Kat+-+Jeans



**The research topic for my wiki is jeans and how they became a staple of American life. On any given day I’ll look around me and the majority of people I see are wearing jeans or another item made of denim. But, how did they get here? Why were they made? This should help explain.**

**The first jeans were created in 1872 by Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis but Strauss gets most of the credit. Levi Strauss was a very social, well-respected person. He moved to New York when he was 18 to work at his family’s dry goods business. He thought he could make more money making tents and wagon covers for the "49ers" of the California Gold Rush but his idea wasn't very successful(Blue Jean Baby). Davis and Strauss became partners in 1872 when Davis couldn't pay for a patent on the metal rivets on his own (Blue Jeans). " Levi Strauss & co." 's most popular model was the waist overall known as "XX".(Blue Jean Baby) **

**When jeans were first introduced and only cost $1.25, jeans were reserved for the lower, working class like Italian dockworkers, for miners during the gold rush, and for household items like sheets or curtains.(Denim and Jeans: Then and Now) **

**Jeans became more popular in the '50s and '60s when teens started wearing them as a way to rebel as a part of the counterculture movement so they could identify with the poor working class, protect themselves and seem more adult. Then the baby boomers started wearing them and they started being featured in TV ads and magazines which helped them gain more popularity.(The First Blue Jeans) **

**Today’s jeans are made of twill woven with indigo cotton yarn and un-dyed cotton and the average price of a pair of jeans, which is a lot more than the original price of $1.25, is $34 but younger people tend to spend more.**

**There are many styles and cuts of jeans. The most common these days are wide leg, boot cut, skinny, straight leg and flare but there are MANY more options when you bring different waistlines and washes into the equation.(Jeans 101: The five basic styles of jeans) **

**Well hopefully that helped you understand a little more about how we got our good old American blue jeans.**