We all have the favorite old denim piece that is worn to perfection and comfortable as hell. A regular wardrobe stand by, always ready, always right.
This summer we made a dress from just that kind of denim, it is cute and durable- or as we like to say The Tawny dress is "a-dur-able"!
Here are some quick denim facts for you to enjoy!!
Denim is super old!! (from the 18th century)
It evolved as a dense work pant for laborers because of its sturdy and comfortable nature.
The U.S. Navy introduced the bell-bottomed trouser in 1817 to permit men to roll their pants
above the knee when washing down the decks, and to make it easier to remove them in a hurry
when forced to abandon ship or when washed overboard.
The name denim has two histories. One being an westernization of the name De Nimes- the french town where a rugged twill textile that resembled our denim today was first developed. The other being a a nick name for Italian sailors from Genoa who wore the rugged cotton pant, "Genes"!!
Denim has it's own controversial history too! In the 1950's, wearing denim was seen as a form of a teenage rebellion, partly due to movies like Rebel Without a Cause (thanks James Dean!). Jeans were even banned by some schools in the United States for a period of time. Forget shaving your head or getting your eyebrow pieced.. just wear a pair of jeans! (Womp womp....)
You may also be saying to yourself "well, gee Preloved, I get what jeans are made of, I understand their history, but what about the most obvious of questions.. Why is the denim BLUE?"
The dye, indigo, that is traditionally used to color denim, is actually older then the technique of making denim itself. Dating back well beyond the 16th century, indigo was once one of the world's most popular dyes, the backbone of most textiles traditions. Now a days, it's used to dye our favorite denim products in a variety of different shades! Betcha didn't know that!!
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