Denim

Denim, in American usage since the late eighteenth century, denotes a rugged cotton twill textile, in which the weft passes under two (twi- "double") or more warp fibers, producing the familiar diagonal ribbing identifiable on the reverse of the fabric, which distinguishes denim from cotton duck. The word comes from the name of a sturdy fabric called serge, originally made in Nîmes, France, by the Andre family. Originally called serge de Nîmes, the name was soon shortened to denim. Denim was traditionally colored blue with indigo dye to make blue "jeans," though "jean" then denoted a different, lighter cotton textile; the contemporary use of jean comes from the French word for Genoa, Italy (Gênes), where the first denim trousers were made.A similarly woven traditional American cotton textile is the diagonal warp-striped hickory cloth that was once associated with railroadmen's overalls, in which blue or black contrasting with undyed white threads form the woven pattern. Hickory cloth was characterized as being as rugged as hickory wood—not to mention the fact that it was deemed to be worn mainly by "hicks"—although neither may be the origin of that term [from a nickname for "Richard"]. Records of a group of New Yorkers headed for the California gold fields in 1849 show that they took along four "hickory shirts" apiece. Hickory cloth would later furnish the material for some "fatigue" pantaloons and shirts in the American Civil War.The word dungarees, to identify heavy cotton pants such as overalls can be traced to a thick cotton country-made cloth, Dongari Kapar, which was sold in the quarter contiguous to the Dongari Killa, the fort of what was then known as Bombay (Hobson Johnson Dictionary). The word entered English with just this meaning in 1696 (OED). Dongri Fort was rebuilt in 1769 as Fort George, Bombay, where the first cotton mill was established in 1854. Dyed in indigo, the traditional cloth was used by Portuguese sailors and cut wide so that the legs could be swiftly rolled up when necessary. Thus, dungarees have a separate history.
DRY DENIM
Dry or raw denim, as opposed to washed denim, is a denim fabric that is not washed after being dyed during its production.Most denim is washed after being crafted into an article of clothing in order to make it softer and to eliminate any shrinkage which could cause an item to not fit after the owner washes it. In addition to being washed, non-dry denim is sometimes artificially "distressed" to achieve a worn-in look.Much of the appeal of dry denim lies in the fact that with time the fabric will fade in a manner similar to factory distressed denim. With dry denim, however, such fading is affected by the body of the person who wears the jeans and the activities of their daily life. This creates what many enthusiasts feel to be a more natural, unique look than pre-distressed denim.To facilitate the natural distressing process, some wearers of dry denim will often abstain from washing their jeans for more than six months,[3] though it is not a necessity for fading.Predominantly found in premium denim lines, dry denim represents a small niche in the overall market.
Selvage denimSelvage denim (also called selvedge denim) is a type of denim which forms a clean natural edge that does not unravel. It is commonly presented in the unwashed or raw state. Typically, the selvage edges will be located along the outseam of the pants, making it visible when cuffs are worn. Although selvage denim is not completely synonymous with unwashed denim, the presence of selvage typically implies that the denim used is a higher quality.The word "selvage" comes from the phrase "self-edge" and denotes denim made on old-style shuttle looms. These looms weave fabric with one continuous cross thread (the weft) that is passed back and forth all the way down the length of the bolt. As the weft loops back into the edge of the denim it creates this “self-edge” or Selvage. Selvage is desirable because the edge can’t fray like lower grade denims that have separate wefts which leave an open edge that must be stitched. Shuttle looming is a more time-consuming weaving process that produces denim of a tighter weave resulting in a heavier weight fabric that lasts.Shuttle looms weave a more narrow piece of fabric, and thus a longer piece of fabric is required to make a pair of jeans (approximately 3 yards). To maximize yield, traditional jean makers use the fabric all the way to the selvage edge. When the cuff is turned up the two selvage edges, where the denim is sewn together, can be seen. The selvage edge is usually stiched with colored thread: green, white, brown, yellow, and red (red is the most common). Fabric mills used these colors to differentiate between fabrics.Most selvage jeans today are dyed with synthetic indigo, but natural indigo dye is available in smaller niche denim labels. Loop dying machines feed a rope of cotton yarn through vats of indigo dye and then back out. The dye is allowed to oxidize before the next dip. Multiple dips create a deep dark indigo blue.In response to increased demand for jeans in the 1950's, American denim manufacturers replaced the old shuttle style looms with modern projectile looms. The new looms produced fabric faster and wider (60-inches or wider), yet lighter and less durable. Synthetic dyeing techniques along with post-dye treatments were introduced to control shrink and twist.Raw selvage is material that has not been washed once undergoing the dying process. It is especially desirable because the material will fade in the creases and folds of the jeans. This process is known as whiskering.

