Product Description

The story of denim's rise from modest workpants to high-fashion statement.

Ever since Levi Strauss made the first blue jean pants in California in the 1870s, everyone has wanted a pair. No one imagined America's love of denim would travel around the world, yet jeans remain an essential part of our lives. The Blue Jean Book chronicles this love affair.

Researchers suggest we're happiest when we're in our jeans. They express our personalities: compare the person who wears the latest designer label to someone who prefers the thrift store variety.

The Blue Jean Book takes you deep into the world of denim. Chapters include:

• The Birth of the Blues: 1870 to 1900 -- Levi Strauss and the origin of jeans
• Movers and Shakers: 1900 to 1940 -- From workpants to play pants
• Blue Jean Time Machine: 1940 to 1970 -- From WWII wear to the trademark of teen rebellion
• The Jean Scene: 1980s -- Jeans go designer
• Borderless Blues: 1990s -- The politics of pants: sweatshops, ecological impacts
• Panting for Perfection -- 21st century jeans

From their origins with hardscrabble miners and cowboys, to their popularity among laborers, rebels, and the incurably hip, The Blue Jean Book is the perfect fit for anyone who wants to know the story behind the seams.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #520783 in Books
• Published on: 2005-07-21
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 79 pages

From School Library Journal
Grade 6-10–Kyi traces the history of these pants from the early life of Levi Strauss and the patented riveted pocket to the stiff competition and controversy of production in our modern world. With many full-color and black-and-white photos and advertisements, the book gives readers an inside look at what has become an ordinary part of our lives. History and social issues are intertwined to show how activities, jobs, and the economy influence the development and production of clothing. The book covers the individuals and companies as they produced their products and kept their businesses going during the Great Depression and World War II. Readers are introduced to concepts such as supply and demand and how the country's economy affects many aspects of our lives. The final chapters discuss the social issues and injustices of sweatshop labor as well as the need to come up with new and innovative styles to keep up with competition. This is an enjoyable read for anyone wishing to know more about this fashion item and an excellent resource for an introduction to product development and economy.–Denise Moore, O'Gorman Junior High School, Sioux Falls, SD
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Gr. 6-9. This colorful book surveys the history of blue jeans as well as their many-storied intersections with our culture. Other books that consider the subject, primarily biographies of Levi Strauss, document the garment's origins in 1873, but this one continues where those leave off, explaining issues from the rise of Levi's main competitors to the marketing of jeans, which in different eras appealed to the yen for practicality, patriotism, rebellion, and sexuality. The final chapters discuss consumer pressure for fair economic and environmental practices in international garment making as well as recent trends in making and advertising jeans. A chapter-by-chapter list of sources is appended. Kyi organizes a good deal of information and communicates it clearly, though with a decidedly informal tone. With a sidebar or color illustration on nearly every page, the book has an approachable look that adds to its appeal. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Carolyn Phelan, Booklist 11/2005
Colorful... Kyi organizes a good deal of information and communicates it clearly, though with a decidedly informal tone... approachable look.