Denim: Fashion's Frontier | Circa 1840 pants
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- Опубліковано 13 жов 2024
- Emma McClendon, assistant curator, and Nicole Bloomfield, conservation technologist, both at The Museum at FIT, explain the significance of a pair of 19th-century men's work pants and describe the clues they uncovered to deduce the date of the pants before they went on display in the exhibition "Denim: Fashion Frontier", on view December 1, 2015 - May 7, 2016.
www.fitnyc.edu/...
Video created by the FIT Technology Development Team and produced by Tamsen Young, Digital Media Manager, MFIT | Music: Frederic Chopin - "Impromptu no. 2 in F sharp major, Op. 36" performed by Frank Levy, Public Domain license
creativecommon...
musopen.org/mu...
i never thought I would be so interested in an old pair of pants.
Can't wait till my pants end up in museum
"It appears that he wore these jeans almost every single day even though they fell apart years into the use"
Held me captive for 6 minutes. How is this just popping up on my UA-cam?
It's her voice ,right?
My thoughts exactly. The only other jeans video I watched was about a contemporary, extremely faithful copy of the original Levi's. The kind that aren't made anymore. I believe they are made in Japan and are exact replicas, stitching, copper rivets, etc. Everything but the Levi's logo. I thought "I should get some!!" When I found them online and learned they around $200-$250 a pair I decided I want as interested in jeans for nostalgia as I thought.
@@ERIC-65 'Vocal fry' has taken over young people world wide; even young men. It first appeared in southern California in the late 1990s; i first heard it come out of my socially trending teen niece at this time. It's a jag off of "valley girl" talk.
There was a period a few years back where people were searching old mines for denim jeans. They would sell them for a lot of money.
Its still something thats done
2022, there has been a recent find of several pairs in an Arizona mine.
I remember as a teenager we patched our Levi’s. Since my friends and I were all barn rats, worked hard, and rode horses constantly our jeans would wear out. Some scrap denim and creative zig-zag stitches kept them patched and together for ages!
u still have em? 👀
Do you remember how you just automatically stubbed your cigarettes out against your jeans and when you came across a grass fire, you either ran through it or stomped the flames out if they were less than knee high.?
When the ends of our jeans caught alight while we were stubble burning, we jut beat them out with our hands and carried on working.
These days people would think that we were crazy. A guy even thought that I was stupid when I stomped a bonfire out, despite the fact that I was wearing cowhide leather jeans and harness boots. 😃🔥
These are beautiful! Although they are patched and patched and faded and dyed etc, they're still elegant and tailored. I've only ever seen pictures of these, so I'm happy to stumble across your presentation - thank you!
I would look even fatter in them :(
@@daphne4983 I disagree with you, they are matched...
Talking about sustainability and how it ended in a museum. What a life this denim pants have! ❤️
gonna start writing the date on all my pants to save some future pants expert time when they inevitably end up in a future pants museum (possibly on venus)
😂
Me too
When I incorrectly dried/fried my $$$ expensive 👖, they L👀KED like they should be on display in a Museum😑!!
@@eringemini7091 bruh why do you type like that
@@bluudlung illiterate kids.
I have a piece of history right now in my storage unit, it's my jean jacket from the 80's, man, I sure do miss those concerts.
Snow
Yeah but can you still fit into it?
Fascinating. I love how the pants were repurposed and repaired over the years. They were obviously very well made and did their job admirably. We should be appreciating clothing like that now instead of throwing garments away every year. I try to buy better quality more classic looks now and keep things for years.
Me too. My strategy is to not buy many clothes, but to buy good quality clothes when I do. All of my clothes, winter and summer, can fit into a non-walk-in closet that's about four feet in breadth, along with a short dresser. Then I wear them until they fall apart. And some items have not indicated when they will ever do that. I picked up this approach from my Dad, who grew up in the Great Depression. The man's closet was a museum (and it was the same size as my current one).
I like the person who wore these. These pants give me a good vibe
His name was Mike 'Meanie' McGee. He pulled on girls' ponytails when he was a kid and as an adult, he couldn't stop throwing rocks at people.
Fascinating, loved the unearthed history!
They should make a pair of similar jeans now
Yeah but it's not a good business model, people wouldn't buy new pairs every year
@@QuinnHartmann clothes get worn
They should up their quality, all the levis i buy in recent years practically disintegrate.
Planned obsolescence
@@QuinnHartmann nope
Those look better after 2 centuries than my Walmart specials do after 2 wears.
This makes me want to take better care of my jeans. I'm already pretty careful with my other clothing. The dryer is the enemy of clothing.
That was an UNDER statement! I recently purchased the priciest & most unique pair of 👖. I washed them in cold water, & used low dryer cycle. They completely faded, shrank & lost their shape! All due to the EVIL DRYER!
