The history of jeans: A Timeline

Keep reading to learn about the history of jeans and the most popular denim styles over the decades.

Back in the day—the mid-1800s to be exact—dungarees a.k.a. "waist overalls" were all the rage. And not because they were stylish, but rather, practical. The brainchild of businessman Levi Strauss and tailor Jacob Davis, blue jeans combined metal rivets to denim trousers to create a durable uniform that stood up to the rough-and-tumble work of the 49ers (the Gold Rush miners, not the football team). Workwear as we knew it had been revolutionized and would never be the same.

Jeans as workwear continued throughout the 1920s and 1930s, especially in the American West among miners, cowboys, and laborers. But it wasn't until Hollywood took this trend to the silver screen with its Western films that jeans entered mainstream culture. On the fashion front, Levi's® became the first item of clothing to have a designer label (its signature red tab) on the outside. And Vogue featured its first model in denim on the cover in the '30s, hinting that jeans could perhaps be a fashion statement and not just sensible clothes for working folk.

Jeans became a symbol of "cool" in the 1950s. Pop culture bad boys like James Dean and Marlon Brando popularized cuffed, boxy styles of denim as they shook up the squares in their films. Unsurprisingly, rebellious teens took hold of this fashionable symbol against the status quo. What followed was a backlash from some school boards that banned students from wearing jeans—they were too "anti-establishment"—to which we say (er, sing): "Down with the moral majority!"

The break-with-tradition spirit of the '60s carried into the '70s, a decade which came to symbolize a fresh, wholesome, all-American sexuality. This was embodied by cool-girls of the times, such as Charlie's Angels actress Farrah Fawcett and model Lauren Hutton. Silhouettes started to look smaller, with slim-fitting, straighter leg jeans and denim skirts and vests becoming in-vogue fashion items. And who can forget the iconic Daisy Dukes? Inspired by Catherine Bach's character in the popular TV series The Dukes of Hazzard, barely-there cut-off shorts became a major fashion trend at the end of the decade and into the next.

Peace, love, and bellbottoms became the counterculture anthem of the 1960s. The youthful, free-love movement embraced the casual blue jean (bellbottoms and low-rise hip-huggers, especially), which represented freedom from more structured clothing while also serving as a form of creative self-expression. Double denim and jean jackets also made their first real appearance as a fashion trend during this time. You got extra groovy points if you decorated your denim. Embroidery and patches were popular choices.

The 1980s is when designer denim was truly born. A 15-year-old Brooke Shields starred in a Calvin Klein commercial saying, “Nothing comes between me and my Calvins,” bringing denim to the forefront of every fashion designer’s mind. Designer jeans became a true status symbol in pop culture, and brands including Calvin Klein, Jordache, and Gloria Vanderbilt were among the most coveted by the cool kids. Stonewash, acid wash, ripped jeans, and skinnier leg cuts that were tapered at the ankle were super in.