Nowadays it is very difficult to find someone who does not wear jeans. The origin of the word, however, which we use so often in everyday life, is unknown to almost anyone. In order to better understand what we are saying and learn a little more about such familiar and convenient things, we decided to write this article. Many interesting facts, which will be given below, will tell you not only about how the first jeans appeared. The origin of the word, term, as well as its adaptation in Russian speech, is what we are going to reveal.
Romance story
Since the beginning of the 16th century, in the Italian province of Genoa, weaving has been very developed. Among the variety of materials that were made there, there was also a very rough twill with a diagonal weave. The fabric was not in great demand among the aristocracy, therefore in those days it did not even have its own name. Over time, the French became interested in this material and, purchasing it in Genoa, they called it Gene. When the fabric was more or less adapted in France, the name was transformed into Janne. From there, it already migrated into English a little modified - Jean, which remains to this day. Thus, it turns out that the history of the origin of the word "jeans" does not apply at all to American immigrants, to cowboys from the wild west and horsemen. The word is purely European, which only later fell into the vastness of America.
Denim that hasn't changed at all
Surely each of us is familiar with the term “denim”. In many modern and ancient sources, it is used as a synonym for the word "jeans". The origin of the word is also a very fascinating story. After the Italian fabric began to be delivered to France, fashion designers drew attention primarily to its unappealing color - light brown. Therefore, it was decided to paint the material in blue, and all this was done in a town called Nim. So the term “denim” appeared, which now can mean both a certain color tone, and an element of the wardrobe of a man or woman.
We dig into antiquity
According to some sources, for the first time such a fabric began to be used by people back in 300 BC. e. During this period, the history of the origin of the word “jeans” begins, since in the documentation the material is recorded under the names denim and gene. It is curious that very extensive supplies of such fabric were traced precisely from Genoa to the UK. The British, receiving this product, renamed it in their own way, and the word jean was known to us. Later, in 1429, Christopher Columbus set off on an expedition to search for a new path to India. The sails with which his ship was crowned were sewn precisely from an unpainted denim. However, it is officially believed that the origin and history of the word "jeans" originates directly from the 16th century. After Columbus discovered the New Earth, his canvas was partly famous. It was from this matter, which was then called either jene or denim, that the majority of Italian sailors began to wear pants. By the way, in their cut, they had a lot in common with modern jeans.
Looking for answers in painting
In the USSR, it was customary to believe that denim trousers were the work of American designers, in fact, like the material itself. In fact, if you look closely at some old canvases, you can find a funny thing. Some canvases depict people who are dressed in clothes made of this material or simply in ordinary jeans. The origin of the word dates back to the same years as the work of unknown masters. In one of the paintings you can see a woman standing in a dark blue skirt. By the type of fabric you can determine that it is denim. There is also a canvas depicting a boy in a jeans shirt, from under which a white lining sticks out. Many sailors and even tramps who lived in Europe in the 16th century were captured by artists in straight-cut jeans. It is funny that it was not possible to establish the identity of the artist (or artists) who owned these canvases. Therefore, conditionally in history he was given the name "Master of blue jeans."
Spread the term and the clothes themselves
The origin of the word "jeans" in a more modern sense can really be attributed to America. During the period when the Wild West was being built, when the middle and southern parts of America were settled by farmers from Europe, it was for them that they began to sew workwear from jeans. Since the predominant part of the population spoke precisely English, the letter s was attributed to the name of the material that was supplied here for sewing the working uniform. This indicated, as it were, the plural of an uncountable noun - a fairly common occurrence in the English language (trousers, shorts). By the beginning of the 20th century, this “uncountable noun” had moved to the expanses of the Russian Empire, however, only the richest people who had the opportunity to purchase foreign goods knew about it. In our country, the word "jeans" was turned into the plural according to our rules, during which we got the "jeans" known to all today.
The Official Jeans Story
Due to the fact that for all the cowboys and other workers who came to the States, it was necessary to sew a work uniform in bulk, it was decided to use the described fabric as the main material. The first patent for the manufacture of a new type of clothing was Leib Strauss (or Levi Strauss) - the son of a certain Jew who had long been living in America. According to the official version, it was he who invented the very design of jeans, which for many years was considered a classic. At that time, such a development was a real sensation. Pants had a total of four pockets. Two were located on the front, one on the back, and one on the front of the pants — small for a watch. Trousers for the working class, which were sold in America, were painted in indigo - saturated blue. At that time, their price was 1 dollar and 46 cents per unit of goods.
Unofficial version of creating jeans
All sources, describing the origin of jeans, for some reason with full confidence say that this is the work of Levi Strauss. But if you delve more thoroughly into history, then very interesting facts come up that indicate the opposite. In accordance with them, the design of new work clothes was developed by Jacob Davis (by the way, a native of Russia). It was he who came up with the pants that can be sewn from natural and durable fabric, and plus to make them a real design discovery. He designed pockets, flys, and rivets. The hard worker did not find money for a patent, so he borrowed them from Strauss. The same one appropriated the discovery to himself, and everyone forgot about Davis.