@@eringemini7091 QUALITY Denim is pretty strong and doesn’t shrink. A pair of pants that will last you for the rest of your life could cost about $200+
For that reason, we only partially dry our clothes in the dryer. We will run them for about five minutes or less, then take them out and hang them on a line to finish drying. We do this for all of our washable clothes, including cottons (like jeans). We are hoping to extend the life of the clothes and save some energy at the same time. Of course, you can only do this if you have a large enough area, inside or outside, to run a clothesline.
@@emotionaldistress my problem is I get paint, oil, adhesives and other material on my pants. its not worth getting fancier pants when i am so damaging to them. but i have not been having the same problems Erin has said. I have had a pair of jeans for 4 years, and they are doing just fine, well except for a few cut marks where they saved my leg
180 years old and they look better than my modern jeans after just a couple years...
That's because you wash them in a washer
@@daphne4983 Try ‘Woollens’ setting.
@@Known-unknowns tell that to the op :)
Machine washing and drying will do that.
@@daphne4983 I have, Brave Star, Jo&Co, Pure Blue Momotaro etc. Washed them in the bath for about a year but no longer, Woollen wash does the same. Use a liquid soap without bleach of course (Woolite Denim ~ Amazon). Hang by the belt and don’t iron.
Forensic analysis of blue jeans-pretty cool!
Spectacular. Great detective work!
Great presentation, very informative. The study of these items is like an archeological dig. What a find!
Levi Strauss didn't invented the denim fabric, he only popularized the usage of denim pants for factory workers, miners, and farmers; Partnered together with Jacob W. Davis with his invetion of riveted pants. Both of the men experimented with different fabrics and discovered that the denim fabric is more stronger than canvas duck. And they began to mass-produce the denim pants. This pair of 1840s pants basically ahead of its time.
Great presentation. Learned something new. Thank you
Very enjoyable investigation and demonstration of the garment. My ancestor manufactured early blue jeans in the early 19th C. In Newport, Kentucky. Also reminds me of how James Aged wrote about the beauty of the worn denim overalls of Appalchian sharecroppers in Let Us Now Praise Famous Men.
James Agee?
@@toolguy6534 yes. Agee. great book.
Absolutely fascinating and what an amazing piece of detective work!
So interesting! I love seeing how garments were cherished in the past, such an antithesis to our attitudes today in the developed world where everything is disposable.
It shows that these were at one point this person’s favorite pair of pants. And it makes me happy that they have now a lot of people admiring them
Superb narrator excellent video editing, and excellent research education...
I remember my dad taking a bunch of antique clothes like this in a trunk to the dump. They were
way older than a hundred years.
That is so sad :(
Oh man! 😥
That was a very thorough walk-through, well done... I learnt alot...
You can get fall front pants at stores that serve Amish communities. Mostly black, grey, some blue. Not sure who makes them but they are very hard wearing!
Probably the Amish
Great video especially the last bit is that exhibit still ongoing?
The exhibition closed in 2016, but you can still visit virtually via the website. exhibitions.fitnyc.edu/denim-fashions-frontier/
Great little video. Thank you
Thank you!
i used to work in cabinetry i would go through 3-5 pairs of jeans a year crazy how long those survived
Emma and Nicole have got a voice I just cant commit to.
Very nice presentation. Fabric used to be woven with quality thread and not just during the 19th century. Most of the 20th century...in my opinion. That's why these trousers lasted decade after decade. Today's fabrics are mostly woven with weak, cheap threads. Don't get me wrong, there are quality fabrics out there, but for the most part, personally, I see cheap fabric. One used to be able to find well made clothing with high quality fabric. Purchasing quality fabrics are not easy, too. On-line is the best place to find quality fabrics in my neck of the woods.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Nicely, done. However, I think these trousers were made before 1840. Reason being, the high waist in the back. The stirrups could have been added later.
Stitching today leaves a bit to be desired sometimes, too. I have had seams unravel because the end wasn't properly tacked down, and of course late 20th century mass-produced clothing can best be described as "pucker, pucker, pucker."
I wish i could still buy the thick denim jeans they used to make in the 70s and 80s
Those things were rugged as hell, the first couple months you could hardly wear them they were so stiff.
Now theyre so thin and flimsy you cant wash them more than 3 times without them falling apart. Its basically just t-shirt fabric painted blue.
Carhart
Iron heart jeans
Fascinating!
Not sure if it is true, but I heard early Levi's also had a copper rivet in the crotch area. Unfortunately, many people in that era did not wear underwear, and a common way to warm up in those days was to sit down by a fire. Radiant heat from the fire would heat this rivet up, and upon standing could make contact with some sensitive areas. I heard that is why they stopped placing a rivet there.
