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Indigo growth in US
Indigo was beginning to be grown in South Carolina using slave labor, meaning there was no importation costs and no need to pay workers -
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Textile Mill in the US
Samuel Slater copied UK textile mill designs and started a factory in the US, industrializing and ultimatly cheapening cotton production
The cheapening of cotton made it cheaper to weave and produce denim material in the US -
Levi Strauss & Co. is created
Levi Strauss moved to the American West during the Gold Rush to open a retail store. -
Rivets are added to Levi's jeans
Strauss and Jacob Davis added rivets to the jeans for extra strength -
Bicycle Pants are released
These pants were released specifically for cyclists. -
Levi goes global
Levi first entered the global market in Japan soon to be followed by Australia and South Africa. -
Khaki pants and coats
LS&C introduces Kahki pants and coats are introduced into their stores. -
Children's clothes introduced
LS&C introduced a line of children's denim playsuits entering the market for children clothing. -
Levi's spread East
In the 1930's Levi jeans became incredibly popular resulting in people from the East began traveling west and then bringing the style back home. -
Women's Jeans
Levi's introduces the first pair of women's jeans. -
WWII Ends
WWII ends, but many of the factory workers continue to embrace their levis before and after working in the factory. This symbol of the working class began to gain popularity with subcultures, finally spreading to movie stars like Brando and Dean. -
Jeans are the rebel clothes of America
Schools began banning jeans because of the influence of movies implying that rebels wear jeans so teachers were afraid that if students wore jeans this meant they would begin rebelling against the school. -
“The Wild One”
Film “The Wild One” is released. Lead actor Marlon Brando wore denim. “If you were a 15-year-old boy in 1953 you wanted to be Marlon Brando”. -
A Rebel Without a Cause Premieres
When a Rebel Without a Cause premieres, James Dean becomes of a symbol of cool and rebellion. His look- a t-shirt and jeans- became a staple of youth clothing. -
Teenager wear different styles
The time after WWII marked the first time in history where teenagers would dress differently from their parents. This was partially spurred on by movie stars who came off as rebellious -
Jailhouse Rock Premieres
The premiere of the Jailhouse Rock music video made the rebellious spirit behind jeans more mainstream. -
Jeans banned in schools
Jeans were commonly banned in schools which added to the fervor with which teenagers embraced them -
Protests against the vietnam war begin
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Crystalline LSD synthesized
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Burning draft cards becomes illegal
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The term "hippie" used for the first time
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Anti war protests in NY (25,000 people on 5th Ave.)
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Anti war demonstration in D.C 10,000 attend
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10,000 people join the Walk for Love and Peace and Freedom in New York City
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20,000 people attend the human be-in. 5000 doses of DOM were distributed in 10-15mg doses
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Youth International Party is founded
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War protests, 400,000 march from Central Park
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Summer of Love in San Francisco, first human be-in
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43 die in Detroit riots, worst in U.S. history
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Ripped jeans = less fortunate
Prior to the 1970s ripped jeans were a symbol of the less fortunate who could not afford new jeans to replace the ones that they had ripped. -
500,000 gather at Woodstock for three days, changed the world
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Woodstock festival, 500,000 gather for three days of peace and love that changed the world
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Jeans spreading globally
“Other countries quickly started to get accustomed to wearing jeans too. American servicemen on duty in Europe and Japan often wore them when they were not on duty to show that they were Americans.” -
Students killed by national guard at Kent State
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First rainbow gathering held in Colorado
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Levi's demin art contest
Levi's held an art contest having people send in images of jean jackets and pants showing how they personalized their denim. -
Ripped jeans begin to become popular
Ripped jeans began to become popular in the late 1980s -
Vintage Levi's
Levi released a clothing line of Vintage Levi clothes using styles from some original jeans. -
Denim production and consumption
“Over 50 percent of denim production is based in Asia with China, India, Turkey, Pakistan and Bangladesh. 70% of world jeans consumption is among EU, US and China.”