Jorts ( apparel )

A Jort (or Jorts, plural), a portmanteau of "jean-shorts", is a garment worn by women or men that covers the pelvic area, the buttocks, and the upper part of the legs (typically the part above the knee). Jorts are types of shorts that are made only from denim.Some restrict the definition of the jort to self-cropped pants made from denim (the classic "cut-off" jort), while others broaden them to include those denim shorts cropped and hemmed—and sometimes even pleated—at the knee. Jorts are still in wide use throughout the US. With the wide use of cellphones, jean shorts now often have a side pocket just to hold a cellphone. Most jean shorts have two back pockets and two side pockets.Black denim, store-bought jorts are popular in hip-hop and rap videos. These particular jorts usually extend below the knee, whether or not the waistband is worn at the waist. This usage of the jort emphasizes its diversity and ensures that jorts will be used well into the 21st century.Budweiser referred to jorts in its series of Real Men of Genius radio ads.The city of Grapevine, Texas has declared November 9 to be "Jorts Awareness Day."

Wide Leg Jeans

Wide leg jeans are a style of clothing popularized in the mid-to-late 1990s, especially by men trying to achieve an "alternative" style. For men, the style is also called hip-hop clothing and remains popular with this subculture in 2007. The quintessential brand of 'hip-hop' style wide leg jeans was JNCO, though other youth and ethnic oriented clothing companies manufacture them as well.In the United Kingdom during the original 90s fad they were known as "baggies" (not to be confused with The Baggies, aka West Bromwich Albion F.C.). However, this term faded with the original fad and now they are generally known as "wide leg jeans".Wide leg jeans differ from bell-bottoms in that the entire length of the leg is large in circumference whereas flare or bell-bottom jeans flare out below the knee. Wide leg jeans can be considered to be a variant of baggy jeans, which were also popular in the '90s.During Fall, 2007 wide leg jeans and pants became increasingly popular for women. Celebrity style influencers such as Kate Moss have helped to push the wide-leg jean trend into the mainstream, but despite this slim-fit pants and skinny jeans have still remained equally popular in 2007.Wide leg jeans and pants are usually at least 24" in circumference at the hem. Worn with a length just barely above skimming the ground, they completely cover a wearer's foot and shoes.

