Bluejeans and the denim jacket. They’re timeless fashion staples, but do you ever wonder how that came to be? Both can be traced back to a single man: Levi Strauss. Recent stories in The New York Times Magazine and Bustle explore the intriguing history.
In Who Made Those Bluejeans?, Melanie Rehak of The New York Times Magazine describes how Strauss came to manufacture what would eventually become the first Levi’s® 501® jeans.
Bustle’s Tori Telfer traces the history of the denim jacket in her piece Whatever Happened to the Denim Jacket? The Brief History of the Working-Class Staple. Like bluejeans, the denim jacket is believed to have originated with Levi Strauss as well, Telfer explains. His “working blouse” was the first known iteration of the modern-day denim jacket.
Interested in more stories about the history of denim? Visit the Vintage section on the Unzipped blog.
Photo credit: Blake Burkhart adapted via Flickr CC
