Is Denim Eternally Trendy?

It’s reported that denim originated in the ancient textile centre of Nimes in France and was known as “serge de Nimes” before the 17th century. Around the same time on another continent, the same fabric was being worn in the trousers of sailors in Dhunga, India – these became known as dungarees. Other reports claim that Columbus even used the cloth for the sails of the Santa Maria due to its sturdiness.

The 18th century saw the workers of Genoa, Italy wearing denim and some believe that this is where jeans saw their humble beginnings, with the first jeans made for the Genoese navy. It is now a commonly held belief that the French adapted the words ‘jeans’ from the name of the fashion’s birthplace. Also happening around this time, the English were getting wary about the future of cotton, and denim was one of the most popular fabrics of the era. On yet another continent, denim was servicing the needs of miners in America, and one provider of the jeans was Levi Strauss. Now an iconic name, Strauss takes a lot of credit for transforming a practical item to a fashion icon, working with one of his customers Jacob Davis to improve the quality of the jeans by adding copper rivets to points of strain. (I think the modern day addition of a rivet at the base of the crotch on men’s jeans may be taking this, and their egos, a little far!) A man servicing local workers during the Californian gold rush probably never expected to be a forefather to a fashion that remains eternally young, and eternally trendy.

It wasn’t until the late 40s that denim broke away from its work-clothing image and made tentative moves into the world of fashion. Firstly featuring primarily in areas of sportswear and rainwear, denim sometimes made cameos in high fashion collections as, of all things, a unique style evening dress and by the 60s had made a drastic transformation from a source of cheap, tough clothing to the clothing of choice for fashion conscious consumers. Indigo denim entered the scene in the mid 60, with the first indigo denim produced in Yarraville during 1965. By the 70s, kids in America had adopted denim as a favourite fabric and exports of American made blue jeans were growing and by 1976 there was a worldwide denim shortage due to an incapacity to keep up with demand. This shortage of denim is believed to have inspired the introduction of the first baggy jeans in Italy where the shortage led to the trendies wearing any size jeans they could get their hands on. With the onslaught of denim as a fashion staple, specialised denim manufacturers established themselves through the production of quality clothing, and brands of jeans have progressed to almost cult status.

Helping this along has always been the pick up of the trends by the rich and famous and denim has always lured the celebrities. Celebrities pay big bucks for designer denim, and with haute brands like Stella McCartney available as well as our trusty Sass & Bide, jeans are being spotted on red carpets and not just casual outings these days. Who can visualise James Dean in anything but a pair of relaxed fit jeans? Drew Barrymore promoted the merits of denim during her days as a Guess girl and still sports denim to red carpet events, today favouring the more haute couture denim of Citizen of Humanity. Drew’s fellow Angel Cameron Diaz is also a true advocate, a fan of Joe’s Jeans who also have a fan in Lindsay Lohan, and who is rarely seen in anything other than denim! Hollywood it girls Scarlett Johansson, Mischa Barton and Nicole Ritchie all put a high price tag on casual chic and can often be seen in flattering jeans with tapered legs. Jessica Simpson loves her Saddlelites Rosalind for their retro tinge, bell-bottoms and simple back pockets, which makes them a favourite with many other Hollywood A-listers. Our much loved ditzy Desperate Housewife Teri Hatcher chooses Antik Denim for red carpet escapades, showing off their hand sewn embroidery on hems and back pockets. Other days she sports Hudson, Rock and Republic (also reportedly favoured by Salma Hayek) and the coolest of cool, True Religion. J-Lo, for all her fashion faux pas, also cites True Religion as her ultimate brand for jeans.

Denim has staying power - there is something about jeans that has a universal appeal like very little else in fashion. We have lived through the skinny leg jeans of the 70s, the stonewashed jeans of the 80s, and pre-loved jeans with rips and tears to the point parents worldwide were exasperated at the amount being spent on “someone else’s cast offs”, dirty denim, acid wash and distressed jeans. We’ve survived baggy homie-inspired jeans, and who could forget our horrendous experimentation with tencil. Then there were fanny whiskers (remember them? The jeans with the incredibly unsubtle wear marks either side of the crotch and named for their resemblance to whiskers near your…..well, you get the idea), we’ve come back to skinny legs jeans in the noughties, and apparently now we are revisiting the 80s and return to the high waisted variety and the baggy boyfriend style. Denim has paraded itself in a myriad of styles, and most of us probably also own a pair of flares, bellbottoms, bootlegs and even pencil legs. The undeniable proof shows that regardless of the current trend, denim will be there.  

