The story of denim is incomplete without reference to its origins. The fabric was invented in France in a town called Nimes. De Nimes, in French, means it comes from or is of Nimes, which it did. It was sold to the USA as a staple clothing for slaves and the merchants of Nimes grew rich upon this.Just like the plantation owners and the USA. Denim.
That is such a politically loaded story. Denim traces its roots to the gold rush in the USA. Your pseudo origin is Euro centric and anti-American. Yes France would later turn our work clothes into fashion that then ended up coming back to and being popularized in the US. Funny enough despite the America->France->America story of fashion denim, the highest quality blue denim jeans being made today actually come from the Japanese who bought the old machines that were being replaced with new "better" ones here in the states and now continue to produce old world quality selvage denim.
My thoughts exactly. The only other jeans video I watched was about a contemporary, extremely faithful copy of the original Levi's. The kind that aren't made anymore. I believe they are made in Japan and are exact replicas, stitching, copper rivets, etc. Everything but the Levi's logo. I thought "I should get some!!" When I found them online and learned they around $200-$250 a pair I decided I want as interested in jeans for nostalgia as I thought.
@@ERIC-65 'Vocal fry' has taken over young people world wide; even young men. It first appeared in southern California in the late 1990s; i first heard it come out of my socially trending teen niece at this time. It's a jag off of "valley girl" talk.
gonna start writing the date on all my pants to save some future pants expert time when they inevitably end up in a future pants museum (possibly on venus)
I got rid of most of my clothes after my wife died and moved to a campervan. I don't replace if I can repair. I feel free not owning what I don't need. Consumerism is an ego driven habit - I don't care as long as I'm not too scruffy and am clean.
I Iive well, eat good quality vegetarian if possible. Point is when you realise that living should not be a hell hole, rat race, when you can settle into the sweet silence you never noticed before, then you don't have to fill your space with stuff or your mind with mental stuff.
I remember as a teenager we patched our Levi’s. Since my friends and I were all barn rats, worked hard, and rode horses constantly our jeans would wear out. Some scrap denim and creative zig-zag stitches kept them patched and together for ages!
Do you remember how you just automatically stubbed your cigarettes out against your jeans and when you came across a grass fire, you either ran through it or stomped the flames out if they were less than knee high.? When the ends of our jeans caught alight while we were stubble burning, we jut beat them out with our hands and carried on working. These days people would think that we were crazy. A guy even thought that I was stupid when I stomped a bonfire out, despite the fact that I was wearing cowhide leather jeans and harness boots. 😃🔥
These are beautiful! Although they are patched and patched and faded and dyed etc, they're still elegant and tailored. I've only ever seen pictures of these, so I'm happy to stumble across your presentation - thank you!
I wish i could still buy the thick denim jeans they used to make in the 70s and 80s Those things were rugged as hell, the first couple months you could hardly wear them they were so stiff. Now theyre so thin and flimsy you cant wash them more than 3 times without them falling apart. Its basically just t-shirt fabric painted blue.
Levi Strauss didn't invented the denim fabric, he only popularized the usage of denim pants for factory workers, miners, and farmers; Partnered together with Jacob W. Davis with his invetion of riveted pants. Both of the men experimented with different fabrics and discovered that the denim fabric is more stronger than canvas duck. And they began to mass-produce the denim pants. This pair of 1840s pants basically ahead of its time.
That was an UNDER statement! I recently purchased the priciest & most unique pair of 👖. I washed them in cold water, & used low dryer cycle. They completely faded, shrank & lost their shape! All due to the EVIL DRYER!
@@eringemini7091 QUALITY Denim is pretty strong and doesn’t shrink. A pair of pants that will last you for the rest of your life could cost about $200+
For that reason, we only partially dry our clothes in the dryer. We will run them for about five minutes or less, then take them out and hang them on a line to finish drying. We do this for all of our washable clothes, including cottons (like jeans). We are hoping to extend the life of the clothes and save some energy at the same time. Of course, you can only do this if you have a large enough area, inside or outside, to run a clothesline.