Skinny Jeans

Slim-fit pants (US) or Trousers (UK) have a snug fit through the legs and end in a small leg opening. Jeans may be cut in this style, and then are often called skinny jeans. Other names for this style include carrot leg pants, cigarette pants, drainpipes, peg leg pants, pencil pants, skinny pants, slimjims, tapered pants, old-school hood jeans or ice-cream cone pants. In some styles, zippers are needed at the bottom of the leg to facilitate pulling them over the feet. Stretch denim, with anywhere from 2% to 4% spandex, may be used to allow jeans to have a super-slim fit.The skinny style of pants for men originated in the 1950s with popular male stars such as Roy Rogers, Lone Ranger, Cisco Kid, Zorro and Gene Autry,[1] Marilyn Monroe, and Sandra Dee wearing their pants very slim to the ankle. Skinny jeans became most notable with country music stars and with with the birth of rock 'n' roll in the ’50s, when Elvis donned slim-fitting jeans and shocked the country with his gyrating dance moves. Skinny jeans and rock 'n' roll were inextricably linked to create the “bad boy” image that remains today. Skinny jeans were also worn by numerous rock bands, including the The Rolling Stones, and others.Drainpipe jeans (as they were then called) were also extremely popular in the punk movement of the late 1970s, worn by many bands and scene leaders such as The Clash, The Ramones, The Sex Pistols and were sold by the revolutionary shop Sex, run by Vivienne Westwood. The tight fit trousers were often customised with bondage-style zips or patches of other material, and were often worn tucked into industrial-style boots such as Dr Martens.Skinny jeans were also very popular in the 1980s, with most heavy metal bands in particular those in the thrash scene such as Anthrax, Megadeth, Metallica and Slayer. This was the trend for those who didn't wear spandex, which was popular with the dominant glam metal scene at the time. They were usually often worn with white high-top sneakers or basket-ball shoes. By the late 80's and early 90's, many hard rock bands such as Poison, Guns N' Roses and Mötley Crüe to Kiss, Bon Jovi and Slaughter, ditched the spandex and wore the form fitted jeans. However with the rise of grunge and hip-hop music in the early nineties and the post thrash movement, skinny jeans quickly went out of favour.
The trousers returned in the late 1990s and Early 2000s as they became favored by Garage revival bands and musicians, such as The Strokes. After the Indie Subculture started purchasing the now desired trousers,they began to be frequently stocked in U.S. stores in 2006. Kate Moss has been credited with inspiring the trend to women, and Dior designer Hedi Slimane credited for inspiring it for the men, although falsely. Among women, skinny jeans are most often worn tucked into boots or scrunched up over the wearer's footwear. Skinny jeans worn with flats are popular. In the early '00s The Libertines (particularly Carl Barat and Peter Doherty) used skinny jeans as part of their image (itself inspired by The Strokes' revival of drainpipes.) This was later adopted by more mainstream indie-pop / indie-rock and acts such as Test Icicles, Kaiser Chiefs, Kasabian, The Kooks and The Horrors, as well as comedians Russell Brand and Noel Fielding, increasing the popularity of skinny jeans amongst men.
Though skinny jeans (drainpipes) have only been worn by America's youth for a few years, they have been en vogue in Scandinavia and Southern Europe continually since the 1990s.

Sagging ( hipster )

