Blue Jeans

There’s something magical about the Olympics. The coming together of nations, cultures, sports, and…fashion? The beloved U.S. snowboarding team has gotten quite the attention lately, and not just for their killer moves and medal winning performances. This past week, the team unveiled that competing athletes can have style too as they raced down the mountain in jeans.

“Snowboarding is the cool factor; that’s what the sport is all about, so why not embellish it to its limit,” said U.S. snowboarder Nick Baumgartner. “To wear jeans in the Olympics? I don’t think you can get any cooler than that.” Ironically, the jeans were given to the team for them to wear just during practice, but it turns out that America’s favorite pair of pants are also great for competition.

Crossing the finish line this past week in his stylish blue jeans, Seth Wescott got his second gold medal in snowboardcross proving to the world that you can be awesome and look awesome at the same time.

Thanks denim. You never cease to amaze us.

(picture courtesy of latimes.com)

posted by: deborah on February 18, 2010 at 6:51 pm
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TAGS: blue jeans, denim

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Ever wonder what makes blue jeans blue?

Well, today is your lucky day! Stick with us, and you’ll learn everything you’ve ever wanted to know (and more) about indigo dye—the chemical responsible for giving your blue jeans their intense indigo color.

Many people are unaware, but indigo dye is almost as old as civilization itself. Archeologists have even found it in cloth wrapped around Egyptian mummies and on Babylonian tablets. It’s hard to believe, but the intense blue color comes from a couple of unassuming green plants:

The indigo plant

The woad plant

But getting the deep blue out of these plants is no easy task! And our ancestors devised quite the recipe to extract the dye—one that started with 3.5 gallons of stale urine and 4.5 ounces of salt.

That’s right, your eyes are not deceiving you—traditional indigo dye recipes called for vast quantities of urine. In some parts of the world, dyers even paid their neighbors for bowls of urine in order to create the dye that was called “blue gold,” for more reasons than one.

If you’re wondering how this traditional recipe was stumbled upon in the first place, we are right there with you. Unfortunately, we don’t have any clue, but we’ll let y’all marinate on that one for a bit…

Anyhow, the good news, for all of you out there who find yourselves a little bewildered, is that if your indigo jeans are younger than one hundred years old, their blue tint is a product of indigo and other less offensive ingredients. Modern day scientists have devised chemical alternatives that our blue jean suppliers have adopted.

New dye formulas for our indigo jeans—yet another reason to love science. Thank you science, indeed.

posted by: danielle on October 13, 2009 at 5:27 pm
filed under: Denim 101 | comments (1)
TAGS: history of jeans, blue jeans, indigo jeans

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Blue jeans are a wardrobe staple, but denim jeans come in every color under the sun. Regardless, the classic blue jean remains the ultimate favorite around the world. Perhaps that’s because blue jeans are suitable for everyone from blue collar workers to blue blooded royalty.

The color blue has been used to represent fascism (in Ireland), liberalism (in the U.S.), revolution (in France), truth (in Hinduism), virginity (in Christianity), and power (as seen in police uniforms). It’s safe to say, that whatever your political or religious beliefs, there’s a shade of blue (and blue jeans!) to match.

If you were to guess that blue is the world’s favorite color, you might be right. One unusual piece of evidence—the 1995 M&M color vote. In 1995, Mars Inc allowed consumers to choose a new M&M color by dialing 1-800-FUN-COLOR. As you may have guessed, blue won handily.

Congrats, Blue. We knew you had it in the bag the whole time.

posted by: danielle on October 2, 2009 at 4:52 pm
filed under: Denim 101 | Add a comment
TAGS: blue jeans

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President Obama took a quick break from solving the world’s economic, energy, Middle East and health care crises to throw out the first pitch at the All Star game this week. A man who knows how to dress for the occasion, Mr. Obama correctly selected the quintessential American wardrobe item for this event. He paired his blue jeans with his beloved Sox jacket (clearly he’s not trying to make any friends in St. Louis, anymore).

image from Kyle Terada/US Presswire

Mr. Obama rarely fails to impress; however, we think his denim look could use a slight fashion upgrade.  While appropriate attire for a baseball mound, white running shoes are a big no no paired with blue jeans.  We think the Pres could do better with some trendier kicks… perhaps a retro look with another American favorite, Converse.  Just like at indi, you can even design your own Converse shoes.  And while we’d like to see the President in a less baggy jean and maybe a darker wash, our denim philosophy is you have to make it your own. Unfortunately, the pres did commit one unforgivable faux paux. Someone should have advised him against those highwaters before he left the (white) house.  We recommend custom jeans, Mr. President. 

posted by: Marybeth on July 16, 2009 at 2:52 pm
filed under: Misc Musings | comments (1)
TAGS: custom jeans, design your own jeans, blue jeans, american denim, presidential jeans

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