 A man pictured wearing a denim jacket in Hungary in 1976 | |
| Type | Jacket |
|---|---|
| Material | Denim |
| Place of origin | United States |
A denim jacket, also called a jean jacket, jeans jacket or trucker jacket, is a jacket made from denim. Introduced in the United States in the late 19th century, it has been a popular type of casual apparel with both men and women and has been described as an iconic element of American fashion. Though a staple of western wear, the denim jacket has also enjoyed a more general appeal.
The first recorded denim jacket is part of the collection of the German Historical Commission of the Rhineland (Stiftung Historische Kommission für die Rheinlande 1789–1815) [1] and dates back to 1805 or 1810. In the United States the first recorded denim jacket is from about 1880 which was from the German businessman Levi Strauss, approximately ten years after he had began selling jeans with copper rivets as a new type of work apparel intended for use by cowboys, miners, and railroad workers. [2] The "Type III" denim jacket, introduced by Levis Strauss & Co. in 1962, [a] has been described as the Denim jacket "to rule them all". [5] Also known as "the trucker jacket", design elements of the Type III include a tapered style, welt hand pockets, and bar tacks which hold down chest pocket and sleeve openings. [3]
In 2014, Google collaborated with Levi Strauss & Co. to develop a "connected" denim jacket described by Wired as the "denim jacket of the future". [6] The underlying technology, named "Jacquard," encompassed a processor, a built-in battery, and a special yarn that gave the bottom of the arm a pseudo-touchscreen functionality. [6] The same year, New York Fashion Week featured several denim jackets, with The Guardian predicting that the denim jacket would "be everywhere in 2018". [7] A second version of the Jacquard jacket, featuring an appearance closer to jackets without the technology as well as a lower price, was released in late 2019. [8]
In addition to Levi Strauss & Co., companies designing denim jackets have included Wrangler, Calvin Klein, Tom Ford, Gucci, and Dior, among others. [9]
According to GQ , there are "few things more iconic, more innately American, than a denim jacket" and the magazine has called it "a staple for stylish men". [10] [11] Jean jackets have also been popular with women. [12]
Jean jackets, like jeans, are a major element of western wear; however, like jeans themselves, they have also enjoyed a more general appeal. [13] Notable wearers of jean jackets have included western entertainers James Dean and John Lennon, [2] as well as Polish anti-Communist dissident Jacek Kuroń. [14] In 2017, GQ opined that Kanye West seemed to own "an alarming number of jean jackets", remarking that "he doesn't seem to go a few days without wearing one". [15]
According to Levi Strauss & Co., the jean jacket has traditionally appealed to nonconformists as "a knock to the 'suits' of the world, its informal yet edgy heritage making it the ideal item to stick it to the man". [16]
In the 2022 Jordan Peele film Nope, the flying alien is eventually referred to as "Jean Jacket", named after one of Em's horses. [17]
While jean jackets are predominantly found in blue, denim can be dyed any color achievable with cotton, so jackets in colors such as white and violet also exist. [18] As with jeans themselves, it is possible to buy "raw" or "dry" denim jean jackets, which have not been washed or distressed at the factory and instead fade and break in naturally over time with wear. [19] Jean jackets with sherpa lining for warmth are also available. [18]
A "Canadian tuxedo" (also known as "double denim") is a colloquial term for wearing a jean shirt or denim jacket with jeans. [20] The term reportedly originated in 1951 after Bing Crosby was refused entry to a hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia, because he was wearing a denim top and denim bottoms. [20] [21] After learning of the incident, Levi Strauss & Co. designed a tuxedo made entirely of denim for Crosby as a publicity stunt. [20]
Despite its name, the "Canadian tuxedo" is not a specifically Canadian style, but is also closely correlated with images in American pop culture, such as the Marlboro Man. [22]
The Crosby incident has been credited with helping to spur the evolution of denim from blue collar work wear into a fashion staple; [23] however, the popularity of the full "Canadian tuxedo" look has varied, being accepted as stylish and on trend at some times and as a fashion faux pas at others. [23] Some fashion stylists have asserted that the look works better if the jeans and the jacket are different colours than it does if they're the same shade. [24] The "Canadian tuxedo" has also sometimes been interpreted as including a flannel shirt under the jacket, [25] although this is not a universal definition.
