Levi Strauss: Blue Jean Genius

Levi Strauss: Blue Jean Genius — page 1 — blue Jean Dreams It’s Friday morning and you have a busy day ahead First you have school then you have to rake the yard Finally you have plans to go see a movie with some friends What’s the perfect fashion item for school chores and hanging out with friends Blue jeans of course Blue jeans are not only versatile They’re also sturdy Most blue jeans are made from a strong fabric called denim The pockets and seams on blue jeans are tough too They are often secured using copper rivets which reduce tearing Businessman Levi Strauss is considered the father of blue jeans He popularized them in the 1870s The pants Strauss helped to 4 FASHION FACTOID The tiny pocket in the front of blue jeans was originally designed to hold a watch This tiny pocket was a part of Levi Strauss’s original pair of jeans

Levi Strauss: Blue Jean Genius — page 2 — Jeans come in many different shades and designs so you can show off your own style create were first made popular by California gold miners It didn’t take long for them to be worn by ranchers cowboys and other workers too Today blue jeans are worn by men women and children around the world They’ve also become an important symbol of American culture But blue jeans haven’t always been so popular In fact there was a time when most people didn’t wear pants at all 5

Levi Strauss: Blue Jean Genius — page 3 — Pants of the Past Pants have been around for thousands of years The oldest known pants were discovered in China They were made of wool and are more than 3,000 years old Most people didn’t wear pants in ancient times though Instead most men and boys wore robes kilts or tunics Women and girls typically wore robes or dresses Pants were most often worn by people who rode horses Wearing pants while riding was more comfortable than wearing a robe In the Middle Ages many European men wore tunics and tights By the 1600s it was more fashionable for men to wear short pants called breeches However most farmers sailors and other laborers preferred the warmth and protection of long pants By the 1800s long pants were popular workwear for men around the world These pants were made from 6

Levi Strauss: Blue Jean Genius — page 4 — sturdy fabric and often dyed blue to hide work stains In 1873 Levi Strauss helped make work pants even stronger In time his pants would become one of the most popular fashion items in the world It wasn’t considered acceptable for women to wear pants until the early 1900s Even then women only wore pants for sports activities such as bicycling

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