Sagging is a manner of wearing pants or shorts below the waist, revealing some or all of the wearer's underwear, most commonly practiced by young males. It is closely associated with hip-hop music and fashion, and is also common among skateboarders and the Skate Punk music scene.Sagging is said to have its origins in the prohibition of belts among incarcerated inmates, when belts were confiscated to prevent prisoners hanging themselves. The fashion statement spread to urban youth, as it was perceived as creating a 'tough guy' image. Initially worn by Southern California gang members, it became popular when gangsta rap artists from Los Angeles became popular in the early 90s.
Types of sagging
The most common type is sagging is men wearing their jeans or shorts just low enough to reveal the waistband of their underwear, which is rarely viewed as being provocative. Sagging becomes more controversial when the jeans or pants are worn deliberately low to reveal more underwear. Again, most frequently most saggers just reveal a few inches of underwear, with jeans held just above the genital area by a belt (or sometimes purely by friction).Specific types of sagging include:Butt Sagging, where the jeans/shorts are pulled down at the rear only, sitting just below the butt.Straight Sagging, where the jeans/shorts are worn low all the way round, usually just below the hips, but not so low as the genital area, usually held up with a belt.Extreme Sagging, where as much of the underwear as possible is revealed, showing the entire butt and some or all of the genital area, often with jeans/shorts so loose that they are in constant danger of dropping right down.Double Sagging, where one, two or three pairs of shorts/pants are worn, with each layer revealing the layer beneath. This allows the overall sag to be much lower, and therefore more impressive.Although not true "sagging", which requires underwear to be shown, Freeball Sagging is often seen on beaches, where boardshorts or trunks are worn particularly low, without underwear.
Sagging Underwear
The type of underwear revealed by sagging varies according to personal taste, and often reveals a lot about the individual sagger. Popular types of sagging underwear include:Boxer Briefs are perhaps the most popular form of underwear for sagging, usually with a branded waistband clearly visible, such as Calvin Klein or Abercrombie and Fitch. Boxer Briefs are usually worn in black, white or grey, often with a brightly colored or contrasting waistband.Boxer Shorts, usually with bold patterns and colors. Boxers are popular for sagging because of their looseness, which means they can be pulled up out of jeans and made very obvious, often hanging down over the jeans waistband.Satin Boxer Shorts, are increasingly popular for sagging, usually in very bold, bright colors, or with repeated patterns such as spots, hearts or skulls etc. Satin Boxer Shorts are favored because the shine is good for attracting attention and are viewed as being daring, which more exhibitionist saggers enjoy.
Controversy
In early September, 2007, the city of Atlanta was debating whether to have the fashion statement made illegal under an ordinance sponsored by Council member C.T. Martin. This proposal caused considerable feedback.In March 2008, the Hahira City Council passed a highly controversial clothing ordinance, in the name of public safety, that actually bans citizens from wearing pants that are below the waist and reveal skin or undergarments. The council was split 2-2, but the tie was broken by the mayor.In many school districts across the United States, sagging is prohibited. The Virginia General Assembly tried, but failed to approve a law making the sagging style illegal in February 2005. In June 2007, the Town council of Delcambre, Louisiana passed an indecent exposure ordinance, prohibiting people wearing trousers which show their underwear.The American Civil Liberties Union has associated laws against sagging to be racial profiling. Benetta Standly, statewide organizer for the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia stated, "In Atlanta, we see this as racial profiling... It's going to target people who are more likely to commit crimes. Understandably, there's a fear with people associating the way you dress with crimes being committed."

Not to be confused with

BaggiesBecause of the name "phat pants" some people who are not involved in the rave scene mistakenly confuse phat pants with baggy pants. Baggy jeans or "baggies" are a specific type of cut with wide legs, the same width all the way down the leg. They are closely related to loose fit and are sometimes incorrectly labelled as such.
FlaresFlares are another cut of jeans involving wider legs. The distinguishing feature of flares is that they are a normal fit from the hips to the knees and then widen out from the knees down to the feet.
Hammer PantsHammer Pants are sometimes confused with Phat Pants, but are actually very different cut. Whilst Phat Pants usually have a fairly high groin and taper out from the waist. Hammer Pants had a very low sitting groin and very wide hips, whilst tapering in towards the ankles.
Bondage/Tripp Pants Bondage pants (also known as Tripp pants for the most popular brand of bondage pants), which are similar in bagginess to Phat Pants, but generally have darker color. (Usually black or grey) Furthermore, bondage pants tend to have chains, buckles, rings, straps, and other similar items on them, giving them somewhat of a 'BDSM' look, whereas Phat Pants usually don't.

Phat Pants

Phat pants or phatties are a cut of jeans worn by male ravers that are fitted at the waist but get wider down the legs all the way to the ground where they enclose the feet due to their width. Phat pants are usually worn by ravers and can be used as a visual identifier. Usually made of denim, but can be made of any material. Male Ravers will often customise their phat pants by covering them with reflective materials of their own design, the brighter the better. This can help with recognition at raves.Phat pants are often worn with braces that are not designed to be worn over the shoulders. They are quite often too short to do this anyway. They hang loosely on the pants from carabiners at the waist, and are usually brightly coloured webbing with a reflective strip sewn down the middle. Usually, the binding ring at the back is a heavy metal, which helps the braces to swing out in an arc around the boy or man when spinning.
Popularity
Phat pants were adorned by male ravers in the early to mid '90s and can still be seen in the early to mid '00s and later. In most portions of North America, however, the reign of the phatties has passed and they are steadily becoming less prominent in the rave scene.
Designs
Phat pants come in many forms and designs, ready made or can be made to specific requirements of the guy.Phat pants are frequently adorned with a multitude of large pockets giving ravers a place to hold their water bottles, sweets, and whatever else may be necessary to get them through a weekend of partying.