The Canadian tuxedo achieved a "pop cultural peak" in 2001 when Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake wore the combination to that year's American Music Awards. [20] [26] [21] In 2016, Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau wore a "Canadian tuxedo" to a concert by The Tragically Hip. [27] Lady Gaga has also worn a Canadian tuxedo in public. [28]
In 2014, Levi Strauss produced a limited run of 200 replicas of the original Crosby tuxedo jacket as part of that year's line. [23] Various fashion design houses have also produced couture interpretations of the "Canadian tuxedo". [22]
Jeans are a type of trousers made from denim or dungaree cloth. Often the term "jeans" refers to a particular style of trousers, called "blue jeans", with the addition of copper pocket rivets added by Jacob W. Davis in 1871 and patented by Davis and Levi Strauss on May 20, 1873. Prior to the patent, the term "blue jeans" had been long in use for various garments, constructed from blue-colored denim.
Denim is a sturdy cotton warp-faced textile in which the weft passes under two or more warp threads. This twill weave produces a diagonal ribbing that distinguishes it from cotton duck. Denim, as it is recognized today, was first produced in Nîmes, France.
Levi Strauss was a German-born American businessman who founded the first company to manufacture blue jeans. His firm of Levi Strauss & Co. (Levi's) began in 1853 in San Francisco, California.
Levi Strauss & Co. is an American clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's brand of denim jeans. It was founded in May 1853 when German-Jewish immigrant Levi Strauss moved from Buttenheim, Bavaria, to San Francisco, California, to open a West Coast branch of his brothers' New York dry goods business. Although the corporation is registered in Delaware, the company's corporate headquarters is located in Levi's Plaza in San Francisco.
Overalls or bib-and-brace overalls, also called dungarees in British English, are a type of garment usually used as protective clothing when working. The garments are commonly referred to as a "pair of overalls" by analogy with "pair of trousers".
Bell-bottoms are a style of trousers that become wider from the knees downward, forming a bell-like shape of the trouser leg.
Western wear is a category of men's and women's clothing which derives its unique style from the clothes worn in the 19th century Wild West. It ranges from accurate historical reproductions of American frontier clothing, to the stylized garments popularized by Western film and television or singing cowboys such as Gene Autry and Roy Rogers in the 1940s and 1950s. It continues to be a fashion choice in the West and Southwestern United States, as well as people associated with country music or Western lifestyles, for example the various Western or Regional Mexican music styles. Western wear typically incorporates one or more of the following: Western shirts with pearl snap fasteners and vaquero design accents, blue jeans, cowboy hat, a leather belt, and cowboy boots.
Fashion in the 1990s was defined by a return to minimalist fashion, in contrast to the more elaborate and flashy trends of the 1980s. One notable shift was the mainstream adoption of tattoos, body piercings aside from ear piercing and, to a much lesser extent, other forms of body modification such as branding.
Fashion of the 1980s was characterized by a rejection of 1970s fashion. Punk fashion began as a reaction against both the hippie movement of the past decades and the materialist values of the current decade. The first half of the decade was relatively tame in comparison to the second half, which was when apparel became very bright and vivid in appearance.
The fashions of the 2000s were often described as a global mash up, where trends saw the fusion of vintage styles, global and ethnic clothing, as well as the fashions of numerous music-based subcultures. Hip-hop fashion generally was the most popular among young people of both sexes, followed by the retro-inspired indie look later in the decade.
A denim skirt, sometimes referred to as a 'jean skirt' or 'jeans skirt', is a skirt made of denim, the same material as blue jeans. Denim skirts come in a variety of styles and lengths to suit different populations and occasions. For example, full-length denim skirts are commonly worn by women whose religious beliefs prohibit them from wearing trousers, including Orthodox Jews, some Muslims, Mennonites and Pentecostals, among others. Shorter skirts made of denim are commonly worn by teenagers and young adults.
