1. “Denim is a sturdy cotton warpfaced textile in which the weft passes under two or
more warp threads. This twill weaving produces a diagonal ribbing that distinguishes it
from cotton duck. The most common denim is indigo denim, in which the warp thread
is dyed, while the weft thread is left white.”
Origin of Denim: The name "denim" derives from French serge de Nîmes, meaning
"serge from Nîmes".
“Denim was traditionally colored blue with indigo dye to make blue jeans, although
"jean" formerly denoted a different, lighter, cotton fabric. The contemporary use of the
word "jeans" comes from the French word for Genoa, Italy (Gênes), where the first
denim trousers were made. Denim has been used in the USA since the mid 19th
century. Denim initially gained popularity in 1873 when Jacob Davis, a tailor from
Nevada, manufactured the first pair of “rivetreinforced” denim pants. His concept for
making reinforced jeans was inspired when a lady customer requested a pair of durable
and strong pants for her husband to chop wood. When Davis was about to finish making
the denim jeans, he saw some copper rivets lying on a table and used the rivets to
fasten the pockets. At this time, clothes for Western labourers, such as teamsters,
surveyors,
2. and miners, were not very durable. Soon, the popularity of denim jeans began to spread
rapidly and Davis was overwhelmed with requests. He soon sold 200 pairs to workers in
need of heavy work clothing. Nevertheless, because of the production capacity in his
small shop, Davis was struggling to keep up with the demand . He then wrote a
proposal to the dry goods wholesaler Levi Strauss & Co. that had been supplying Davis
with bolts of denim fabric.Davis’s proposal was “to patent the design of the
rivetreinforced denim pant, with Davis listed as inventor, in exchange for certain rights
of manufacture”. Levi Strauss & Co. was so impressed by the possibilities for profit in
the manufacture of the garment that they then hired Davis to be in charge of the
massproduction in San Francisco.” by wikipedia