Denim Days
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Riveted Denim Blue Jean/Waist Overalls have been around since the late 1800's when Levi's® jeans Company made the first Blue Jeans in 1873 by Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss. These jeans were made for the worker. They were riveted bib overalls and held up to the rigorous wear and tear of daily work. And they were not called "jeans" like they are today. They were "Riveted Work Pants" and they were not for the ladies but for only the men.
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| $10 Jeans @ http://www.10dollarmall.com/p/cuffed-blue-jeans |
"Sometime during 1873, the first riveted clothing was made and sold. cost: $1.25. Brand new. (the exact date was lost along with the company records in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire)." from Askville.com by Amazon. LINK
With Levi Strauss holding the only patent for 20 years, these riveted work jeans caught on like wild fire through the working class. They became the "uniform" in the day. Rugged and sturdy jeans became popular with the "Baby-Boomers", of which I am a member, coined the term "Jeans" and it has stuck ever since. But denim jeans were not originally invented by the two immigrants to America. Historically, jeans have been dated back to England in the 1600s with a fabric there called denim, Full story Link
What is the highest price for jeans?
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| High End Jeans focus on style, quality material, and hand detailing. |
"The Levi Capitol E jean, these high-end pants are sewn by hand out of high-quality denim and it can take as many as 30 people from start to finish to craft just one pair." And costing around $500.00 per pair!
Who could have imagined that the revolution of the jean would come so far as to cost upwards of thousands of dollars. Yes, you read that right. It seems that, "the popular 7 For All Mankind brand has become known for its high quality fabric and exceptional cut. Pairs start at a few hundred dollars and are readily available at better department stores in a variety of colors, weaves and styles. The top of the line pairs can run as high as almost $1,000, and some fans of this line swear that the cut gives the illusion of thinner legs and leaner thighs, which just may make it a worthy buy", according to WhatItCosts.com
This is a great source for questions about what things cost and when they were made.
A detailed list of the top 10 most expensive jeans can be found in detail on WhatItCosts.com. Here is the quick list and the highest price jeans they currently sell. But when I Googled "eBay Levis jeans" I found these currently selling for a whopping price from Thiland.
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From Thailand
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$2,800.00
or Best Offer
Free shipping
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10 most expensive jeans
10) Levi Strauss & Co. $500
9) 7 For All Mankind $1,000
8) Ernest Sewn about $1,000
7) Roberto Cavalli $1,200
6) Dolce & Gabbana $1,200 with a waiting list!
5) APO Jeans $4,000 with all the bells and whistles!
4) Gucci just over $4,000
3) Escada $10,00 decked out with Swarovski Crystals!
2) Levi Strauss & Co. auctioned off for a whopping $65,000 to an anonymous buyer.
AND the Number ONE?
1) Secret Circus with DIAMONDS coming in at a shocking $1.3 million dollars!!!
"And the winner for the most expensive jeans is . . . an unusual pair that is designed by a new company called Secret Circus. The creators are banking on the idea that diamonds are a girl’s best friend, no matter whether you wear them around your neck or on your back pocket instead. That’s why they included a design made from a large collection of high-quality (and substantially-sized) diamonds on their pants. Rumor has it that the first pair was sold for a shocking $1.3 million." Link
Is there a Jeans brand considered the most comfortable?
The answer seems to be a matter of opinion of taste. Many people claim Gap jeans are the most comfortable. But I have read that there is a denim material in Japan that is considered the softest.
"Denim produced on a Japanese selvedge loom can have radical variations in color, weight, and texture from one fabric to the next. By understanding how different characteristics affect denim’s aging, longevity, and appearance, you’ll be better equipped to find the right kind of denim for you and judge the quality of any particular denim.
Texture
First of all, Japanese denim is often made on old
shuttle looms – not American Draper looms imported to Japan (as is
sometimes thought in popular myth), but vintage Toyoda looms. When the Toyoda Model G
was introduced in the 1920s it was a major advance for fabric weaving
machinery, creating such loyalty that looms descended from the 1924
models are still used today by Japanese mills. Vintage Toyoda
looms make fabric in very limited quantities – the typical roll of
denim will be a little under three feet wide and the weaving processes
is much slower than on modern machines.
Modern looms, in comparison, are very fast and efficient
plus make a precise and consistent fabric. The thing is, experienced
denim fans don’t want precision – it’s actually the variation and
imperfections of the weaving process that lend character to the best
Japanese denim.
When comparing a nice sample of Japanese denim to a
typical off-the-shelf pair of jeans, you’ll immediately notice the
difference in texture – most jeans have a smooth surface, but Japanese
denim is often surprisingly hairy or rough. This can often be quite
intimidating at first for someone used to wearing soft, pre-faded jeans.
Pure Blue Japan is renowned for its slubby fabric, faded Samurai denim has a complex, grainy texture, and The Flat Head is
known for its heavy vertical fading. These qualities are accomplished
by modifying the looms to chatter as they weave, creating a unique
texture. Such brands often keep their exact weaving methods a
carefully-guarded secret, such as Oni.
In contrast, selvedge looms set up to weave an even,
neat roll of denim can produce a fabric that (aside from the selvedge
line) is virtually the same as non-selvedge projectile denim. It’s worth
learning as much as you can about the denim on a pair of jeans before
you buy in order to determine what the fabric has to offer beyond a
selvedge line. Just because a fabric is selvedge or even made in Japan
doesn’t mean that it’s better than any other denim.
