Denim: It's purpose and it's fashion

Denim

In honor of National Denim Day, I decided to dedicate this blog to it. On Wednesday, 27

April 2016, it was National Denim Day. It is considered National Denim Day in honor of Sexual Violence Awareness Month. National Denim Day was introduced after a ruling by the Italian Supreme Court where a rape conviction was overturned because the justices felt that since the victim was wearing tight jeans she must have helped her rapist remove her jeans, thereby implying consent. The next day, the women in the Italian Parliament came to work wearing jeans in solidarity with the victim. Since this incident, wearing jeans on Denim Day has become a symbol of protest against erroneous and destructive attitudes about sexual assault. I guess you can say denim not only looks good but also stands for a serious purpose.

The history behind Denim goes back to the 17th century to present times. Denim has been considered one of the world’s oldest fabrics and has been used for many things not only for clothing and jeans but for its durability. Denim can be found in many places including museums, household furniture, and to awnings. In fact, 501 jeans are the most traditional pair of pants in this generation. Levi Strauss was named the founder of the Denim Jeans. Around 1873 Levi Strauss began to make copper riveted “waist overalls (which is the old name for jeans) out of brown cotton duck and blue denim. Levi and Co. had a huge part in the United States society especially during 1930s – 1970s. Originally, denim jeans were intended as work attire, but teenagers in the 1950s made them popular casual clothing. In 1970, people really started personalizing bell bottoms with flower patterns, abstract embroidery, studs, and graffiti. Jeans were very popular among the hippies during this time. As the years progressed, jeans have turned into cut off shorts, skirts, and even duffle bags. In the 1980s, ripped, colored, and faded jeans were in style. Black jeans ruled the early 90s. Nowadays, designers are adding rhinestones, fur, and feathers. Denim can be used to make shoes, jewelry, jackets, dresses, bags, and more. In today’s era – denim is the style and the fabric is very comfortable, you can either dress it up or dress it down!

Sources:

https://zady.com/features/the-history-of-denim
                           "The History of Demin." Zady. N.p., 16 Apr. 2014. Web.  29 April 2016.                                                 

www.historyofjeans.com/
                           "History of Jeans and Denim." History of Jeans. History of Jeans, n.d. Web. 29 April 2016.