Stone washing is a textile manufacturing process used to give a newly manufactured cloth garment a worn appearance. The process became popular in the 1980s, as acid jeans gained popularity; however, stone washing has roots going back to 1960s surfer apparel. Stone washing also helps to increase the softness and flexibility of otherwise stiff and rigid fabrics such as canvas and denim. Although stone washing increases a fabric's flexibility, it shortens the life-span of the jeans. The process of stone washing can be costly, as freshly stone washed jeans must be washed many times in order to remove the grit from the process. Along with high production costs, stone washing can be detrimental to the environment, due to the excess grit that is removed as fabric is being stone washed. This leads many manufacturers to pursue other methods to achieve a distressed appearance.
The Great Western Garment Company (GWG) was a Canadian denim and western wear clothing company founded in 1911 in Edmonton, Alberta by Charles A. Graham and Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first Premier of Alberta. The company was acquired by Levi Strauss, starting in 1961.
Excorporation is the process through which mass cultural commodities are changed or remade into one’s own culture. The theory of Excorporation was popularized by sociologist John Fiske, in order to explain the ongoing struggle between the dominant and subordinate groups in popular culture.
The 2010s were defined by hipster fashion, athleisure, a revival of austerity-era period pieces and alternative fashions, swag-inspired outfits, 1980s-style neon streetwear, and unisex 1990s-style elements influenced by grunge and skater fashions. The later years of the decade witnessed the growing importance in the western world of social media influencers paid to promote fast fashion brands on Pinterest and Instagram.
Ralph Lauren Corporation, the legal name of the Ralph Lauren brand, is an American publicly traded luxury fashion company that was founded in 1967 by American fashion designer Ralph Lauren. Headquartered in New York City, the company produces luxury products. Ralph Lauren is known for marketing and distributing products in four categories: apparel, home, accessories, and fragrances. Known mostly for its flagship brand Polo Ralph Lauren, the company's brands include mid-range, sub-premium, and premium labels up to its highest priced luxury Ralph Lauren Purple Label apparel.
Ian Berry, previously known as Denimu, is a British born artist based in Poplar, East London, who creates artwork solely from denim. Berry re-uses jeans, jackets, and other denim clothing to create portraits, landscapes and other unique works. In 2013, Berry was named as one of Art Business News's "30 under 30" influential artists in the world".
Athleisure is a hybrid style of athletic clothing typically worn as everyday wear. The word is a portmanteau combining the words 'athletic' and 'leisure'. Athleisure outfits can include tracksuits, sports jackets, hoodies, yoga pants, tights, sneakers, flats, Birkenstocks, uggs, leggings and shorts that look like athletic wear or pair well with it. Characterized as "fashionable, dressed-up sweats and exercise clothing," athleisure grew during the mid-2010s, from the popularity of yoga pants that emerged throughout the mid to late 2000s. The athleisure trend entails casual clothing options that give North American women the option to incorporate athletic clothing as part of their everyday attire, irrespective of their actual engagement in physical activities.
The trickle-up effect in the fashion field, also known as bubble-up pattern, is an innovative fashion theory first described by Paul Blumberg in the 1970s. This effect describes when new trends are found on the streets, showing how innovation flows from the lower class to upper class. It is in contrast with classical theories of fashion consumption, such as those of Georg Simmel and Thorstein Veblen, who theorize that the upper classes are the ones who dictate the fashion flow.
The fashions of the 2020s represent a departure from 2010s fashion and feature a nostalgia for older aesthetics. They have been largely inspired by styles of the late 1990s to mid-2000s, and 1980s. Early in the decade, several publications noted the shortened trend and nostalgia cycle in 2020s fashion. Fashion was also shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic, which had a major impact on the fashion industry, and led to shifting retail and consumer trends.
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