A Bit of History
Many people might be quick to attribute the denim jean to Jewish American immigrant Levi Strauss, the same name that is printed on all of the jeans in the photos. On May 20, 1873, he became the owner of U.S. Patent #139,121, also known as the waist overall.
And the people who would attribute the modern day pair of jeans to Levi Strauss would be correct. But as with many things in American history, it was not so simple.
A precursor of denim called “slavecloth” was being worn by African American slaves in the American South at least 50 years before the patent. These garments were made from limited cotton rations distributed from the slaveowners.
Throughout the American South at the time, particularly in South Carolina and Georgia, indigo was grown as a key cash crop. Throughout the processing of the indigo plant, the material likely held onto the dye on the surface, creating the worn blue look that we associate with denim today.
Fast forward to around the time of Strauss’s patent, Jacob Davis was a tailor in San Francisco, California. The story goes that workers kept coming to him with tears in their work pants. He began to notice a pattern in where the tears were occurring and decided to try and solve it.
He took a metal riveting machine and put rivets in high stress areas to keep the fabric together. He notably placed them around the crotch area of the pants, with one rivet covering the bottom of the crotch.
If you know anything about jeans today you would know that there is no longer a rivet there. When the workers were near open flames it is said that the metal rivet would heat up and burn through their undergarments leaving them exposed to a pain that I would never want to experience.
I would assume it did not take long to resolve this problem, and soon after the final design of the Levi’s 501 came into existence as we know it today. The name origin for the “501” is still a mystery, but it was likely an internal model number.
The pants spread through the gold rush era of California and then across the country. In post-war America it became a style icon during the rise in popularity of the American West in popular culture.
Material Properties
If you put on a pair on unwashed raw denim jeans you will notice something quite quickly. They are not very uncomfortable. It is rough, and it can feel like a nail file on your legs. So much so that you can actually use your jeans as a nail file in a pinch to smooth out rough nails after cutting them.
This rough property might not feel great but it does something that is important for the purpose of the pant. It makes it durable.
If you see one photo from industrial America you will notice something in common, almost every worker is wearing some form of denim. It was something a worker could not live without.
Whether it be yardwork or factory work, the blue denim does not mind getting dirty. The blue color soils well and brushes out from the surface, the tight weave prevents dirt from getting deep into the fabric.
Today denim has been replaced by duck canvas in many practical applications, but the style and versatility still make it a staple in every American’s wardrobe. It may not be the preferred material for real laborers anymore, but it is still good enough for the rest of us.
Style, Versatility, and Functionality
The styling of denim at the end of the day is what we care about right?
I am sure everyone has seen a pair of slim or skinny jeans and cringed... Yes, that pair. While I am going to leave the buying guide for the next section, it is important to notice something in the photos above.
Firstly, my waist size is slightly under 30 inches and my length sits right around 32 inches in standard US sizing (76cm x 81cm). The 2 darker pairs in the photos both say 30x34, while the one on the bottom says my true size of 30x32. The reason I purchased the Levi’s 501 jeans slightly large in the waist and 2 inches longer in the inseam is because of the ‘Shrink-to-Fit' line.
This is an important differentiation, and it decides how you may want to wear your jeans. The original Levi’s 501 came unwashed or raw, the fibers have not had a chance to shrink. When you buy for the STF line you want to leave them room to shrink. They will eventually mold to your legs as you wear them normally. Bending over and squatting may feel uncomfortable at first. Although eventually they will stretch out in certain places and slim up in others. I will touch more on this in the next section.
The images above I have also taken to represent the versatility of denim. Each photo is taken with the same top garments while only changing one thing: the wear and dye of the denim.
Sadly I have not purchased a mannequin yet (maybe coming soon?) but what you can hopefully see is that the bottom photos are the most casual, followed by the middle, and then the top as the most formal. The worn-in jeans (stonewash if you buy them from a store, or you can do the work yourself) are at the bottom, the relatively new classic indigo jeans are in the middle, and a rarely worn pair of black jeans are at the top.
Throughout each wash cycle small amounts of dye come out and eventually leave the bare fiber beneath them. If you have them long enough they will become light wash, where very little indigo is left on the surface. One step beyond that and the jeans almost become white. Although some serious decades would have to be put into those jeans.
