Low-rise - The ‘90s were crazy about denim. Low-rise distressed jeans were all the rage with the female stars of the time, such as Madonna.

Baggy - Then, a denim explosion. JNCO jeans became insanely popular, despite their inherently inconvenient size.

Beads and bleach - The early 2000s saw the jean become bejewelled with gem-studded pants becoming extremely popular.