@@emotionaldistress my problem is I get paint, oil, adhesives and other material on my pants. its not worth getting fancier pants when i am so damaging to them. but i have not been having the same problems Erin has said. I have had a pair of jeans for 4 years, and they are doing just fine, well except for a few cut marks where they saved my leg
@@daphne4983 I have, Brave Star, Jo&Co, Pure Blue Momotaro etc. Washed them in the bath for about a year but no longer, Woollen wash does the same. Use a liquid soap without bleach of course (Woolite Denim ~ Amazon). Hang by the belt and don’t iron.
You can get fall front pants at stores that serve Amish communities. Mostly black, grey, some blue. Not sure who makes them but they are very hard wearing!
Very nice presentation. Fabric used to be woven with quality thread and not just during the 19th century. Most of the 20th century...in my opinion. That's why these trousers lasted decade after decade. Today's fabrics are mostly woven with weak, cheap threads. Don't get me wrong, there are quality fabrics out there, but for the most part, personally, I see cheap fabric. One used to be able to find well made clothing with high quality fabric. Purchasing quality fabrics are not easy, too. On-line is the best place to find quality fabrics in my neck of the woods. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Nicely, done. However, I think these trousers were made before 1840. Reason being, the high waist in the back. The stirrups could have been added later.
Stitching today leaves a bit to be desired sometimes, too. I have had seams unravel because the end wasn't properly tacked down, and of course late 20th century mass-produced clothing can best be described as "pucker, pucker, pucker."
Fascinating. I love how the pants were repurposed and repaired over the years. They were obviously very well made and did their job admirably. We should be appreciating clothing like that now instead of throwing garments away every year. I try to buy better quality more classic looks now and keep things for years.
Me too. My strategy is to not buy many clothes, but to buy good quality clothes when I do. All of my clothes, winter and summer, can fit into a non-walk-in closet that's about four feet in breadth, along with a short dresser. Then I wear them until they fall apart. And some items have not indicated when they will ever do that. I picked up this approach from my Dad, who grew up in the Great Depression. The man's closet was a museum (and it was the same size as my current one).
That's how we should treat our clothes, with care. Not buy new stuff we don't need year after year, throwing out perfectly fine pieces. Such wasteful consumerism. We need to get back to repairing, re-using, sustainability.
Interestingly, that's what the industrial revolution brought about...the ability for the average person to own more than one set of clothes. The fact that we can now afford to buy multiple sets of clothes on a yearly basis is the culmination of that revolution. Wasteful consumerism? Imagine if a single suit or dress cost more than a year's wages, say $30,000-$50,000 ...or however much you make in one year. Of course you would take care of it, but work clothes are work clothes and they wear out. What if you had to pay $500 on one set of overalls which you wore every day out in the field. I don't mean fancy branded clothing made of exotic materials, just everyday wear type of items.
Can't believe these are of such obviously superior design compared to contemporary denim waist-squeezers. Aside from the outdated front, the rear and overall cut and shape is very anatomically correct. A soft tension that follows the lower back and lumbar curve? My jeans look like a pillowcase stitched by robot monkeys compared to this masterpiece.
It's not too hard to find modern made pants that are cut like this. I've bought several pairs of pants from a company called "Darcy Clothing." They're handmade in the UK, so you can expect to pay a bit more, but they're excellent quality and unbelievably comfortable.
@@kgpspyguy Good to know! Ive gone to wearing suspenders with everything due to some spinal deformities. Anything that just squeezes your beltline hurts pretty great. Thanks for the tip
Very enjoyable investigation and demonstration of the garment. My ancestor manufactured early blue jeans in the early 19th C. In Newport, Kentucky. Also reminds me of how James Aged wrote about the beauty of the worn denim overalls of Appalchian sharecroppers in Let Us Now Praise Famous Men.
They would have likely belonged to someone born in the late 18th century and whom lived through the early years of the nineteenth century, Likely a tradesman of some sort since agriculture would have been far to damaging to allow the pants to persist for so long. The individual would have been of an older age by the time denim fabrics became common, so a person who would cling to the style they wore throughout their life, but lived into the age were the style and fabrics were changing. As they aged, they may have been less able to do as much work in their trade, and so required no need to purchase new pants for the task and found it simpler to just keep wearing their pre-established work pants and repatch them.