Overall

An overall is a type of garment which is usually used as protective clothing when working. Overalls have sometimes been items of fashion, especially in the 1990s. By analogy with protective clothing, technical students started wearing overalls to specific events in Sweden and later in Finland, and later the practice spread to all students. Some people call an overall a "pair of overalls" by analogy with "pair of trousers".
Bib-and-brace (Dungaree)
These are trousers with an attached front patch covering the chest and with attached braces (called suspenders in the USA) which go over the shoulders. Some people use the word "overall" for this garment only and not for a boilersuit. In British English such a garment is usually called a pair of dungarees.Bib overalls are usually made of blue denim and often have riveted pockets, similar to those on blue jeans. Bib overalls have long been associated with rural men in the U.S. South and Midwest, especially farmers and railroad workers. They are often worn with plaid flannel shirts, long johns or a red union suit underneath, or with a T-shirt or no shirt at all in warmer weather. Since the 1960s, different colors and patterns of bib overalls have been increasingly worn by young people of both sexes, often with one of the straps worn loose or unfastened along the side and under the arm.
Etymology of "dungaree"
The term "dungaree" was associated with a coarse undyed calico fabric that was produced and sold in a region near Dongari Killa (also called Fort George) in Bombay (now Mumbai) in India. The cloth was cheap and often poorly woven. As such, it was used by the poorer classes for clothing and by various navies as a sail cloth. Sailors often re-used old sails to make clothes. In time, the name of the cloth came to also mean an item of clothing made out of it.
Military overall
In the British Army, male Officers' mess dress in most regiments includes a pair of very tight wool trousers which extend above the waist and are worn with braces. The first use of overalls as part of a military uniform was by the Americans. In fact, the earliest written reference to "overalls" in the English language dates to 1776 in the uniform regulations of various American militia units organized to fight in the American Revolution. Overalls were also used by loyalist units, as well as by patriots. As with the gaiters they replaced, military overalls of the Revolutionary War were very tight in the leg, and while some styles retained the full buttoned sides, most relegated the buttons to the distance from mid-calf to the hem. The gaiter style foot covering was retained, as the first military overalls were intended for infantry soldiers. Early regulations and military records show that overalls were strictly a protective layer of clothing for the breeches and stockings for the first couple of years of war. However, the 1778 uniform regulations for the Continental regulars specifically state that overalls, made of linen for summer and wool for winter, will be issued as a replacement for breeches. This is the first purposely non-protective use of overalls in place of breeches as a regular piece of clothing. Specialist battledress was developed primarily during the Second World War, including the Denison smock - originally for parachutists but also adopted by snipers. Specialized jump clothing was perpetuated by the Canadian Airborne Regiment who wore distinctive disruptive-pattern jump smocks from 1975 until disbandment in 1995.Special patterns of AFV uniform were also worn beginning in the Second World War, initially black coveralls, later khaki coveralls as well as the padded "Pixie suit". Olive drab tanker's uniforms were adopted with the Combat uniform in the 1960s, including a distinctive padded jacket with angled front zip.
The Canadian Army has made extensive use of plain coveralls as a field uniform, commonly using khaki coveralls in the Second World War to save wear and tear on wool BD. In the 1950s and 1960, the cash-poor Canadian military adopted black coveralls which were often worn as combat dress, replacing them in the 1970s with rifle green coveralls. These were worn in the field in Canada by units in training but are also evident in photos of men deployed to West Germany during the Cold War, as armoured and mechanized units sometimes preferred to wear coveralls when carrying out maintenance.
Shortalls
Shortalls are a type of overalls in which the legs of the garment resemble those of shorts. The word is a contraction of these two words. They are often worn during the summer and had their latest popularity peak in the mid 1990s. Today popularity is increasing again for shortalls. Also seen now are skirtalls which are like shortalls except that the bottom of the garment resembles a skirt.Sometimes it could be capri overalls which are a type of overalls whose legs are like the legs of capri pants.
Boilersuit
This is sometimes called a coverall. In American English, it is nearly always referred to as "coveralls". It is a one-piece garment with full-length sleeves and legs like a jumpsuit, but usually less tight-fitting. Its main feature is that it has no gap between jacket and trousers or between lapels, and no loose jacket tails. It often has a long thin pocket down the outside of the right thigh to hold long tools. It usually has a front fastening extending the whole length of the front of the body up to the throat, with no lapels. It may be fastened with buttons, a zipper, velcro, or snap fasteners. Boilersuits with an attached hood are available.Boilersuits may be so called because of them being worn by men working on or around coal-fired boilers.
Uses of boilersuits
Coveralls are most often worn as protective clothing over "street" clothes at work. They are sometimes also worn directly over shirt and underclothes.Coveralls called student overalls are used by university students in some Scandinavian countries as a sort of party-uniform, with insignia on the back and color varying with program and university. It is also practice to customize the coverall in a variety of ways, including adding a large number of patches, and exchanging parts of the suit with other students.The French police unit called CRS use boilersuits as uniforms.A dark blue coverall is the current working uniform of the U.S. Navy, with the owner's name and "U.S. Navy" on the chest, and rank insignia on the collar points. In the US Navy submarine force, these are called "poopie suits".Similar coveralls in olive drab (and more recently, desert tan) are also used by the crews of armored fighting vehicles in the US Army and Marine Corps, where the men and also their overalls are sometimes called "CVCs", an abbreviation of "Combat Vehicle Crewman".In car racing and drag racing, boilersuits normally made of a fireproof material such as Nomex or wool are used.Chad Smith, drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, commonly wears boilersuits during concerts.All members of the heavy metal band Slipknot wear numbered boiler suits along with unique masks.Fictional serial killer Michael Myers of the Halloween series of movies is almost always depicted wearing a boilersuit

