All Hail the Blue Jeans

By Kelsey

I’ve talked before about how James Sullivan’s book Jeans is a little too much into the Americaness of jeans, but really it’s hard to argue with him too much. Here’s a passage:

All blue jeans, whether they are rough as sidewalk or burnished to a hand as fine as cashmere, share an “Americana” feel. They may be cut and sewn in Japan, Vietnam, or Hong Kong, using denim from mills in Mexico, India, Italy, or Turkey and synthetic indigo dye from Germany or Brazil. Yet wherever its origins, a pair of blue jeans embodies two centuries’ worth of the myths and ideals of American culture. Jeans are the surviving relic of the western frontier. The epitomize our present-day pre-occupations – celebrity and consumer culture – and we’ll likely be wearing them long after the business suit, say, has bee relegated to the dustbin of fashion.

One question: What the heck do Canadians think of such talk? Are blue jeans more American than Canadian?

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October 25th, 2007 | 5:07 am

Kent said:

If “Americana” wants to write a book and own the concept of Jeans, I say go right ahead. Though, the Calgary Stampeders may beg to differ.

I’m from southern Ontario. We’re cool until Americana tries to stake claim to blue collars or business suits.
October 25th, 2007 | 6:19 am

Kelsey said:

I knew our Canadian correspondent would chime in. Thanks Kent.

You might have claim to the business suit, but as everybody knows and Sullivan says, “we’ll likely be wearing them (jeans) long after the business suit, say, has bee relegated to the dustbin of fashion.”

Hopefully, the blue collar thing works out for y’all so you can have claim to some non-dustbin fashion.