Not sure if it is true, but I heard early Levi's also had a copper rivet in the crotch area. Unfortunately, many people in that era did not wear underwear, and a common way to warm up in those days was to sit down by a fire. Radiant heat from the fire would heat this rivet up, and upon standing could make contact with some sensitive areas. I heard that is why they stopped placing a rivet there.
Maybe they were donated or given away by a wealthier person to a less wealthy person. Then the pants became work clothing after a life of more leisure wear.
"Designer Jeans" have no story behind them, yet they inflat the price? I still use work jeans (Levi's or Lee) from a decade ago that have a personal story behind them.
I certainly remember the days when we used our Levi's to stub our cigarettes out when we were smoking arter school and heard someone coming. It never even scorched the denim. I also remember the time we came across a grass fire in the fields and only the guys wearing Levi's or Wranglers cuffed the ends of their jeans and started stomping the knee high flames out. Do you remember how Levi's in your younger days were virtually fireproof and you could impress the girls by letting them use them as an ashtray at a party. 😃🔥🔥🔥
All denim back then was dyed with natural indigo. Today it’s mostly replaced by synthetic indigo, only a few high end denim brands still use natural indigo for some models.
All my Jean's are second hand vintage, LEVI, LEE, WRANGLER, CARHARTT. The Levi's l have are in a completly different league from todays offerings. They have MADE IN USA on the label, and are made from very robust denim.....contrast them with the raggy crap l viewed in a department store last week.....how they have got the audacity to put a Levi label on some of these Jean's l don,t know ? I also have 20 year old carhartt carpenter jeans, very robust each seam sewed 3 times, rivets on all pockets, not to mention wrangler, and Lee. I have just walked round vintage stores for years, and managed to buy 30 total pairs. If for some reason l needed Jean's in the future....l would buy carhartt. Going by my viewings of the other brands in various shops....they are not up to the standards of robustness that l remember in the 1960s.
Blue jean baby L.A. lady Seamstress for the band..... That's what was in my head as I watched. What's the chorus? Oh yeah.... Hold me closer, Tony Danza.....
Anyone interested in denim should watch, a must watch, is “Blue Gold: American Jeans” documentary. It is very thorough and an excellently made history of this fabric and how it has impacted everything in our society….fashion, pop culture, the environment and so much more! Narrated by Ed Burns also. Check it out!
This is a serious question. In the Jesse James photograph where he is about 16/17,wearing a hat,white shirt,narrow black tie,and looking straight at the camera. I cant figure out what garment he is wearing as the outer layer. As a dressmaker I notice its a bit odd with its sagging pocket,and asymmetrical shoulder seams. One shoulder seam is in the usual place,but on the other side its several inches lower! I cant figure out what is going on with it. Any ideas?
Funny how things change. My father was born in 1922, he said only the poorest people wore dungarees, aka denim. Oddly enough these same poor folk also ate lobster sandwiches because lobster was poor people food, most would hide to eat so they weren't tormented for eating lobster. Today you can pay a fortune for denim or lobster.
The days when clothing of any description was a valuable commodity for the working classes and was rare for such people to buy nee clothing and was common for clothes to have considerable owners until the could be patched no longer. If you see photos of street urchins from the turn of the 19th-20th century it is not uncommon to see them bare foot dressed in rags. In fact a pair of early 1970's trainers can now be worth a few pennies
Look like amish pants to me. The amish still make these exact same pants, some even hand stitch because some groups don't allow sewing machines. They could be contemporary amish.
I'm a dude but to me, fashion seems a bit gay but most of my jeans are falling apart, and I wear shorts at home. Jeans are uncomfy to sleep in; why wear something that you can't fall asleep on the floor? Is complicado no?
