Part 1:
Reading the Text:
Why according to Davis, were jeans linked with disreputability until the mid 1960s?
Blue jeans were seen as a symbol of hard work and labor, until they were presented to the masses in a different light. Rather than be seen as clothing of labor they were seen as fashionable and practical.
- In Davis’s view, what enabled jeans to “crossover” from being disputable to fashionable?
Blue jeans· identity changed from a garment associated exclusively with work (and hard work, at that) to one invested with many of the symbolic attributes of leisure ease, comfort, casualness, sociability, and the outdoors. It underwent a process of cultural authentication bringing together the work and leisure disconnect.
Reading the Signs:
- This selection, originally published in 1992, takes its analysis through the 1980s. Using Davis’s categories of democracy and distinction, write down your own analysis of jeans that are popular today.
Jeans contests to numerous dialectics consisting of “status and anti-status, democracy and distinction”. Jeans have come along way in their ‘evolutionary process’ that has taken them from the hard working and intense labor oriented professions to the runways of Chanel, J Brand, and Marc Jacobs.
As Fred Davis explained the theory of “Fading and Fringing”, and how the notion that well worn jeans worth seen as a status symbol. That these alterations and embellishments had become a trend for it to “cost more to look poor”, have still carried on to modern day fashion. A trend that has taken the fashion world by storm is the ripped or distressed jeans. Ripped jeans were once seen as a sign of rebellion and non-social conformity has now become a status symbol and an imitation of its past statement.
Not only have jeans evolved from the traditional blue boot cut jean to distressed jeans, but have also taken to imitating other fabrics. No longer do the jeans embody the iconic indigo dye but rather a waxed texture to emulate the sheen and luxury of leather. These jeans served a different purpose, it allowed the masses to acquire a similar look that would distinctly wealthier people are able to attain.
Finally, a jean style that has become trend recently is the beloved flared jeans. Fashion works in cycle so that every so often a trend that had been popular in the past recirculates back into modern dad. Flared jeans have made that circulation and have reentered as a fashion trend. Flared jeans have become a distinctive status, one were the wearer is seen as a trendsetter or ahead of the game for wearing them.
Overall, jeans have come along way since they first starting entering the market. No longer are jeans frowned upon but instead worn and adapted to various fashion trends.
- Photographer Unknown. Fashion Blogger Jennifer Grace wearing ASOS ripped denim jeans during blogpost. January 20,2014. Digital photograph. Website: nativefox.com. Accessed February 7, 2016. http://www.nativefox.com/2014/01/monday.html
2. Photographer Unknown. Fashion blogger Aimee Song wearing H&M ‘leather’ jeans during blogpost. February 3, 2015. Website: songofstyle.com. Accessed February 7, 2016. http://www.songofstyle.com/2015/02/tuesdays-top-10-leather-pants-wear.html
3. Photographer Unknown. Fashion blogger Danielle Bernstein wearing Alice & Olivia jeans during blogpost. September 2, 2015. Website: weworewhat.com. Accessed February 7 2016. http://weworewhat.com/outfits/flared/
Part 2:
After visiting the FIT Denim Fashion’s Frontier I conducted a trend report on what I found inspiring and interesting in the show.
Notes Taken on the Show:
Part 3:
Denim mood board, part 2: Trend report.
For my ‘Trend Report’ I chose the contrast stitch and dungaree trend specifically in women’s fashion. From my extensive research on jeans during the 1950s, this style was extremely popular in both men and women’s fashion. Although the women would roll up the cuffs higher- or just bought them styled in that particular way- the style was prominent in both cases.
Contrast stitch is edging or stitching on an item of clothing that is a different color than the fabric, usually white or black against a brighter color. The accompanying trend was the rolled up cuffs which would often lay across the middle of the calf.
Citations
Photographer Unknown. Vintage Blue Jeans and Bobby Sox Girl Gang. 1950s. Pinterest: 1950s Fashion. http://bit.ly/1mRA7kY
Photographer Unknown. Teen Girls in Dungarees. 1950s. Pinterest: 1950s dungarees. http://bit.ly/217Vwt9
Photographer Unknown. Marylin Monroe on set of Clash by Night (Marylin Monroe in dungarees and kids). 1952. Pinterest: Marylin Monroe Jeans. http://bit.ly/20OM9t2
Photographer Unknown. Anne Francis wearing contrast stitched dungarees. 1957. Pinterest: 1950s dungarees. http://bit.ly/1Vy26Ci
Photographer Unknown. Vintage Women’s Dungarees from a 1952 Sears Catalog. 1952. Pinterest: 1950s dungarees. http://bit.ly/1QTQAxt
Maurice Ambler. Chrysler Convertible (Women in Contrast Stitched Dungarees). 1954. Pinterest: 1950s dungarees. http://bit.ly/1RVXK98
Spending less then $30.00 find your focused garment and materials from your week 4 focused mood board. If you have chosen an embellishment or customization, look for the item you want to customize and your materials (beads, threads, etc.) being as resourceful as possible. If you need to sketch your idea further to be more specific in your idea, please feel free to do so. This is about customizing not styling.
Certain items such as thread can be bought in the garment district, but can you look in the bargain bin, off cuts, or something you have at home to use? If you are choosing a process like acid wash, look up a book in the library or Youtube for on how to do this, include that in your homework submission.
The trend that I chose to study from the 1950s was that of contrast sticking on denim/dungarees. As I was conducting my research through numerous photos from the era contrast stitching was one of the more apparent trends.
The 1950s were not a daring time in fashion as denim was finally being accepted into culture. But even then it was part of a culture tagged as rebellious, troubled, and dangerous. As I travelled from thrift store to thrift store looking for materials and jeans to customize I found a classic fit Lee jean in Goodwill for only $8.99. The lighter denim of the jeans would allow me more freedom when it comes to the customization with colored thread or in my case t-shirt yarn.
In the spirit of being resourceful I have decided to create the contrast stitch with an old black to t-shirt to ensure that a greater contrast is made with the thicker texture of the t-shirt than with traditional yarn or thread.
When customizing the jeans I fully intend on creating the t-shirt yarn myself, and found directions to make it on a DIY blog. (http://www.molliemakes.com/diy-fashion-2/how-to-make-t-shirt-yarn/). Once the yarn is made I will stick the yarn onto the seams, pocket detailing, and various other places on the jeans.
The Materials:
Part 4:
The Process Customizing Jeans:
To begin with, I had to make my yarn since I chose not to use traditional yarn for the customization. I used an old black shirt that I would be able to make into yarn to use for the contrast stitching on the jeans.
I learnt how to make the yarn from a blogpost, but to truly understand how to make the yarn I used this youtube video:
After toying around with the t-shirt yarn for what felt like hours knotting and unknotting the t-shirt yarn I was able to roll it up into a ball. Once the yarn was dealt with and what I thought to be the hard part the true struggle began.
Denim is known for its sturdy and durable, which completely slipped my mind when thinking I could easily stick through it. Wrong. The needle would create a hole in the denim but due to the thickness of the t-shirt yarn it was quite difficult to pull through the fabric. I then tried to use eyelet pliers to create holes in the fabric where I intended to stitch through the yarn.
Once painfully punching through dozens of holes through the denim I stitched through the yarn in cross across the outer seam of the jeans.
Once I finished the outer seams of the jeans I then went on to do the contrast stitch detailing on the pockets, belt loops and various areas of the jeans.
The Final Product:
