A SHORT HISTORY OF DENIM

Denim is more than just a cotton fabric, it inspires strong opinions within the hearts of designers, teenagers, movie stars.Denim is one of the world's oldest fabrics, yet it remains eternally young. Research shows that jean and denim were two very different fabrics in 19th century America.They also different in how they were used.Denim seems to have been reserved for work clothes,when both durability and comfort were needed.The 1950s led many school administrators to ban the wearing of denim in the classroom,fearing that the mere presence of denim on a teenager's body would cause him to rebel against authority in all of its forms.Nearly everyone in America had strong opinions about what wearing blue jeans did to young people.But even as some Americans tried to get denim out of the schools,there were just as many who believed that jeans deserved a better reputation,and pointed to the many wholesome young people who wore jeans and never got into trouble.Jean and denim fabrics were both used for work wear for many decades,and "jeans pants" was a common term for an article of clothing made from jean fabric.When the popularity of jean gave way to the even greater popularity of denim for work wear,the word "jeans" seemed to get stuck with the denim version of these pants. The word jeans has been used to describe any type of pants made out of denim. From the 1950s to the present,denim and jeans have been associated with youth,new ideas,rebellion and individuality.