Interesting topic and well done video. I do, however, find it somewhat strange and impolite that one museum doesn't credit another for the use of its pictures, even though it is kindly put it in the public domain. But Chopin, who's been dead for 170-odd years, has been credited. Some weird American copyright law lobbied forth by the entertainment industry, I guess. I am, of course, referring to the Købke portrait of Sødring, donated to the public in 1902, and located in Den Hirschprungske Samling, Copenhagen.
So interesting! I love seeing how garments were cherished in the past, such an antithesis to our attitudes today in the developed world where everything is disposable.
big city greens had an episode where the dad goes to a hippie dippy store and everyone was amazed at his distressed jeans so much they made a normal sandwich and named it after him.
There was a period a few years back where people were searching old mines for denim jeans. They would sell them for a lot of money.
Its still something thats done
2022, there has been a recent find of several pairs in an Arizona mine.
The story of denim is incomplete without reference to its origins.
The fabric was invented in France in a town called Nimes.
De Nimes, in French, means it
comes from or is of Nimes, which it did.
It was sold to the USA as a staple clothing for slaves and the merchants of Nimes grew rich upon this.Just like the plantation owners and the USA.
Denim.
That is such a politically loaded story.
Denim traces its roots to the gold rush in the USA. Your pseudo origin is Euro centric and anti-American. Yes France would later turn our work clothes into fashion that then ended up coming back to and being popularized in the US.
Funny enough despite the America->France->America story of fashion denim, the highest quality blue denim jeans being made today actually come from the Japanese who bought the old machines that were being replaced with new "better" ones here in the states and now continue to produce old world quality selvage denim.
Pants with front flap were made in Germany all the way till ww1 if not longer. My grandfather had pictures of his gone relatives wearing them.
I would buy a pair
You can. They were hand made. Just go to a taylor, or some one who sews.
They looked like they had a nice fit to them as well . I'm guessing 34x30
i never thought I would be so interested in an old pair of pants.
Can't wait till my pants end up in museum
"It appears that he wore these jeans almost every single day even though they fell apart years into the use"
Held me captive for 6 minutes. How is this just popping up on my RUclips?
It's her voice ,right?
My thoughts exactly. The only other jeans video I watched was about a contemporary, extremely faithful copy of the original Levi's. The kind that aren't made anymore. I believe they are made in Japan and are exact replicas, stitching, copper rivets, etc. Everything but the Levi's logo. I thought "I should get some!!" When I found them online and learned they around $200-$250 a pair I decided I want as interested in jeans for nostalgia as I thought.
@@ERIC-65 'Vocal fry' has taken over young people world wide; even young men. It first appeared in southern California in the late 1990s; i first heard it come out of my socially trending teen niece at this time. It's a jag off of "valley girl" talk.
gonna start writing the date on all my pants to save some future pants expert time when they inevitably end up in a future pants museum (possibly on venus)
😂
Me too
When I incorrectly dried/fried my $$$ expensive 👖, they L👀KED like they should be on display in a Museum😑!!
@@eringemini7091 bruh why do you type like that
@@bluudlung illiterate kids.
I got rid of most of my clothes after my wife died and moved to a campervan. I don't replace if I can repair. I feel free not owning what I don't need. Consumerism is an ego driven habit - I don't care as long as I'm not too scruffy and am clean.
Whatever works for you sir, and my condolences for your loss.
You're on a level of living most will never understand
I Iive well, eat good quality vegetarian if possible. Point is when you realise that living should not be a hell hole, rat race, when you can settle into the sweet silence you never noticed before, then you don't have to fill your space with stuff or your mind with mental stuff.
@@johnburman966 excellent. I feel the same way.
…and have wi-fi access?
I remember as a teenager we patched our Levi’s. Since my friends and I were all barn rats, worked hard, and rode horses constantly our jeans would wear out. Some scrap denim and creative zig-zag stitches kept them patched and together for ages!
u still have em? 👀
Do you remember how you just automatically stubbed your cigarettes out against your jeans and when you came across a grass fire, you either ran through it or stomped the flames out if they were less than knee high.?
When the ends of our jeans caught alight while we were stubble burning, we jut beat them out with our hands and carried on working.