Hip-huggers

Hip-huggers are a style of pants worn by both men and women, generally made of denim and fitted tightly around the hips and thighs, while flaring out towards the lower leg.Hip-huggers are worn in a variety of different styles, sometimes "riding" low to expose the buttocks to varying degrees. There are also variations of hip huggers created with a material designed to stretch and tighter fitting stretch materials that vary in color. Hip-hugger jeans have been popular in the past during the 1960s and into the early 1980s. The hip-huggers of the 60s and 70s can be distinguished from those of the 90s by the tightness of the knee.Hip-hugger jeans are not to be confused with Hip Hugger underwear, a form of female panties or swimwear that fit snuggly around the hip reducing visible panty line.Hip Huggers were first designed by Cal Vainstein in 1964 for his women's clothing line OOPS! of California. His inspiration for the hip hugger design came from growing up in the Bronx where it was fashionable for young men of the time to wear their pants low on their hips.

Carpenter jeans

Carpenter jeans are jeans with many pockets and loops which can be used to carry objects such as tools and are often loose around the leg to be able to accommodated the affixed items. They are often used by carpenters, hence the name, to carry their tools so that their hands can be kept free yet the tools are still easily accessible.
CharacteristicsCarpenter jeans are usually made of blue denim; however, canvas may be the material in more durable styles, and colours may vary; white and beige are other popular colours. A 'hammer loop' is usually located on the side of the mid-thigh; although this was originally incorporated into the jeans for its usefulness, most carpenters do not use the hammer loop, as the hammer tends to swing or even fall out. Other features include extra pockets, sometimes located on the outer thighs, and extra rivets for durability. Another feature is wider belt loops, to accommodate a wider, thicker belt. Because of the weight of the tools carried in the pockets and loops, a tightly cinched, wide 'work belt' must be worn by most men.Most carpenter jeans are made for function, not fashion, and are usually of a softer denim than the original utilitarian jeans, with a looser fit.

