Jeans are easily one of the most ubiquitous pieces of clothing on Earth with millions of pairs being made, sold and wrapped around the butts of style conscious individuals every single day. But why are jeans so popular and for what purpose were they first made?
Before we answer that it’s important for us to first define exactly what we mean when we say “jeans” because the word has changed in context over the last few hundred years. As detailed by the Fashion Enyclopedia, the term “jeans” has existed since the 1600s, where it was used as a catch-all term to describe the “rough clothing worn by working men”. Since the fabric used to make these clothes often came from the Genoa region in Italy, it was commonly referred to as “jean”. Weavers from the Nimes area of France tried to replicate this fabric and it eventually came to be known as “denim” a bastardization of the words “de Nimes” (from Nimes). Cool, huh?
So what makes modern jeans so different from the work trousers found on the legs of 16th century workers? Well, the key difference is in how modern jeans are held together, rivets. If you’re currently wearing a pair of jeans, which is statistically quite likely, you may notice that they are held together at key points with small rivets. (You may also notice that your zipper has the letters “YKK” on it and if you’re interested in why, we covered that in another article). These rivets are a relatively new addition to jeans and they’re the reason for the garments legendary longevity.
Contrary to what you may have thought, unlike the stitch pattern often found on the rear pockets, the rivets aren’t just for show, they’re strategically placed at the locations the garments suffers the most strain, like the pockets and (sometimes) the zipper (hey-oh!).
The idea to use metal rivets to reinforce the stitching of work trousers is the brainchild of one, Jacob Davis, a native Latvian who lived in Nevada as a salesmen during the 19th century. Davis earned his keep selling clothing and general supplies to the many miners and workers who called the area their home. The legend goes that the wife of a miner (some sources say a woodsman) came to Davis lamenting the fact that he often tore the pockets off of his work trousers and implored him to find a way to strengthen them. The legend continues that Davis drew inspiration from a horse’s saddle in his shop and hatched the ingenious idea to reinforce the pockets and other areas with metal rivets.
Annoyingly, the exact details surrounding the invention of the first pair of jeans as we’d understand them today will likely never be known, so we’re just left with the aforementioned legend. But it, at the least, seems plausible enough that Davis probably got the idea from a customer or customers who were having problems with torn pants, so he came up with a solution.
What we do know for sure though is that Davis’ “riveted work pants” were a huge hit with locals and that it only took a short while for demand to greatly outstrip the already meagre supply. Realising that he’d stumbled upon a goldmine potentially more lucrative than the actual goldmines his customers were working in,…
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