These days people would think that we were crazy. A guy even thought that I was stupid when I stomped a bonfire out, despite the fact that I was wearing cowhide leather jeans and harness boots. 😃🔥
They should make a pair of similar jeans now
Yeah but it's not a good business model, people wouldn't buy new pairs every year
@@QuinnHartmann clothes get worn
They should up their quality, all the levis i buy in recent years practically disintegrate.
Planned obsolescence
@@QuinnHartmann nope
These are beautiful! Although they are patched and patched and faded and dyed etc, they're still elegant and tailored. I've only ever seen pictures of these, so I'm happy to stumble across your presentation - thank you!
I would look even fatter in them :(
@@daphne4983 I disagree with you, they are matched...
I wish i could still buy the thick denim jeans they used to make in the 70s and 80s
Those things were rugged as hell, the first couple months you could hardly wear them they were so stiff.
Now theyre so thin and flimsy you cant wash them more than 3 times without them falling apart. Its basically just t-shirt fabric painted blue.
Carhart
Iron heart jeans
Levi Strauss didn't invented the denim fabric, he only popularized the usage of denim pants for factory workers, miners, and farmers; Partnered together with Jacob W. Davis with his invetion of riveted pants. Both of the men experimented with different fabrics and discovered that the denim fabric is more stronger than canvas duck. And they began to mass-produce the denim pants. This pair of 1840s pants basically ahead of its time.
Those look better after 2 centuries than my Walmart specials do after 2 wears.
This makes me want to take better care of my jeans. I'm already pretty careful with my other clothing. The dryer is the enemy of clothing.
That was an UNDER statement! I recently purchased the priciest & most unique pair of 👖. I washed them in cold water, & used low dryer cycle. They completely faded, shrank & lost their shape! All due to the EVIL DRYER!
@@eringemini7091 QUALITY Denim is pretty strong and doesn’t shrink. A pair of pants that will last you for the rest of your life could cost about $200+
For that reason, we only partially dry our clothes in the dryer. We will run them for about five minutes or less, then take them out and hang them on a line to finish drying. We do this for all of our washable clothes, including cottons (like jeans). We are hoping to extend the life of the clothes and save some energy at the same time. Of course, you can only do this if you have a large enough area, inside or outside, to run a clothesline.
@@emotionaldistress my problem is I get paint, oil, adhesives and other material on my pants. its not worth getting fancier pants when i am so damaging to them. but i have not been having the same problems Erin has said. I have had a pair of jeans for 4 years, and they are doing just fine, well except for a few cut marks where they saved my leg
180 years old and they look better than my modern jeans after just a couple years...
That's because you wash them in a washer
@@daphne4983 Try ‘Woollens’ setting.
@@Known-unknowns tell that to the op :)
Machine washing and drying will do that.
@@daphne4983 I have, Brave Star, Jo&Co, Pure Blue Momotaro etc. Washed them in the bath for about a year but no longer, Woollen wash does the same. Use a liquid soap without bleach of course (Woolite Denim ~ Amazon). Hang by the belt and don’t iron.
I like the person who wore these. These pants give me a good vibe
His name was Mike 'Meanie' McGee. He pulled on girls' ponytails when he was a kid and as an adult, he couldn't stop throwing rocks at people.
You can get fall front pants at stores that serve Amish communities. Mostly black, grey, some blue. Not sure who makes them but they are very hard wearing!
Probably the Amish
Very nice presentation. Fabric used to be woven with quality thread and not just during the 19th century. Most of the 20th century...in my opinion. That's why these trousers lasted decade after decade. Today's fabrics are mostly woven with weak, cheap threads. Don't get me wrong, there are quality fabrics out there, but for the most part, personally, I see cheap fabric. One used to be able to find well made clothing with high quality fabric. Purchasing quality fabrics are not easy, too. On-line is the best place to find quality fabrics in my neck of the woods.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Nicely, done. However, I think these trousers were made before 1840. Reason being, the high waist in the back. The stirrups could have been added later.
