ABSTRACT
During 140-odd years of existence, blue jeans have evolved from no-nonsense work pants used by miners, lumberjacks, and farmers to fashion statement and cultural icon in our post-World War II global village. It all began in 1850 when a 20-year-old Bavarian immigrant, Levi Strauss, arrived in San Francisco by ship to seek his fortune. However, upon discovering that these goods were not in demand but pants were, due to the rigors of mining and other activities, Strauss employed a tailor to make pants. They sold quickly, and he opened a work-clothes and cover all shop in San Francisco. When his canvas ran out, Strauss switched to a tough fabric originally loomed in Nimes, France called serge de Nimes, then denim; sailors from Genoa had long worn pants of similar fabric known as genes, which accounts for the appearance of the associated name, "jeans".