Flare and boot-cut jeans in the 1990s

In the mid 1990s a disco revival occurred and bell bottoms became popular again in women's and men's fashion in Europe spreading to the Americas. They were initially reintroduced as boot-cut (also spelled "boot cut" or "bootcut"), tapering to the knee and flaring out to accommodate a boot. Over time, the width of the hem grew wider and the term "flare-leg" was favored in marketing over the term "bell-bottom". As with boot-cut hems, the trend began in Europe and spread rapidly around the world. Today both boot-cut and flare-leg pants remain popular both in denim and higher quality office wear. In menswear straight-leg also gave way to boot-cut looks, again initially in Europe, and has made its leap into flare-leg for officewear, the same as what has happened in womenswear. In most cases men's boot-cut and women's boot-cuts differ. Women's jeans are tight to the knee and then flare out slightly to the hem while men's styles are usually flared/loose all the way from crotch to hem. The bell-bottoms of the 60s and 70s can be generally be distinguished from the flare or boot-cut pants of the 90s by the tightness of the knee. Jeans in the 1990s also tended to ride lower than those of the 1960s and 1970s.

Bell-bottoms in the 1960s and 1970s

Bell-bottoms became very fashionable in the late 1960s and much of the 1970s, both for men and women. They began as part of the hippie counterculture movement in the 1960s, together with love beads, granny glasses, and tie-dye shirts; in the 1970s, they moved into the mainstream. Sonny and Cher helped popularize bell-bottoms by wearing them on their popular television show.Today, the original mens bell bottom pants and flares from the 1970's are collectible vintage clothing items. Worn by men to attend retro theme disco parties, worn in retro revival bands, and to wear clubbing - [mens bell bottom pants are the most wanted of fashion items from the 1970's.Loon pants (shortened from "balloon pants") were one type of bell-bottomed trousers. They flared more from the knee than typical bell-bottoms, in which more of the entire leg was flared. They were a 1970's fashion, and could initially only be bought via catalog from a company in Britain which advertised in the back of the New Musical Express.[citation needed] They were usually worn with a Led Zeppelin T-shirt and Jesus boots (sandals). They became associated with disco music. When the disco backlash occurred, late in 1979, bell bottoms quickly went out of fashion along with leisure suits and other clothes that had become associated with disco.

Naval Origins

Bell-bottoms' precise origins are uncertain. In the early nineteenth century, very wide pants ending in a bell began to be worn in the U.S. Navy (Clothing varied between ships, however, since in the early days of the U.S. Navy each ship's captain decided what clothing to buy for his men). In one of the first recorded descriptions of sailors' uniforms, Commodore Stephen Decatur wrote in 1813 that the men on the frigates United States and Macedonia were wearing "glazed canvas hats with stiff brims, decked with streamers of ribbon, blue jackets buttoned loosely over waistcoats and blue trousers with bell bottoms." Though the British Royal Navy usually was the leader in nautical fashion, bell-bottoms did not become regulation wear for the Royal Navy until the mid-1800s. These "bell-bottoms" were often just very wide-legged trousers, unlike modern versions cut with a distinct bell. While many reasons to explain sailors' wearing of this style have been cited over the years, most theories have little credibility because reliable documentation is lacking.

Bell Bottoms

Bell-bottoms are trousers that become wider from the knees downwards. Related styles include flare, loon pants and boot-cut/leg trousers. Hip-huggers are bell-bottomed, flare, or boot-cut pants that are fitted tightly around the hips and thighs worn by men and women.Note: In Britain, bell bottoms only refers to the sailors' trousers. In the 1960s they were known as flares or loons.