Stitching today leaves a bit to be desired sometimes, too. I have had seams unravel because the end wasn't properly tacked down, and of course late 20th century mass-produced clothing can best be described as "pucker, pucker, pucker."
Talking about sustainability and how it ended in a museum. What a life this denim pants have! ❤️
Fascinating. I love how the pants were repurposed and repaired over the years. They were obviously very well made and did their job admirably. We should be appreciating clothing like that now instead of throwing garments away every year. I try to buy better quality more classic looks now and keep things for years.
Me too. My strategy is to not buy many clothes, but to buy good quality clothes when I do. All of my clothes, winter and summer, can fit into a non-walk-in closet that's about four feet in breadth, along with a short dresser. Then I wear them until they fall apart. And some items have not indicated when they will ever do that. I picked up this approach from my Dad, who grew up in the Great Depression. The man's closet was a museum (and it was the same size as my current one).
I remember my dad taking a bunch of antique clothes like this in a trunk to the dump. They were
way older than a hundred years.
That is so sad :(
Oh man! 😥
That's how we should treat our clothes, with care. Not buy new stuff we don't need year after year, throwing out perfectly fine pieces. Such wasteful consumerism. We need to get back to repairing, re-using, sustainability.
Interestingly, that's what the industrial revolution brought about...the ability for the average person to own more than one set of clothes. The fact that we can now afford to buy multiple sets of clothes on a yearly basis is the culmination of that revolution. Wasteful consumerism? Imagine if a single suit or dress cost more than a year's wages, say $30,000-$50,000 ...or however much you make in one year. Of course you would take care of it, but work clothes are work clothes and they wear out. What if you had to pay $500 on one set of overalls which you wore every day out in the field. I don't mean fancy branded clothing made of exotic materials, just everyday wear type of items.
Very similar to sail cloth pants from Europe from early 18th century.
when your poor you patch or hand them down especially 1840s
Nothing worse than buying a pair of jeans that are already worn out before you wear them.
Great presentation, very informative. The study of these items is like an archeological dig. What a find!
Spectacular. Great detective work!
i used to work in cabinetry i would go through 3-5 pairs of jeans a year crazy how long those survived
Can't believe these are of such obviously superior design compared to contemporary denim waist-squeezers. Aside from the outdated front, the rear and overall cut and shape is very anatomically correct. A soft tension that follows the lower back and lumbar curve? My jeans look like a pillowcase stitched by robot monkeys compared to this masterpiece.
It's not too hard to find modern made pants that are cut like this.
I've bought several pairs of pants from a company called "Darcy Clothing."
They're handmade in the UK, so you can expect to pay a bit more, but they're excellent quality and unbelievably comfortable.
@@kgpspyguy Good to know! Ive gone to wearing suspenders with everything due to some spinal deformities. Anything that just squeezes your beltline hurts pretty great. Thanks for the tip
Very enjoyable investigation and demonstration of the garment. My ancestor manufactured early blue jeans in the early 19th C. In Newport, Kentucky. Also reminds me of how James Aged wrote about the beauty of the worn denim overalls of Appalchian sharecroppers in Let Us Now Praise Famous Men.
James Agee?
@@toolguy6534 yes. Agee. great book.
They would have likely belonged to someone born in the late 18th century and whom lived through the early years of the nineteenth century, Likely a tradesman of some sort since agriculture would have been far to damaging to allow the pants to persist for so long. The individual would have been of an older age by the time denim fabrics became common, so a person who would cling to the style they wore throughout their life, but lived into the age were the style and fabrics were changing. As they aged, they may have been less able to do as much work in their trade, and so required no need to purchase new pants for the task and found it simpler to just keep wearing their pre-established work pants and repatch them.
Not sure if it is true, but I heard early Levi's also had a copper rivet in the crotch area. Unfortunately, many people in that era did not wear underwear, and a common way to warm up in those days was to sit down by a fire. Radiant heat from the fire would heat this rivet up, and upon standing could make contact with some sensitive areas. I heard that is why they stopped placing a rivet there.