I wear denim the most often in the shoulder seasons as it is not the best at keeping me warm in the Vermont winters, and too hot to wear in the summer. It also corresponds to the time when people are usually doing yardwork. I am not going to say I have been doing much yardwork recently as I have not, but I have been lending a hand to the local community sailing center to help get the boats ready for storage. That is about as close as my jeans have ever gotten to a worksite.
Other than the pairs shown in the photos above, I do not own any other pairs of jeans. While you can own many pairs of trousers and corduroys without running out of creativity, I feel no desire to buy another pair of jeans. I purchased the two newer looking pairs last year to help me be a little more formal without wearing wool, and the worn-in pair I have had for longer. If you decide to wear denim more often, I would go with the 3 pairs that I have. Black, the classic indigo, and a worn-in pair.
Buyer’s Guide
The two main retailers for denim these days are the same two that they have always been. Wrangler and Levi’s have been making denim for a long time, and they know what they are doing. They are the gold standard, and need no introduction.
Design focused retailers also sell denim, like J. Crew as we covered in the spring, although these are fashion pieces not workwear. While they feel solid and will likely last a long time, the price point is higher, and are likely there as a convenience for people who want to buy their wardrobe in one place. For smart and savvy shoppers, I would not recommend buying denim from a traditional fashion retailer.
Wrangler sells their classic cowboy cut, they are an equestrian brand first after all. Levi’s has their 501 jeans which are seen above. While Levi’s has become more of a high fashion brand in recent years, Wrangler has always stuck with their roots. They do not sell in large stores and have never dropped the high-rise waist and 7 point belt loops that they have made specifically for riders.
Wrangler does not sell any ‘Shrink-to-Fit’ lines like Levis, although their 13MWZ Classic Cowboy Cut will shrink slightly. This difference in shrinking is because all of their denim is sanforized at the factory while the Levis STF are not.
Sanforization is the process in which cotton is pre-shrunk with steam before being used in garments. This makes the Wrangler jeans and the Levi’s 501 (non-STF) more stable when you buy them, but theoretically also less personalized. Whether or not this STF process matters in reality is up to you. Although raw unsanforized denim has a cult-like following online.
It is worth noting that some buyers online have said that Wrangler’s sizing has been inconsistent over the years.
If you do choose to buy ‘Shrink-to-Fit’ denim from Levis, this is a good metric to keep in mind.
Levi’s recommends about 2 inches of excess on the inseam and true to size or 1 inch on the waist. After the first wash you want to wear them damp, walk around, go about your day around the house and then air dry them. This will start the ‘personalization’ process mentioned above.
Make sure you do not sit on any fabrics during this time as the denim is likely still bleeding indigo dye. People also swear by sitting in the bathtub with them but I am still unconvinced by the denim baptism.
The 501 jeans that are pre-washed are also sold by Levi’s, you can buy them in your normal sizing, they are industrially washed and sanforized before being sold. This also prevents some dye bleeding during the first few washes.
I would recommend washing any pair of jeans separately for at least the first wash so that you can prevent any dye from bleeding onto other precious garments.
Whether you choose to buy a new pair of denim or not, eBay also has some great options for worn-in and pre-loved jeans. If you want to be more sustainable and give a garment a second home, maybe look there. You should be able to find a pair in good shape for under 40 dollars including shipping. Local thrift stores are good options too.
The Wrangler website is kind of confusing but from my understanding the classic 13MWZ has 2 variants. One is the Rigid Wrangler unwashed version that is still sanforized, and the other is the Wrangler pre-washed and sanforized variant. They are 50 and 60 dollars respectively. The closest comparison to the Levis STF would be the Rigid Wrangler, although as mentioned above, it will not shrink as much as the Levi’s pair.
Levi’s is simple, the 501 Original Shrink-to-Fit is 85 dollars although it is often on sale for 50. These come unwashed and unsanforized, you will need to buy in the sizes mentioned above. You can buy pre-washed jeans as well in the same styling.
Denim is a fun material and a very practical one at that. This was a shorter edition of the usual Menswear Bible series. The full length ones take a lot of effort to make, but if you preferred the shorter and less dense format please let us know.
Keep your eyes out for the next article which will be our seasonal J. Crew review. This was a lot of fun for me to write. Enjoy the weekend as always, and spend some time outside. Here in New England the weather has been stunning and fall foliage is coming into its peak time. The sun looks to be out the whole weekend across the East Coast.
Take care,
-Theo
needed this - ta !