If dyed well, it fades, and that fade is half the beauty of denim. The other half of the beauty of denim is the way it wears to show your wrinkles, your holes, scuffs, folds and tears...the way the threads are twill woven.....one of blue and one of white. Pre-ripped and bleached out...not my preference. I like to see what a real person does to a real pair of denim jeans or a jacket. That's authentic. All else is a fake.
Denim jackets are everywhere again, and quite nifty......Want real vintage? I have 3 right now in my etsy shop.
We know this one ...The ever-popular 2 pocket indigo 70505.
Everyone and their sister copies this classic Levi cowboy or trucker jacket.
And a classic Lee 101J.....more indigo denim.........indigo is a vegetable blue dye that is a gorgeous color though most contemporary denim is dyed with a chemical blue, but still... why...it will fade to beauty all time. Lee Industries began in 1889, designed this type of 2 pocket jacket ...the 101J in 1946 just after WWII ended.
And....a Rare denim jacket with pleated front and 101 branded snaps. Note the patch pockets, sans flaps and snaps....Cute ! This was sold by Montgomery Ward, but I don't know yet who made it....This style was a hold-over copy from the Levi's original design with pleats on the front. Just when this Montgomery Ward jacket was made, late 50s to early 60s, Levi's dropped the pleats forever.
And how loved are Levi's ?? Well.....even when we tire of them as jeans, we girls make skirts! Here's one from the 70s, a pair of 217 Levis jeans with a zipper, real nice bells on these!. We know this vintage from the orange stitch at the corners of the pockets and the small e on the Levis tag on the pocket....
Denim was always the fabric of worker's clothes. It meant...you worked for a living, brother. If a rich guy donned a pair, he was pretending to be Marie Antoinette....play-acting like they could get a blister.
In the 50s, the youth and the outlaws of yesteryear wore denim because they were counter-culture, Man. This In-Your-Face rejection of slacks and ties continued through the 60s...and the 70s...and then...Majick! That which was counter-culture was co-opted and adopted by the main culture and now everyone wears denim all the time. It's just casual.
Here's some pix of Hollywood stars! also so American...can you guess the jacket and the star? I bet you can!!
answer: John Wayne in Levi's
answer: Elvis in Levis, and Barbara Stanwyck in something Edith Head cooked up for the movie Roustabout.
answer: Paul Newman in a Lee Storm Rider (like a 101J) jacket
answer: Steve McQueen in a Lee 101J jacket also.
And just because this movie rules for many reasons.....Dennis Hopper and James Dean in Lee jeans....Rebel Without A Cause.