I have a piece of history right now in my storage unit, it's my jean jacket from the 80's, man, I sure do miss those concerts.
Snow
Yeah but can you still fit into it?
Fascinating, loved the unearthed history!
$40-$45 for a pair of jeans is ludicrous. Levis be damned. They can go to hell. 🔥👹
The fabric looks like moleskin or fustian to me. Popular in French workwear “bleu de travail” garments. Cool stuff!
i probably paid more attention to a video about old jeans then in my old high school math class
Great video especially the last bit is that exhibit still ongoing?
The exhibition closed in 2016, but you can still visit virtually via the website. exhibitions.fitnyc.edu/denim-fashions-frontier/
1:10 he was way ahead of his time to know selfie pose
Look like sailor type of pants.
vocal fry is high in this one. can't finish watching.
Damn. Why'd you have to point that out?
Great presentation. Learned something new. Thank you
1:10 Dude's taking a selfie with a flip phone.
Meanwhile, Pair of Levis today tear up after 2 months
I have 2 different types of repro Levi’s 1890
Forensic analysis of blue jeans-pretty cool!
Smartly taking a selfie @1:10
Maybe they were donated or given away by a wealthier person to a less wealthy person. Then the pants became work clothing after a life of more leisure wear.
Wondering why people look so ugly that time.
"Designer Jeans" have no story behind them, yet they inflat the price?
I still use work jeans (Levi's or Lee) from a decade ago that have a personal story behind them.
I think I enjoyed this more than Sherlock.
Absolutely fascinating and what an amazing piece of detective work!
Y la gente de Levi's saca pecho diciendo que ellos tienen los jeans más antiguos del mundo. 😂🤣
Fascinating... makes a nice comparison to Japan's Boro Fabrics.
Phew! For a minute there I thought that Levi didn't invent denim jeans!
Grailed Vintage only worn once good condition
Anybody on here remember when Levi's where good?
I certainly remember the days when we used our Levi's to stub our cigarettes out when we were smoking arter school and heard someone coming. It never even scorched the denim.
I also remember the time we came across a grass fire in the fields and only the guys wearing Levi's or Wranglers cuffed the ends of their jeans and started stomping the knee high flames out.
Do you remember how Levi's in your younger days were virtually fireproof and you could impress the girls by letting them use them as an ashtray at a party. 😃🔥🔥🔥
I would just sew patches on my jeans when they get worn out but then people will think I'm a hobo.
The line between hobo and fashionista/o is mostly just confidence anyway.
Superb narrator excellent video editing, and excellent research education...
No where in the description or in the video do they say what FIT stands for 🤔
Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT).
The blue color may have been by using a plant called woad that is processed with human urine to create a chemical reaction in a rich blue dye.
All denim back then was dyed with natural indigo.
Today it’s mostly replaced by synthetic indigo, only a few high end denim brands still use natural indigo for some models.
@@rolux4853 But ANN can still pee on his jeans if it makes them look more woad-y-blue to him. Just sayin'…
Woad grows in England, not in America
@@cecilyerker That's like saying maize and sunflowers can't grow in England because they are from America.
All my Jean's are second hand vintage, LEVI, LEE, WRANGLER, CARHARTT. The Levi's l have are in a completly different league from todays offerings. They have MADE IN USA on the label, and are made from very robust denim.....contrast them with the raggy crap l viewed in a department store last week.....how they have got the audacity to put a Levi label on some of these Jean's l don,t know ? I also have 20 year old carhartt carpenter jeans, very robust each seam sewed 3 times, rivets on all pockets, not to mention wrangler, and Lee. I have just walked round vintage stores for years, and managed to buy 30 total pairs. If for some reason l needed Jean's in the future....l would buy carhartt. Going by my viewings of the other brands in various shops....they are not up to the standards of robustness that l remember in the 1960s.
Amazing to think that someday, one of my pair of old pants could become a sought after item ;)
With the skidmarks and everything?
Blue jean baby
L.A. lady
Seamstress for the band.....
That's what was in my head as I watched. What's the chorus? Oh yeah....
Hold me closer, Tony Danza.....
