Blue denims and the world war
Blue Denims, used today merely as a medium to cover our naked bodies aided the victory of World War II in the Pacific for the U.S. This was the working uniform of the U.S. Navy's white hats -- only we now call them "dungarees." They wore dungaree pants and a light blue chambray shirt with long sleeves, kept buttoned at the cuff to reduce the chance of flash burns. This article is about the blue denim effect on the World War.
Denim is a fabric that was originally manufactured in Serge De Nimes, a French town. Although the classic jeans that we wear today were made when Jacob Davis, a tailor from Nevada 1871 came up with the idea of using metal fasteners to hold up the pockets and the button fly. It’s funny how such small innovations can be overlooked so easily.
The copper rivets used to reinforce the pockets were appreciated by the blue-collared people, who complained about frequent pocket rips. The sturdy rivets were much more suitable for workwear than the sewed-in pockets. The demand for indigo-dyed denim started to rise quickly. Davis then realised the potential his product had and his lack of financial ability to get it patented, and partnered with his fabric supplier, Levi Strauss to create the waist overalls, which we call jeans.
As it aged, the denim changed and the way it reflected people’s lives and their work.
On 11th June 1919, the military adopted blue denim as Standard work clothing. The top was a jumper-style pullover, and the trousers had five pockets -- two front, two hip, and a watch pocket. Slowly denim got the recognition it deserved in the army as the company was asked to make denim war bags for the soldiers. The Second World War started in 1939 and by 1940, the pullovers were taken over by the jacket-style work uniform which had two large pockets in the bottom front of the garment and was buttoned up close to the collar. In Britain, the company,” M. Cooper” was asked to do battle uniforms and denim fatigues for the British armed forces.
When America joined world war 2 and captured German soldiers, they were given denim jackets and overalls for their work. The reason behind the choice of fabric was the following,
The German soldiers were meant to be transported to the USA and held in camps in the south where they had to work in factories, construction sites, etc. So for these tasks, the clothes had to be made of thick fabric which was sweat absorbent such as blue denim which is made out of cotton. As they were given the status of ‘PW’ (Prisoners of the War) they painted POW/PW on the back of the jackets.
These blue denim that we wear daily have left a Denim skid mark and played a silent role during the world wars.
The copper rivets used to reinforce the pockets were appreciated by the blue-collared people, who complained about frequent pocket rips. The sturdy rivets were much more suitable for workwear than the sewed-in pockets. The demand for indigo-dyed denim started to rise quickly. Davis then realised the potential his product had and his lack of financial ability to get it patented, and partnered with his fabric supplier, Levi Strauss to create the waist overalls, which we call jeans.
As it aged, the denim changed and the way it reflected people’s lives and their work.
On 11th June 1919, the military adopted blue denim as Standard work clothing. The top was a jumper-style pullover, and the trousers had five pockets -- two front, two hip, and a watch pocket. Slowly denim got the recognition it deserved in the army as the company was asked to make denim war bags for the soldiers. The Second World War started in 1939 and by 1940, the pullovers were taken over by the jacket-style work uniform which had two large pockets in the bottom front of the garment and was buttoned up close to the collar. In Britain, the company,” M. Cooper” was asked to do battle uniforms and denim fatigues for the British armed forces.
When America joined world war 2 and captured German soldiers, they were given denim jackets and overalls for their work. The reason behind the choice of fabric was the following,
The German soldiers were meant to be transported to the USA and held in camps in the south where they had to work in factories, construction sites, etc. So for these tasks, the clothes had to be made of thick fabric which was sweat absorbent such as blue denim which is made out of cotton. As they were given the status of ‘PW’ (Prisoners of the War) they painted POW/PW on the back of the jackets.
These blue denim that we wear daily have left a Denim skid mark and played a silent role during the world wars.
Comments
Post a Comment