Blue Jeans

Levi Strauss introduced the, now ubiquitous, blue jean in 1873 to the mining communities of California. It was made from a strong cotton twill with patented copper rivets to reinforce the stress points. The color of blue jeans comes from indigo and the tendency for the cloth to go white over time is a result of the white weft threads which are interwoven with the indigo warp threads. Also only the outer core of the thread gets dyed so surface wear reveals the white inner core.

blue jeans
Photo of blue jeans from exhibit