“By the late 1960’s.blue jeans had achieved worldwide popularity and, of greater relevance here, had fully crossed over the occupation, class, gender, and age boundaries that had circumscribed them for over a century. “
Breaking all the constraint, blue jeans became universal and accessible for all genders, races, religions and social statuses for the first time in history.
For many years, dressing accurately and accordingly for each class, occupation, gender and age had been incredibly crucial and unchallengeable. Joan of Arc was burnt on a stalk for wearing men’s outfits. Men would be stoned for wearing ladies garments. Noblemen would not be recognized when wearing a working class-men’s outfits. What is so unique about denim that allowed the cross over to occur? Why has it not been confronted of being inappropriate? Other than the qualities of being comparable and enduring, was there a different reason why denim was so highly popular and wildly accepted. For centuries, comfort had never been the priority in women’s fashion wear. Why in all of a sudden, upper class men did not mind wearing what the working class wore? How was men not offended when women had the same privilege as them to wear pants? How was denim promoted? Was there a specific image or attitude denim represented that led to its popularity?
Faded blue jeans and those worn to the point of exposing some of the garment’s warp and woof were soon more highly prized.
In recent years, distress and faded jeans has gained the attention of many fashion forward dressers. The more worn out it looks, the more it is desired.
Denim seemed to be challenging the norms and creating new statements. Who would have thought that distress jeans would come in favour? Unquestionably, now days, when we wear torn pants out on the streets, we will be getting uncomfortable attention from the pedestrians. Conversely, when we wear distress jeans, we will receive favourable second glances. The distress look achieved sharpness and serene attitude that showed the wearer approachable and easy-going. Or perhaps, the worn-out look implied the keen, diligent characteristic. Also, it possibly unraveled the organic process of decay through time.
The new clothes [jeans] express profoundly democratic values. There are no distinctions of wealth or status, no elitism; people confront one another shorn of these distinction.
The rules for fashion are slowly fading after the introduction of jeans. People had the absolute power over what they desire to wear. Fashion is no longer a distinction between genders, classes , religions and ages.
Before, there were many restrictions and specific directions applied to how each individual should dress. However, the introduction of jeans was what broke the boundaries of fashion. Fashion should be fun and expressive, limitless and creative, not a visual label that categorizes people according to their physical features. I found it interesting that fashion is so powerful and influential. Through observing many circumstances, including blue jeans, fashion broke stereotypes and fought against inequality. Fashion is just as effective as any of the propaganda for people to deliver a strong and loud message. By wearing a certain type of clothing, we represent our ideology. We represent our voices and who we are. Fashion unites people regardless of gender, age, beliefs and classes.
