Fun facts about denim everyone should know

In 1951 Bing Cosby was denied entry into a Canadian hotel because he was wearing jeans. Before the popularity of jeans, denim was considered a material for the poor – reserved mainly for low-class workers such as miners, factory workers, and laborers.

Denim even came with a stigma; those seen wearing them are considered rebellious – probably out for one protest or the other – students weren’t even allowed to wear them during class hours or to any school function. 

Denim, however, has come a long way. It has survived restrictions imposed by law, stigma imposed by people and cross the bridge between the rich and poor. Today, denim knows no social class, age, or culture – just about everyone is wearing them.

In this post, we'll provide you with some amazing fun facts about denim and its journey from the first time it came to be up to the 21st century.

Fun facts about denim

Origin of denim

The name denim is associated with a French city called de Nimes. De Nimes is the French city from which the fabric was first produced. 

Then the material was called 'Serge de Nimes.' The name, of course, would later evolve to give the fabric its present nomenclature.

Officially, the word denim was first used to describe the material in a Rhode Island Newspaper in 1789.

Origin of the name jeans

Jeans are pants made from the denim material. When the mass production of denim pants began in the United States in 1873, the trousers that were made out of the material were originally called waist overalls.

The stiff material comes handy for low-class workers working in the mines and other rough environments. As such, they were seen as a kind of work cloth – a coverall. But in the 60s, levis would later turn around and rename 'jean' after the French word 'Genes' for Genoa, an Italian city where the material was produced.

Riveting and the patent

Rivets are used in the pockets of jeans to make them stronger. When we talk about rivets, we are talking about those tiny copper metals found in the pockets of jeans.

The rivet was first used by Jacob Davis, a tailor. One day, one of Davis customer ordered for a pair of sturdy material that he could use for hard work. Davis decided to make use of the denim material he bought from Levis Strauss and co.

After making the pants, he saw that he could use some of the copper rivets on his table to make the pants stronger by attaching them to the pockets. He did that, and the result was excellent. Soon he started getting more orders than his one-person business could handle. 

He went to visit Levis Strauss, and they both agreed to patent the rivet style and becoming a partner in the production of jeans using the rivet style. As people would say the rest after that is history.

Orange thread – Levi’s stamp mark

It’s quite surprising how the little things we overlook often have big stories behind them. 

The orange thread is a trademark of Levi's jeans, and as such if you're looking for an original pair of Levi's jeans, you might want to keep an eye for ones with the orange colored thread running down the side and pocket areas.

The orange threads were first used to match the color reddish-yellow color of the copper metal used in the pocket of the jeans as rivets.

Indigo – the most used color

Every year over 20 thousand tons of indigo is produced solely for dying jeans. The jeans are dyed indigo, but since the color does not mix with the threads, it washes overtime in the processing plant to give a deep shade of blue.

The dark color during the early years of jeans was essential since it could hide a lot of stains. Remember jeans were originally a work cloth and as such, having an ability to hide stains is a plus.

Distressed jeans – the biggest fashion hit

Any denim with a tear, hole, frays, or any other signs of damages is referred to as a distressed jean. One can argue, but distressed jeans are undoubtedly one of the greatest fashion hits of all time.

The trend began in the 70s and was popularized by Johnny Rotten. Johnny stood against everything conservative in Britain. 

Till date, Johnny is referred to as the father of the British Punks. The British punks at that time would rip the arms of their jackets and trousers to create a rebellious look amid the conservative cultures of their country.

Fortunately, they were trend influencers, and their look soon spread among youngsters and teens in the country as well as to other countries.

Bush banned jeans in the oval office

One of the first moves President Bush made when elected into the office in 2001 was to ban the wearing of the pants into the oval office. 

This move he said was necessary for maintaining a sense of dignity in the white house.

7 – Jeans lucky number

Today almost everyone in the world owns a pair of pants made from denim. 

Statistically, every American citizen owns on average about 7 pairs of pants made from denim at any time.

The YKK symbol 

Lift your zip lapel a little and have a look at the zipper of your jean pants of you're putting one on right now. Chances are the label on the zipper will bear the symbol 'YKK.'

YKK is the initials of Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikikaisha, an Asian company that makes over 90% of the zippers of all jeans in the world. 

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That tiny pocket

For most of us today, the small pockets usually found above the front pockets on most jeans have no use at all. So we often wonder what it is there for.

The answer is simple. When jeans were first invented, they were used by workmen who were glad for any extra holes to keep their items. But the tiny pocket came later along the way as a place for other wearers to keep their pocket watch.

The tiny pocket originally made for the pocket watch would later be used as condom pocket, coin pocket and just about any other thing you're using it for today.