Image(s) 1-3: Retrieved from WordPress stock photos
DESCRIPTION
A jacket that is made from a hard-wearing twill-weave cotton fabric. This jacket is sometimes referred to as a denim jacket because it is made of denim, and is typically worn by both men and women. The denim jacket was said to be originally made for male workers in the mid to late 19th century, yet It is commonly credited to Levi Strauss, the founder of Levi’s. It is said that Levi Strauss created the first “Levi Working Blouse” in 1874 which was quite similar and basically evolved to the modern denim jacket today.
HISTORY
Image(s) 4-6, From top left, moving clockwise: Image 1: Singer Bing Crosby sporting an all-denim suit dubbed the “Canadian Tuxedo”, Image 2: Actor Steve McQueen donning a denim jacket, Image 3: Teens boys in their denim in the 1950’s Retrieved from Levistrauss.com
The jean jacket was created by Levi’s founder, Levi Strauss, in 1880 as a durable and practical utilitarian garment for cowboys, miners, and railroad workers. The gold rush in the western part of the United States, where Levi was headquartered, was in full swing during the mid-to-late 1800’s and the thousands of laborers that flocked to this area were buying up all the denim Levi could make due to its durability and comfort; the jean jacket was a welcome addition to the collection.
Image 7: The Original Levi denim jacket Retrieved from Levistrauss.com
The popularity of the jacket resurfaced in the 1950’s when it became the outerwear of choice for the rebel look. Just as James Dean was making young girls swoon in his jean jacket wearing bad boy depiction of Jim Stark, in the iconic film Rebel Without a Cause, jean jackets began showing up in stores everywhere. The emergence of rock-n-roll in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s brought with it the “rocker” style that frequently included the jacket. The demand for the jean jacket has made many cyclical returns each decade for better part of the last 100 years and can be demonstrated in a timeline by the celebrities that wore them well: in the 1960’s Marilyn Monroe was frequently seen sporting her denim jacket, as was John Lennon in the 1970’s, Bruce Springsteen in the 1980’s, Madonna and Supermodel Claudia Schiffer in the 1990’s, and pop icons such as Rihanna, Justin Timberlake, and Miley Cyrus in the 2000’s.
Image(s) 8-13: Images of celebrities with their quintessential denim looks Retrieved from Glamour.com
Denim jackets continue to grace runways across the fashion world with contemporary interpretations and modifications of the look, but the jean jacket will forever be known for its iconic representation of rebellion and anti-establishment style.
CONTEMPORARY USAGE
CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE
The significance of the denim jacket has taken on a new meaning throughout history and its evolution. The denim jacket started out as a means of comfortable workwear and uniform typically at war, as time evolved this shifted its way to a form of a stylish wardrobe staple. It began as Levi’s introduced the “Type I Denim Jacket” followed by various “Battle Jackets” which later on began to be known as the “Eisenhower Jacket” being Eisenhower wore this form of jacket during battle. Various other Icons and celebrities had an impact on the cultural significance of the denim jacket such as, Bing Crosby , Elvis Presley, and Calvin Klein. Just like when Elvis Presley wore a denim jacket in “Jailhouse Rock”, Calvin Klein’s debut of the denim jacket line on a half-naked Kate Moss sexualized the denim jacket and its meaning. Today in modern culture the denim jacket can be seen worn for multiple occasions, being you can dress it up, or dress it down whether it is paired with garments such as a blouse, to dresses, to t-shirts.
TMD 224 Group 2 