16 FEATURE
Denim through the Decades Fashion trends come and go, but denim is eternal.
IVY SLEN | REPORTER
Fashion comes and goes but blue jeans are forever. From flair to wide, to skinny and everything in between, denim is a constant. Denim was first manufactured in the French town Nimes. The origin of the word denim comes from a french Phrase “Serge de Nimes”, which means serge from Nimes. During the 19th century, denim started to gain momentum in the United States. Jacob W. Davis, a Russian- American tailor in Nevada, designed and constructed the first pair of modern denim pants. As the pants started to gain popularity, his small storefront in Nevada was not enough to meet the demand he was receiving. He moved to his suppliers, Levi Strauss and Co’s facilities to continue manufacturing his jeans.
1950s In the 1950s jeans were mainly reserved for the working class and men. Towards the end of the decade, they were more widespread among the rising counter-culture.
1960s By the early 1960s both men and women were wearing jeans, some as a fashion statement and some as a political statement against middle-class values and bourgeois. The styles in the ’60s were wide, bell-bottoms, and low-waisted. Wearing Denim jackets with jeans became a trendy style for the first time as well. Totally groovy.
During the 1970s, the denim trends from the ’60s are still going strong with flares, double denim looks with jackets and pants, but now the newly popularized denim skirt quickly became a fashion staple as new different styles were created. Jeans were so fashionable that they were seen paired with sequin tops and highheeled platform shoes in New York City nightclubs.
1970s