Anyone interested in denim should watch, a must watch, is “Blue Gold: American Jeans” documentary. It is very thorough and an excellently made history of this fabric and how it has impacted everything in our society….fashion, pop culture, the environment and so much more! Narrated by Ed Burns also. Check it out!
I didn't know denim went back to 1840. I knew it was worn by western cattle men (cowboys) in the 1880s.
This is a serious question. In the Jesse James photograph where he is about 16/17,wearing a hat,white shirt,narrow black tie,and looking straight at the camera. I cant figure out what garment he is wearing as the outer layer. As a dressmaker I notice its a bit odd with its sagging pocket,and asymmetrical shoulder seams. One shoulder seam is in the usual place,but on the other side its several inches lower! I cant figure out what is going on with it. Any ideas?
They are obviously pre 1870 and lovingly hand/homemade and patched to prolong their use.
Funny how things change. My father was born in 1922, he said only the poorest people wore dungarees, aka denim. Oddly enough these same poor folk also ate lobster sandwiches because lobster was poor people food, most would hide to eat so they weren't tormented for eating lobster. Today you can pay a fortune for denim or lobster.
Navy dress pants were 13 button broad fall trousers..... referred to as 13 chance pants ....she gets 13 chances to say no
Very interesting! Do you know when the typical flat felled- "jean seams" were introduced?
Is that the 1840’s version of the famous Brett Favre dickpic at 1:11? It kinda looks like he’s holding a camera phone. 😂
The days when clothing of any description was a valuable commodity for the working classes and was rare for such people to buy nee clothing and was common for clothes to have considerable owners until the could be patched no longer. If you see photos of street urchins from the turn of the 19th-20th century it is not uncommon to see them bare foot dressed in rags. In fact a pair of early 1970's trainers can now be worth a few pennies
You should be aware that it was common for lower class individuals to make their own up until the 1960's. This would explain the hand stitching.
Denim Chicken
These last 200 years but the Levi’s sold at Sears have no color within 3 months. What the F happened?
Look like amish pants to me. The amish still make these exact same pants, some even hand stitch because some groups don't allow sewing machines. They could be contemporary amish.
I wish my old jeans where as full of character as that pair of pants.
Fascinating!
I'm a dude but to me, fashion seems a bit gay
but most of my jeans are falling apart, and I wear shorts at home. Jeans are uncomfy to sleep in; why wear something that you can't fall asleep on the floor? Is complicado no?
Great little video. Thank you
Thank you!
Interesting topic and well done video. I do, however, find it somewhat strange and impolite that one museum doesn't credit another for the use of its pictures, even though it is kindly put it in the public domain. But Chopin, who's been dead for 170-odd years, has been credited. Some weird American copyright law lobbied forth by the entertainment industry, I guess. I am, of course, referring to the Købke portrait of Sødring, donated to the public in 1902, and located in Den Hirschprungske Samling, Copenhagen.
wtf,,,people still hand stitch,,,,,,the fact that a sewing machine was not available is not clue
So interesting! I love seeing how garments were cherished in the past, such an antithesis to our attitudes today in the developed world where everything is disposable.
Bone buttons? Wow. Even Blue collar workers got the best materials back then.
Useless info warning. Invented in Nemes France, known as 'Cloth De Nimes'
big city greens had an episode where the dad goes to a hippie dippy store and everyone was amazed at his distressed jeans so much they made a normal sandwich and named it after him.
US Navy blue bell bottom pants also have false front, it covers the laced fly.
Fascinating.
They look earlier because they are Genovese ( Genova a Italy) sailors pants maybe?
People had to value things and preserve them...
Is it possible for this fabric had endured that long ? Really ?
Years from now perhaps my old whitey tighteys will be on exhibit.
bring back the fall front (very similar to the 13 button navy pants)
so a laborer bought them at a thrift store and converted them into work jeans?
These are in style right now, I see all the hip young college kids wearing them
Who else thought the guy at 1:09 was making a selfie in the mirror? :')
Mind blowing!
Emma and Nicole have got a voice I just cant commit to.