Denim (from the French "cotton de Nimes) has long been a tough cotton fabric for work clothes. In the 17th century forward, blue was the "official color" of the working class, ie. "blue collar workers", etc. Mechanics and painters wore overalls made of blue denim. Working men in general, including those not engaged in manual labor, wore more tailored trousers made of jean.

Research shows that jean and denim were two very different fabrics in 19th century America. They also differed in how they were used. In 1849, a New York clothing manufacturer advertised topcoats, vests or short jackets in chestnut, olive, black, white and blue jean.

Fine trousers were offered in blue jean; overalls and trousers made for work were offered in blue and fancy denim. Other American advertisements show working men wearing clothing that illustrates the difference in jean and denim usage.

Since indigo blue dyed thread was the cheapest of colors to work with, denim was originally woven with two threads of the same blue dye and jean was woven with one thread of indigo blue and the other thread the cheaper white.

So, denim and jean material, being the most durable material for heavy or prolonged work between washings became the material of choice for "the working class" whose official color was blue. But because denim was more expensive to produce than jean, thrifty American weavers blended the two weave techniques and, you guessed it, they became known as denim jeans.

Over the decades denim jeans began to show up in different colors, simply for fashion's sake.

The first jeans from Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss came in two styles, indigo blue and brown cotton "duck." Unlike denim, the duck material never became soft and comfortable so it was eventually dropped from the line. Although denim pants had been around as work wear for many years, historically dating back to England in the 1600s, it was the first use of rivets that created what we now call jeans. "Waist overalls" was the traditional name for work pants, which is what these first jeans were called. The word jeans became more popular around 1960 when the baby-boom generation adopted the term for its favorite type of pants.

Denim is unique in it's singular connection with one colour.
The warp yarn is traditionally dyed with the blue pigment obtained
from indigo dye. Until the introduction of synthetic dyes, at the end of
the 19th century, indigo was the most significant natural dye known
to mankind, linked with practical fabrics and work clothing. The durability
of indigo as a color and it's darkness of tone made it a good choice,
when frequent washing was not possible.
I personally wear blue jeans with nice washes for work and black jeans for my theater work. My co-worker buys VERY expensive jeans ($400 a pair!) that are made of tougher material and wear better over time


Source(s):
Site on the history of jeans and denim:
http://www.designboom.com/eng/education/denim2.html

Wikipedia entry for jeans:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_jeans

History of the modern jean:
http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/bluejeans.htm

http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/128793

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