The Origin of Jeans
From the days of total ignorance about denim, Jeans has become a part of my everyday life. I have been always thinking that Jeans originated in some Texas ranch or as a necessity for the mineworkers during the American Gold Rush. But I was surprised when I got to know that it originated in Italy and the word "Denim" is actually a French word. Surprised??!! Read the below paragraph taken from the wikipedia.
Jeans were first invented in Genoa, Italy when that city was an independent Republic, and needed all-purpose pants for sailors in the Genoese Navy. The first denim came from (french:de) Nîmes, France ... hence the name denim. Those sailors required a pant that could be worn wet or dry, and whose legs could easily be rolled-up to wear swabbing the deck. These jeans would be laundered by dragging them in large mesh nets behind the ship, and the seawater would bleach them white. The French word for these pants was very similary to their word for Genoa -- this is where we get the term 'jeans' today.
Stepping into the New World
I remember the day when I along with my friends had gone on a "selective cloth hunting" spree to Shopper's stop. The aim was to grab as much as possible within the limited budget of each individual. I had selected the jeans sanctuary in the 3rd floor. It was filled with denims of all the popular international brands - Lee, Levis, Wrangler, Pepe, etc. Jeans definitely was not my area of specialization. The only jean that I had purchased earlier was during my school days and it definitely was not a experience worth remembering. The brand was called "Currency" and I always felt that my weight increased by around 5 kgs whenever I wore that. The shelves were packed with all varieties of jeans, in different colors and fits. I just hoped that I wouldn't get lost in the denim jungle! Suddenly a voice emerged from one of the shelves .
"Pssssst !! Here ... look at me! I am the original one. The rest are fakes. Just check me out"
It was none other than a Levis jean trying to grab my attention. Unfortunately, the other jeans had heard the Levis! From the neighbouring shelf there was a loud laughter. It was Lee trying to divert my attention.
"Levis!!" shouted Lee accompanied by the laughter that sounded more like the ramming of doors during a tropical thunderstorm.
"Levis Strauss what not!! Such a pathetic name that would make the medicines sick!"The tone was particularly harsh that made Levis look totally lost and depressed.
"Look at me!" exclaimed Lee with a tone that had changed from harsh to one that was more aimed at giving an impression of being a statesman. "I am Lee and you would always be glee with me!! Lee ... Bruce Lee ...Brett Lee !! Don't I sound familiar?" I knew that it was a poor joke and being an expert in that field, I dint want another buddy with similar traits! I knew Lee was not the one. I looked around and found that Pepe was busier trying to break away from the wrangles of wrangler! The decision was simple. I wanted to give a lift to the exponentially decreasing morale of Levis and give it the life it deserved, away from the company of Lee and Pepe. Without any hesitation, I grabbed the Levis one and in minutes I was going on my way back home with Levis breathing the fresh air of Hyderabad, outside that of shopper's stop. Levis had just stepped into active public service.
When life Changed !
I don’t remember when I actually started liking it, but all I remember is that I was not sure as to how and when to use it. Yes, I always wanted some dress that I could wear anytime and anywhere without having the need to keep changing my attire for each and every occasion or every quarter of the day ! Even though I had purchased the Levis jean by chance, it definitely had a great impact in my life. Slowly it was the preferred option to work (casuals are allowed only on Fridays :) ), dinner, home, outing, drive, travel, etc. Apart from the 4 working days of the week, I never felt the need for going for another option. It didn’t matter if it was raining or the temperature was low enough to freeze your bones or whether it was a scorching day with a feeling of being grilled live, it always made me feel comfortable. With all the patience it ever had, it tolerated all the dirt, dust and roughness that it was subjected to! It also gave me company during the chill Christmas nights in Copenhagen, or during the nervous days spent in Netherlands after losing my passport and also when the matadors were taking the bulls by their horns in Madrid.
Life was as comfortable as it could be!
Time and toughness did have its toll! The charm of the youth was being lost gradually as it was losing its shine in a slow process. The frills of old age began to appear and dirt was slowly eating into its life. A stage had reached when I had to take a tough decision!
It wasn’t an easy decision! The hard work had its toll and it was necessary to amputate the lower folding so that it could be saved from further damage. This meant that continuing the active service would be difficult, as it would loose its immunity to the constant wear and tear that it was being subjected to! But the options were limited and amputation had to be performed. With amputation done, it was time to retire it from active life. It is often said that the only constant thing is change. It was true in this case also. It was time to recruit new ones and I decided to get in 2 new ones into service so that the workload could be effectively distributed.
The levis jean would still be in limited service and would definitely be preferred over the young guns in occasions like games, limited outing, etc. It always was an effective companion and would remain to be so but with limited usage.
It definitely is the first jean that I liked and would remain to be so !
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