Thanks Mr. Levi Strauss
By Mrs. Harris
Yellow halter top… check! Apple Bottom jeans… check! Boots with the fur… check! It’s
Friday night, and I’m set for a night out on the town with my gal pals! Every gal knows that the secret to a fabulous outfit is a great pair of denim jeans.
It’s no secret that jeans history would be nothing without Levi Strauss. Strauss, the inventor of the most important staple in every fashionista’s closet- the blue jean- was born in Buttenheim, Bavaria on February
26, 1829. Although he was the youngest of seven children, his story is still admired today by millions of people all over the world. The
Strauss family immigrated to New York in
1847 where he joined two of his older brothers selling wholesale dry goods like canvas tenting and drapery.
At the same time, young and strong men from all across America flocked to California in droves in search of instant wealth… gold!
After becoming an American citizen in 1853,

Levi departed a ship for San Francisco along with throngs of ambitious gold- seekers to make his fortune. Young Levi, however, knew that instant riches wouldn’t be a reality by panning for gold. Instead he established a wholesale dry goods business like the family company back in New York.
His corporation imported dry goods like clothing, underwear, umbrellas, handkerchiefs, and bolts of fabrics. Levi’s goods were sold to smaller stores scattered all over California and the West. These stores helped outfit the miners of the Gold Rush and other families settling on the western coast.
About twenty years later, a now wealthy and well-known Levi Strauss and a Nevada tailor joined forces to patent an idea. Several of his hard working customers wanted stronger overalls that did not tear easily and they complained that their work pants ripped too frequently. The tailor’s idea to strengthen the overalls by putting metal rivets on the stress points of workman's waist high overalls won the approval Levi. He was ecstatic about the innovative idea and the

patent was granted to both men on May 20,
1873. With that, the blue jean was born! Levi chose to use stronger denim fabric and cotton duck, putting his own name on the product, hence the name Levi’s Jeans. Later on, Levi substituted denim for the cotton duck making his trousers more comfortable for everyday consumers like you and I.
Initially jeans were primarily worn as work clothes, but by the 1940s denim had become as American as apple pie. Made popular by movie stars on TV and pop singers, teenagers rushed to department stores to snag the now popular garment. Over the years, blue jeans have been reinvented over and over again!
In the seventies, teens sported bell bottoms, denim mini skirts, and Bermuda shorts. By the eighties, every teen across America owned at least one pair of acid washed jeans. Although navy denim was the most popular, the new acid washed denim came in an assortment 80s-inspired rainbow of colors. To complete the look, a blue jean jacket was a must! Baggy jeans became popular in the nineties… and some believed that the baggier the jean, the better the fit.

Today the jean continues to evolve, and designer jeans stock the shelves of every department store in the world.
No garment can be as successfully
“dressed up” or “dressed down” like a great pair of blue jeans. Hip huggers, acid washed, skinny, baggy, bell bottom, tight fit, slightly frayed… Mr. Strauss’s dungarees have truly changed over the years. The blue jean- unique because of its history, comfort, durability, and ability to stand the test of time!