Jeans in Popular Culture

Blue jeans

Copper rivets for reinforcing pockets are a characteristic feature of blue jeans.Initially, blue jeans were simply sturdy trousers worn by workers, especially in the factories during World War II. During this period, men's jeans had the zipper down the front, whereas women's jeans had the zipper down the right side. By the 1960s, both men's and women's jeans had the zipper down the front. In the United States during the 1950s, wearing of blue jeans by teenagers and young adults became symbolic of mild protest against conformity. This was considered by some older adults as disruptive; for example, some movie theaters and restaurants refused to admit patrons who wore blue jeans. During the 1960s the wearing of blue jeans became more acceptable and by the 1970s had become general fashion in the United States, at least for informal wear. Notably, in the mid-1950s the denim and textiles industry was revolutionized by the introduction of the stone-washing technique by GWG (Great Western Garment Co.). Entrepreneur, importer and Donald Freeland of Edmonton, Alberta, pioneered the method which helped to bring denim to a larger and more versatile market. Denim suddenly became an attractive product for all age groups and Freeland became one of the most important innovators in the history of denim and denim products. It should be noted, also, that Freeland contributed to a variety of other denim textile developments throughout his career with Great Western Garments (GWG)[2] Acceptance of jeans continued through the 1980s and 1990s to the point where jeans are now a wardrobe staple, with the average North American owning seven pairs[citation needed].Being imported American products, especially in the case of the Soviet Union which restricted hard currency imports, jeans were somewhat expensive. In Spain they are known as vaqueros or "cowboys" and in Chinese, jeans are known as niuzaiku (SC: 牛仔裤), literally, "cowboy pants" (trousers), indicating their association with the American West, cowboy culture, and outdoors work.Jeans can be worn very loose in a manner that completely conceals the shape of the wearer's lower body, or they can be snugly fitting and accentuate the body, specifically the buttocks. Historic photographs indicate that in the decades before they became a staple of fashion, jeans generally fit quite loosely, much like a pair of bib overalls without the bib. Indeed, until 1960, Levi Strauss denominated its flagship product "waist overalls" rather than "jeans".Blue jean insulationRecycled blue jean is becoming a popular insulation material (sometimes called Cotton Batt insulation) used in the construction of houses. Due to its low relative synthetic chemical composition and because it is made of recycled materials, it is gaining prominence in green building circles. Like conventional insulation, it moderates temperature and reduces sound transfer between floors or rooms. Blue Jean insulation has an excellent R-Value of 3.7, making it a preferable insulator to typical fiberglass batts even without taking into account the environmental considerations.

Riveted Jeans

In the 1850s Levi Strauss, a German dry goods merchant living in San Francisco, was selling blue jeans under the "Levi's" name to the mining communities of California. One of Strauss's customers was Jacob Davis, a tailor who frequently purchased bolts of cloth from the Levi Strauss & Co wholesale house. After one of Davis's customers kept purchasing cloth to reinforce torn pants, he had an idea to use copper rivets to reinforce the points of strain, such as on the pocket corners and at the base of the button fly. Davis did not have the required money to purchase a patent, so he wrote to Strauss suggesting that they both go into business together. After Strauss accepted Davis's offer, on May 20, 1873, the two men received patent #139,121, a patent for an "Improvement in Fastening Pocket-Openings," from the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Jeans History

The earliest known precursor to jeans is the Indian export of a thick cotton cloth, in the 16th century, known as dungaree. Dyed in indigo, it was sold near the Dongarii Fort near Bombay. Sailors cut it to suit them.Jeans fabric was made in Chieri, a town near Turin (Italy), already in 1600s. It was sold through the harbor of Genoa, that was the capital of an independent republic, and a naval power. The first were made for the Genoese Navy because it required all-purpose pants for its sailors that could be worn wet or dry, and whose legs could easily be rolled up to wear while swabbing the deck. These jeans would be laundered by dragging them in large mesh nets behind the ship, and the sea water would bleach them white. According to many people the jeans name comes from blue de Genes, i.e. blue of Genoa. The raw material was coming from the city of Nîmes (France) de Nîmes i.e. denim.

Jeans

Jeans are trousers traditionally made from denim, but may also be made from a variety of fabrics particularly including corduroy. Originally intended for work, they became popular among teenagers starting in the 1950s. Historic brands include Levi's, Jordache, and Wrangler. Today jeans are a very popular form of casual dress around the world and come in many styles and colors, with the "blue jeans" particularly identified with the American culture, especially the Louisiana Purchase.