Color
The dyeing process is traditionally a crucial ingredient
in giving the best Japanese fabrics their flavor. Japan has a rich
history of textile dyeing, dating back to kimonos from hundreds of years
ago, a technique preserved today in techniques like kasuri dyeing.
Likewise, Japanese denim is created with a variety of different
proprietary dyeing processes.
One of the most striking properties of Japanese denim is
the variation in color from one brand to another. While many recent
Western brands use the same (admittedly high-quality) Cone White Oak
selvedge denim on their jeans, this means that one pair will fade very
similarly to the next.
On the other hand, the faded color of Japanese denims
can be dramatically different from one brand to the next. Some brands,
like Fullcount, Denime, or Warehouse excel in reproducing vintage American-style denim with a lighter overall color. Brands like Tenryo, The Strike Gold, and Pure Blue Japan produced dyed weft fabrics to give their denim unique fading properties, such as a gray or brown overcast. The Flat Head and Eternal use an extra-dark dyeing process to create denim that fades to a rich turquoise blue over time.
Weight
Another element of Japanese denim is the weight. While
Japan produces plenty of lightweight fabrics, most denims of 20 oz. or
more comes from Japan. Comparatively, most other types of denim weigh
between 11 and 14 oz.
While weight is largely a matter of personal preference,
the added durability of a heavyweight denim makes it appealing to many
denim enthusiasts. Besides the additional toughness and warmth in cold
weather, heavyweight denim tends to give thicker creases, and thus often
faster or more defined fading than lighter materials. However, just
because denim is heavyweight, doesn’t mean that it will be
longer-lasting than regular denim. Heavier denim puts more stress on the
stitching, which can lead to faster thread breakage in some cases,
especially on jeans with all-cotton stitching.
Processing
Another important factor in giving denim its character is the post-weaving processing involved – or a lack thereof.
Sanforization is the most familiar process, by which unwashed denim is “shrunk.” While unsanforized
denim will experience considerable shrinkage from washing, sanforized
denim usually doesn’t shrink much. Sanforized denim generally lasts
longer than unsanforized; the main tradeoff being that it fades in a
much softer manner, and high contrast doesn’t come as readily to
sanforized denim. Sanforized fabrics are softer and smoother than
unsanforized when new.
Singeing
is the process by which the loose, hair-like fibers on the surface of
the denim is burnt away, contributing to a smoother feel. Like
sanforization, this process is extremely common on mass-produced denim.
Most large companies are concerned with producing a fabric that’s
immediately soft and comfortable. However, many high-quality raw
varieties of denim are singed as well, such as some of R.J.B.’s fabrics.
Calendering – Calendering is a process where
denim is evened out by passing through heavyweight rollers. Heat and
pressure create a smoother, more comfortable fabric. Calendering
contributes to the uniform appearance of most denim, like the other
processes.
Mercerization –
This process involves soaking the fabric in a chemical solution, which
causes the fiber to swell. Mercerization also gives the denim a smooth
sheen. It’s one of the final processes the denim undergoes.
Although many Japanese mills make fabrics with all of these processes, the high-end artisanal brands like Strike Gold and Studio D’Artisan, among others already mentioned, forgo these processes completely. This is called loomstate denim, and a few Japanese mills are among the only places in the world where true loomstate denim is still commonly produced.
The manner of processing can have dramatic ramifications
for the feel, durability, and aging potential of a pair of jeans. For
example, a pair that’s been sanforized, singed, and calendered, such as 3Sixteen’s SL-100x or Iron Heart’s 634S,
will be comfortable when new and won’t need to be soaked before
wearing. The wearer can enjoy a raw pair of jeans that will have a
unique shine before the first wash, and if well-maintained the denim
will last for a long time due to the even composition.
The smooth, more even texture of sanforized denim.
By contrast, a pair of loomstate jeans, such as Samurai’s S710xx or Flat Head’s 3005
will have a much rougher, hairy, and uneven feel and appearance. These
jeans can be harder to deal with, between trying to correctly determine
your size and effectively shrinking to the proper size, and the less
uniform nature of the denim can make it less durable than sanforized
fabrics. However, the payoff is a sharper, more defined quality to the
creases and points of stress, as well as a more textured appearance to
the denim.
Unsanforized denim, uneven, sharper texture.
It’s worth pointing out that just because denim is
Japanese, there is absolutely no guarantee that it will have these
characteristics. Many Japanese fabrics are sanforized, treated, and have
a less complex texture. Just because a brand boasts that their fabric
is made in Japan, there is no certainty that it will have any of these
qualities. The best Japanese denim is distinguished by the indigo dyeing
processes, the weight and weave of the denim, and the texture of the
final product. All of these factors contribute to a pair of jeans that
is designed to show optimal evolution over time.
It’s this combination of qualities that give Japanese
denim a unique character rarely seen on other fabrics. While other denim
mills are quite capable of producing denim with similar qualities –
particularly when it comes to forgoing post-weave processing – most are
more concerned with speed, efficiency, and consistency. By
re-discovering the virtues of a rough and unrefined fabric, other denim
mills might one day produce their own fabrics rivaling the qualities of
Japanese denim.
Particularly due to the rising interest in jeans made
entirely in America, Cone Mills has experienced a resurgence of
activity; however, their denim is mostly sanforized and undergoes other
processing. Last year, however, the mill introduced their first
loomstate fabric in over sixty years, made exclusively for Roy.
Perhaps someday soon, some enterprising individuals would be willing to
start their own denim mill on American soil, dedicated to special
batches of artisian denim on the same level of uniqueness as Japanese
fabrics." source:Denim by Kyle
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