First invented in the 1800s, the iconic denim jean has been adopted by miners, cowboys, Hollywood legends, counterculture rebels, rock stars and high fashion alike over the last two centuries.
The word “jean” started out in the 1800s, in reference to a twill cotton cloth used for trousers. But the textile soon became conflated with the garment it was commonly used for. Blue jeans, now called “denim”, were originally made from this fabric and manufactured in the French town of Nîmes (bleu de Nîmes). There is still debate over whether the word “denim” is an anglicized version of the French textile or whether the French name was given to an already existing English product to give it prestige. By the 20th century, “jean” was the term for a wide range of cotton or denim informal trousers.
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