The Allure of Jeans(a)|无法抵挡的时尚魅力

The Allure of Jeans

by Brian Foden

Invented in the US roughly 140 years ago, denim jeans quickly became popular and turned into a fashion statement around the world.

　　Fashions come and go, but the one style of clothing that has survived the test of time is denim. Those who love their denim pants, jackets, skirts, and even shirts and caps can thank an enterprising American tailor, a woodcutter, and Levi Strauss, whose name has long been synonymous with jeans. The first blue jeans were created in the early 1870s after the wife of a woodcutter asked Nevada tailor Jacob Davis to make durable pants that could withstand the rigors of her husband's line of work. Davis found that by using a strong fabric like denim and reinforcing the pockets with metal rivets, he could make trousers that could stand up to almost anything wearers did to them. Davis' invention became so popular that he found himself unable to keep up with the demand, so he turned to one of his reliable suppliers, Levi Strauss, with an offer of forming a partnership. Recognizing the potential of the new type of clothing, Strauss, a German who immigrated to New York and later followed the gold rush to San Francisco, heartily agreed to Davis' proposal.

　　Jeans, or waist overalls as they were originally known, proved to be a popular product for Strauss' stores. His stores were established across California and into other Western states to supply dry goods to the influx of people moving to the American West to pursue fortune or simply a new life. Strauss and Davis had a lock on the jeans' market for three and a half decades, until the patent on their special riveted pants expired in 1908. By then other companies had developed competing brands of denim clothing. The demand for jean garments proved even more durable than the tough material itself. Despite all the new competition, Levi Strauss' jeans have remained enormously popular even to this day.

 

无法抵挡的时尚魅力

丹宁牛仔裤大约在一百四十年前发明于美国，它当时迅速走红并成为世界各地的一种时尚宣言。

　　时尚风潮瞬息万变，但有一种服装风格一直以来都很经得起时间考验，那就是丹宁布。那些喜爱丹宁裤、丹宁夹克、丹宁裙子，甚至是丹宁衬衫和帽子的人得感谢一位具有创业精神的美国裁缝师兼伐木工人，以及其名字多年来与牛仔裤划上等号的李维․史特劳斯。1870 年代初期，在一位伐木工人的妻子请内华达裁缝师雅各․戴维斯制造能够禁得起她先生在伐木工作上所面临的许多严酷挑战的耐穿裤子之后，第一批蓝色牛仔裤就此诞生。戴维斯发现，使用像丹宁布这类的强韧布料，并利用金属铆钉来让口袋部份更坚固，就能够让裤子禁得起几乎任何穿戴者所给予的挑战。戴维斯的发明变得相当火红，以致于他发现自己供不应求，因此他便向他的其中一位可靠供应商李维․史特劳斯提出合伙的建议。史特劳斯这位移民到纽约、随后又跟着淘金热前往旧金山的德国人，意识到这种新类型服饰的潜力，于是便痛快地接受了戴维斯的提议。

　　事实证明，牛仔裤，或是大家最初所熟知的高腰工作裤在史特劳斯的店里是一项热门商品。他成立的店家遍及整个加州，并深入西部其他各州以提供成衣给移民至美国西部的那些追求财富或纯粹寻求新生活的大批涌入人潮。一直到史特劳斯和戴维斯在特殊铆钉裤的这项专利于 1908 年到期之前，他们掌握了牛仔裤市场达三十五年之久。当时，其他公司也已开发出许多丹宁服饰的竞争品牌了。牛仔服饰的需求证明比本身强韧的材质还要更耐久。尽管所有新兴竞争对手的出现，李维․史特劳斯的牛仔裤依然深受爱戴，即便到今日仍是如此。