14. Jeans became an American icon through the nation’s department stores
In the 1870s, a relatively new product manufactured by a San Francisco based manufacturer named Levi Strauss became increasingly popular in the American West and Midwest, especially among the working class. Marshall Field’s sold Levi jeans in its stores and catalogs, though the large eastern department stores such as Macy’s and Wanamaker’s found little demand for the garments. In the 1930s visiting western ranches became fashionable in what was known as the dude ranch craze, and easterners purchased jeans made by Levi’s and competitors to look the part of the western cowboy. The pant’s durability attracted more interest, and by the early 20th century jeans were particularly desirable to clothe teenage and younger boys, notoriously hard on trousers. It wasn’t long before teenage girls found jeans comfortable, practical, and most importantly, fashionable.
As work pants they were unmatchable, and the Rosie the Riveter days of the Second World War cemented their status as an American icon. They became a fashion staple for men’s, women’s and children’s, departments of all major department stores, a status they maintain today. The simple blue denim work pants have become an industry unto themselves, shaped by the world’s most prestigious designers, bearing prices which Levi Strauss would have no doubt fainted at, and occupying places of pride in stores, emblazoned with their name. Levi’s continues to hold center stage in most such displays. By the 1960s most major department stores, at least the national chains, offered brand names of their own to compete with major manufacturers. Levi’s wasn’t the first national brand of “store-bought clothes”, but it remains among the most popular, and denim pants commonly called jeans are available in virtually all department stores of the 21st century.