A Brief History of Denim and Denim Clothing

As we are in the denim industry,some interesting knowleges here,WingFly Selvedge denim manufacturuer would like to share,so help buyers/clients to get more understanding the denim and get more market and busniesses,here we go.

1. The origin of denim and denim clothing

Denim clothing first appeared in 1567. Its style was made of trousers made of coarse canvas worn by sailors in the port of Genoa, Italy. Jeans turned indigo in 1858, when the trousers of the Bavarian businessman Levi Strauss were so popular that brown canvas was too long to be available for production. He started importing another fabric from Serge de Nimes, a town in southern France, and called it denim. This is a twill with the warp dyed dark blue and the weft undyed. Since then, dark blue has become a trend. At that time, the work pants used copper nails to reinforce the pockets, and gradually evolved into the prototype of jeans with low waist, straight tube and tight hips.

Later, denim found its way to the New World during the gold rush in the western United States, and returned to Europe in the form of blue denim 200 years later, becoming an indispensable fashion for young people at that time. Although denim is derived from French fabrics and French place names, blue denim is a true American product. Then, as it developed into a globalized garment, it is now worn all over the world. In 1897, Levi Strauss Company was formally established to produce denim and denim clothing. At present, the company has become the largest enterprise in the global apparel industry. In the mid-1970s, Hong Kong and Taiwan began to produce denim and jeans. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Guangdong, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Liaoning and other places successively produced denim and denim clothing. Guangzhou No. 1 Cotton Textile Factory and Shanghai Shenshi Textile Co., Ltd. are the first enterprises in mainland China to produce denim and denim clothing from raw cotton.

2. Second, the development of denim fabric and denim clothing technology

Table 1-1.

* The meaning of denim fabric

1) The meaning of classic denim cloth

Classic denim cloth, or traditional denim, refers to a thick-count twill that is dyed with pure cotton yarn indigo for warp, and natural yarn for weft.

2) The meaning of generalized denim material

In a broad sense, denim material generally refers to pure spinning and blending of natural fibers and chemical fibers into yarn, processed and woven by dyeing and sizing machine or ball dyeing and sizing equipment, and finished with special equipment. characteristic clothing fabrics.

3) The meaning of imitation denim fabric

Imitation denim cloth refers to denim-style apparel fabrics made without traditional denim production processes and techniques, such as the so-called “piece-dyed denim”, etc.

3. Classification of denim fabrics

Here are examples of three types of denim fabric

1)  By width of denim fabric

Selvedge denim fabric and regular denim fabric

For this type can ref.to this article: What are the different types of denim fabric?

WingFly Selvedge denim fabric company is professional in selvedge denim fabric manufacturing and wholeselling,OEM order warmly welcome for both small and big buyers.

2)  By weight per unit area of denim material

According to international business practice, when the moisture regain rate is 8%, the weight of pulp per square meter (g/m2) or the weight of pulp per square yard (oz/yd2) is used to indicate the light and heavy specifications of denim. The general classification is shown in the table below. 1-2.

Table 1-2 Denim material is classified by weight

3) By cotton yarn raw materials, see Table 1-3

4. The evolution of jeans shape

Styling is the outline of a garment. For a pair of jeans, the position of the waistline and the relationship between the waist segments of the human body have a significant impact on the overall shape and image. The new waistline position can be moved up or down from the physiological waist position (usually the position with the smallest body circumference). The styles of clothing are actually constantly evolving, slowly changing from year to year as the seasons change. Therefore, when developing products, it is necessary to understand the changes in styles and previous trends. Figure 1-2 shows the evolution of jeans styling from the 1940s to the 1990s.

Today, jeans are clearly defined as a garment style made of twill for the masses. Jeans basically have the following features: five pockets, front fly (button or zipper construction), belt loops at the waist, strong stitching, rivets and snaps. Various grinding and washing methods are in order to meet the requirements of market trends.

Jeans have evolved into a variety of styles that fit the human body, and the shape of the trouser legs is determined by the relationship between the trousers and the knee size. The size of the pant leg determines the loose relationship between the jeans and the human leg. There are four basic styles of jeans: the tapered shape from the knee to the cuff, the standard denim fit, the trouser fit with cowboy boots, and the trendy trouser fit. The cuff of the tapered pants is 75% of the knee size. The cuff of standard jeans is 85% of the size of the knee, resulting in a smooth straight line from the knee to the leg. Cowboy boots have a cuff that is 95% of the knee size and are worn with boots. A fashionable trouser cuff is 125% of the knee size, with a new flared shape from the knee to the hem, as shown in Figure 1-3. For example, flared trousers, which were born in the late 1960s and became popular in the 1970s, are one of the typical jeans styles. Tighten the waist (sometimes bottom waist) and upper thighs, flared from the knees down.

There are also four basic styles for jeans leg styling, which are “Second Skin”, “Natural”, “Loose”, and “Drape”. A second skin refers to a tight fit, without any looseness, that shows off the wearer’s figure and the good elasticity of the denim. The second skin is good, especially that

These skinny and sexy jeans are called the French look. A natural fit is the right fit, the right fit, and just the opposite, the right amount of relaxation that makes people feel comfortable. The loose fit no longer wraps around the body and is very comfortable to wear, people would rather look casual and have a drapey look than a tight fit

Sexually good pants. A belt can be tied around the loose waistline of the jeans. The drape type is a style suitable for the proportional structure of the human body, and many special ingredients are added to the fabric. This type of pants is similar to the popular straight-crotch style, as shown in Figure 1-4. During the popularity of plain jeans, there was a loose style of jeans, called carrot pants, that were not close fitting and were very loose.

Traditional clothing has always evolved from the basic clothing that people wear through constant adaptations. Oftentimes, traditional clothing is quick to embrace and incorporate some fresh elements. This is the case with the typical five-pocket jeans, which narrow or widen as fashion changes, but the basic style has remained the same over the years.

The same style of denim clothing can have many shapes. Figure 1-5 shows the jeans of various brands, including the styles and shapes of jeans such as levi, wrangler, gap, etc. The widespread popularity of denim clothing is mainly due to its expression of the spirit of freedom and equal social relations, especially among young people.