STYLE MAGAZINE ISSUE 04 AYS OF ENIM reaming STEP INTO THE NEW SEASON IN STYLE WITH OUR TAKE ON HOW TO WEAR ENIM NOW Words: Emily Jane 1 Final Assignment MAG.indd 1
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STYLE MAGAZINE ISSUE 04 BASIC SMART ROUGH CHIC? Jeans are trousers, a type of garment, typically made from denim or dungaree cloth. Often the term jeans refers to a particular style of pants, called blue jeans, which were invented by Jacob avis in partnership with Levi Strauss & Co in 1871 and patented by Jacob avis and Levi Strauss on May 20, 1873. Prior to the Levi Strauss patented trousers, the term blue jeans had been long in use for various garments, constructed from blue colored denim. Originally designed for cowboys and miners, jeans became popular in the 1950s among teenagers, especially members of the greaser subculture. Jeans were a common fashion item in the 1960s Hippie subculture and they continued to be popular in the 1970s and 1980s youth subcultures of punk rock and heavy metal. Historic brands include Levi s, Lee, and Wrangler. In the 2010s, jeans remain a popular fashion item, and they come in various fits, including skinny, tapered, slim, straight, boot cut, cigarette bottom, narrow bottom, low waist, anti-fit, and flare. istressed jeans trousers have become increasingly fashionable, making pre-sale factory distressing a common feature in commercially sold jeans. common 3 Final Assignment MAG.indd 3
days of denim dreaming Genoa s jean was a fustian textile of medium quality and of reasonable cost, very similar to cotton corduroy for which Genoa was famous, and was used for work clothes in general. Nimes s denim was coarser, considered higher quality and was used for over garments such as smocks or overalls. Nearly all Indigo, needed for dying, came from indigo bush plantations in India till the late 19th century. It was replaced by indigo synthesis methods developed in Germany. By the 17th century, jean was a crucial textile for working-class people in Northern Italy. This is seen in a series of genre paintings from around the 17th century attributed to an artist now named The Master of the Blue Jeans. The ten paintings depict impoverished scenes with lower-class figures wearing a fabric that looks like denim. The fabric would have been Genoese jean, which was cheaper. Genre painting came to prominence in late 16th century, and the lowlife subject matter in all ten paintings places them among others that portray similar scenes. The fabric would have been Genoese jean, which was cheaper. Genre painting came to prominence in late 16th century, and the low-life subject matter in all ten paintings places them among others that portray similar scenes. enim is not the only sturdy cotton fabric used for everything from working clothes to fashion items. There is also dungaree. ungaree was mentioned for the first time in the 17th century, when it was referred to as cheap, coarse thick cotton cloth, often colored blue but sometimes white, worn by impoverished people in what was then a region of Bombay, India a dockside village called ongri. This cloth was dungri in Hindi. The fabric would have been Genoese jean, which was cheaper. Genre painting came to prominence in late 16th century, and the low-life subject matter in all ten paintings places them among others that portray similar scenes. enim is not the only sturdy cotton fabric used for everything from working clothes to fashion items. There is also dungaree. ungaree was mentioned for the first time in the 17th century, when it was referred to as cheap, coarse thick cotton cloth, often colored blue but sometimes white, worn by impoverished people in what was then a region of Bombay, India a dockside village called ongri. This cloth was dungri in Hindi. enim is not the only sturdy cotton fabric used for everything 4 Final Assignment MAG.indd 4
STYLE MAGAZINE Early Western travelers, whether to Persia, Turkey, India, China, would frequently remark on the absence of change in fashion there. The Japanese Shogun s secretary bragged to a Spanish visitor in 1609 that Japanese clothing had not changed in over a thousand years. However, there is considerable evidence in Ming China of rapidly changing fashions in Chinese clothing. Changes in costume often took place at times of economic or social change, as occurred in ancient Rome and the medieval Caliphate, followed by a long period without major changes. In 8th-century Moorish Spain the musician Ziryab introduced to Córdoba sophisticated clothing-styles based on seasonal and daily fashions from his native Baghdad, modified by his own inspiration. Similar changes in fashion occurred in the 11th century in the Middle East following the arrival of the Turks, who introduced clothing styles from Central Asia and the Far East. The beginning in Europe of continual and increasingly rapid change in clothing styles can be fairly reliably dated. Historians, including James Laver and Fernand Braudel, date the start of Western fashion in clothing to the middle of the 14th century. The most 5 Final Assignment MAG.indd 5 12/8/2015 6:30:23 PM
days of denim dreaming dramatic early change in fashion was a sudden drastic shortening and tightening of the male over-garment from calflength to barely covering the buttocks, sometimes accompanied with stuffing in the chest to make it look bigger. This created the distinctive Western outline of a tailored top worn over leggings or trousers. The pace of change accelerated considerably in the following century, and women and men s fashion, especially in the dressing and adorning of the hair, became equally complex. Art historians are therefore able to use fashion with confidence and precision to date images, often to within five years, particularly in the case of images from the 15th century. Initially, changes in fashion led to a fragmentation across the upper classes of Europe of what had previously been a very similar style of dressing and the subsequent development of distinctive national styles. These national styles remained very different until a counter-movement in the 17th to 18th centuries imposed similar styles once again, mostly originating from Ancien Régime France. Though the rich usually led fashion, the increasing affluence of early modern Europe led to the bourgeoisie and even peasants following trends at a distance, but still uncomfortably 6 Final Assignment MAG.indd 6 12/8/2015 6:30:23 PM