Although gaining inspiration from the 80s for the new looks in denim, designers are not restricting themselves just to that era. The latest looks for denim are many and varied. I personally am very happy that cropped jeans, or the Capri pants style, are back in for this summer. This style of denim wear is short and sweet, and also sexy. It can be paired with a hot pair of stilettos and a glam top, with cuffs either rolled up manually, or made to style, or cropped jeans can be dressed down with flats for a long Sunday session. This hot style is perfect for the transition from autumn to summer, and can be worn with boots when the wind has a bit too much bite for your legs. Cropped jeans suit most body types, however the height challenged should take note that this style has the potential to make you look even shorter.

The trouser style jeans will be a welcome addition to many a professional woman’s wardrobe, and offer a more classic cut, looking funnily enough, like trousers. This style is more tailored, with a fuller leg and side pockets. If you have wide hips, the side pockets will potentially make you look even broader, but the pockets can be sewn closed if you’re really worried! Most body types will look fab in this trend, and major bonus is you can even get away with them at work. Teamed with a fitted jacket or funky shirt, you will be the grooviest gal in the office.

The 70s throwback skinny leg jeans are proving a bit of staying power, and girls with slim legs will find that these jeans slim your legs even more. There are varying degrees of the skinny leg, some are fairly bunchy around the knee and don’t really do this style justice, and the real skinny legs look almost painted on. Shoe choice with this kind of denim will really vary from girl to girl. I feel like a total bogan wearing heels with skinny legs, but others pull it off flawlessly. These jeans look especially hot tucked into boots, which has been the hot look for winter and even make a chunky jumper look fashionable!

And it would seem the very latest trend in denim wear is a return to high waisted jeans. The very mention of this has resulted in nothing but groans of disbelief and gasps of horror amongst my female friends, and the only person to speak positively about it so far is my mum.  That said, I can still remember a time when it was actually cool to roll up the bottoms of your jeans, and the whispers that this would soon no longer be the trend brought about misgivings similar to those we face now. The 80s are back, and they are already everywhere. The high waisted jeans shouldn’t be that much of a shock to us when there are bubble skirts in the windows of David Jones. J-Lo has already been seen in this flashback fashion, and the ultra-cool Marc by Marc Jacobs already have high-waist jeans available. The trend towards the high waist at least gives extra length to legs, trims the torso, and looks great with tucked in blouses – something very difficult to achieve with hipsters. And maybe we will see fewer cases of g-strings hanging out of the pants of all seated females once high waist jeans are more prevalent – lets face it ladies, we all point and giggle when we see a glaringly obvious example of the t-bar! This phenomenon can be blamed squarely on the hipster trend, and when sales assistants advise that you need to be waxed before you can successfully wear a pair of especially low riders, you know there is an epidemic of underwear displays likely to result. The female version of plumber’s crack has become so commonplace, there is a plethora of names for this gag-worthy assault on what is otherwise a fabulous fashion, Take the Ask Bronny poll and let us know what your favourite name is for these horrendous public underwear displays!

Following in the footsteps of the high waist is the high back jeans, which offers further relief from the public displays of underwear. These jeans manage the amazing feat of being low rise in the front, and high-rise in the back, some would say offering the perfect combination. These jeans are slimming, and relieve you of the duty of checking for underwear sitting halfway up your back every time you take a seat. Many denim manufacturers have started to produce this style, with pockets strategically placed to make our bums look smaller, making these perfect for all of us, but a particular favourite with curvier ladies.

Baggy boyfriend style jeans are also making a comeback, and the idea is to go baggy, but not sloppy. This style is casually sexy, suits everyone, and teamed with a fitted cardigan you will look fab but like you didn’t try. Boyfriend style jeans elongate and flatter the thighs and which girl would not say that is music to her ears?

A good pair (or more likely a good few pairs) of jeans is an essential for any female, and emotions run high when you realise your favourite pair have seen better days.  Your favourite jeans are the ones that go equally well with a crisp white shirt or your favourite glam top, as you strut out the door knowing you look hot in them, and so does your ass! Of course, there are also the fashion jeans which you have to have in order to keep up with the latest trend, and this is how the stonewash and the fanny whiskers end up in the cupboard.

But denim doesn’t stop at just our jeans. The 80s and then Beverly Hills 90210 made denim jackets cool again, and who doesn’t own a denim mini skirt?  At the end of the day, denim is fun, and will always be in style in one form or another. So high waisted, low riders or almost spray-painted on, if the denim looks good, chances are you’ll be looking pretty stylish. And you can’t really underestimate a fashion that every generation of your family have owned, and probably still wear.