Jeans are trousers that are usually made of denim, a heavy, coarse cotton cloth with a diagonal weave. Jeans are made in a variety of styles and colors. Men, women, boys, and girls in almost every country wear jeans. The word jeans comes from Genes, the French word for Genoa, a port in Italy. In the Middle Ages, working men there wore sturdy cotton pants that were the forerunners of jeans.
The first jeans were made in the United States by Levi Strauss, an immigrant from Bavaria (now part of Germany). Strauss arrived in California in 1853 during the Gold Rush and started a business manufacturing sturdy work pants for gold miners. In 1873, Strauss and a tailor named Jacob W. Davis took out a patent for denim trousers strengthened with copper rivets at the pockets and other points of strain. See Strauss, Levi .
For decades, jeans were worn chiefly by outdoor laborers, such as farmers and cowboys. In the 1940’s, young people began to wear blue jeans for casual occasions. In the 1960’s, jeans became important to a youth movement called the counterculture. Members of the counterculture rejected the lifestyles of the middle class. They wore jeans to identify themselves with poor working people.
In the 1970’s, expensive designer jeans became a status symbol. These jeans had a label on the outside bearing the designer’s name, such as Calvin Klein or Gloria Vanderbilt.