Absolutely fascinating piece of clothing history that wouldn't look out of place worn in a high street of today. Being from the UK, I also liked the way the narrator switched between calling them pants, and later switched to calling them trousers, the UK English word for...pants.
'Trousers' is used in America, too. The main difference is the American use of the word 'pants' as a synonym for trousers, while in the UK these words are not synonyms. Mainly, the origin of this difference comes down to the word 'pants' being viewed as rude in the UK in Victorian and Edwardian times, a taboo that never appeared in the US.
In addition to the previous comment, in the US "trousers" more often refers to fancier/nicer clothes, while "pants" refers to any style. I would call dress pants (like one would wear with a suit) trousers, but I would never call jeans, leggings, pajamas, etc trousers.
Excellent work.
Amazing! I love my ol 501 Levi classics. I wear them till they don't have knee's in them anymore and are so faded they are super baby skyblue. Cool video
I got rid of most of my clothes after my wife died and moved to a campervan. I don't replace if I can repair. I feel free not owning what I don't need. Consumerism is an ego driven habit - I don't care as long as I'm not too scruffy and am clean.
Whatever works for you sir, and my condolences for your loss.
You're on a level of living most will never understand
I Iive well, eat good quality vegetarian if possible. Point is when you realise that living should not be a hell hole, rat race, when you can settle into the sweet silence you never noticed before, then you don't have to fill your space with stuff or your mind with mental stuff.
@@johnburman966 excellent. I feel the same way.
…and have wi-fi access?
beautifully researched and narrated
Super interesting video. I love learning about history in work outerwear. It just intrigues me.
Very cool review. thanks
Excellent,, now I want to go to the next exhibit!! Thank you 🙏
Fascinating... makes a nice comparison to Japan's Boro Fabrics.
Fascinating.
Thank you! Thank you! We need this kind of presentation in Kenya! The Quilt Guild members and my University students will love it!
These jeans are amazing
a friend of mine gave a talk to our Classic Vehicle Club about acetylene lamps used in the mining industry from past era's, he had many lamps and also bought along a few cages that would have held Canaries, the miners kept a VERY CLOSE EYE on the canary, as when it acted woozy or fell over they were at risk from Methane.
the Canary was an extremely valuable Item of Personal Protective Equipment, i see people today mistreat or not even wear PPE (and clothing) and then lament when they are injured.
.
the trousers in this story were valuable and not disposable like they are today, i was no 10 of 14 children, until i started earning my own money i NEVER had any new clothes, but they were ALWAYS clean and serviceable
.
oh and the amazing thing about acetylene lamps is that they produce a bright White light, which was much better than the yellow light of incandescent light bulbs, the modern LED's come in warm white or cool white, the cool white is like what acetylene gives off.
I remember the time when we poured a small quantity of water into the small front pocket of our jeans and added some carbide, then set the gas alight. Because our jeans were damp, they acted as a wick and could withstand the flame for quite a while.
All you needed to remember was to use your hands, rather than water to put the flame out. I still remember the day when a guy made that mistake and the gas inside his jeans caught alight while he was trying to get them off. Fortunately it was before boxer shorts started to be made from nylon so he only singed a few leg hairs 😃🔥🔥🔥
Very interesting! Do you know when the typical flat felled- "jean seams" were introduced?
Very similar to sail cloth pants from Europe from early 18th century.
Amazing to think that someday, one of my pair of old pants could become a sought after item ;)
With the skidmarks and everything?
Mind blowing!
My Wrangler regular fit jeans split at the rear left pocket stitch today, they are approx 3 years old and worn about 3 or 4 days a week.
Interesting topic and well done video. I do, however, find it somewhat strange and impolite that one museum doesn't credit another for the use of its pictures, even though it is kindly put it in the public domain. But Chopin, who's been dead for 170-odd years, has been credited. Some weird American copyright law lobbied forth by the entertainment industry, I guess. I am, of course, referring to the Købke portrait of Sødring, donated to the public in 1902, and located in Den Hirschprungske Samling, Copenhagen.
No where in the description or in the video do they say what FIT stands for 🤔
Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT).
A well put together video. But what does FIT stand for? (Your audience is not necessarily those only in your field). Well presented though 👍
Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC
I wish my old jeans where as full of character as that pair of pants.
I think I enjoyed this more than Sherlock.
Nice pair of pants
These are in style right now, I see all the hip young college kids wearing them
US Navy blue bell bottom pants also have false front, it covers the laced fly.
Awesome!
The fabric looks like moleskin or fustian to me. Popular in French workwear “bleu de travail” garments. Cool stuff!
This is a serious question. In the Jesse James photograph where he is about 16/17,wearing a hat,white shirt,narrow black tie,and looking straight at the camera. I cant figure out what garment he is wearing as the outer layer. As a dressmaker I notice its a bit odd with its sagging pocket,and asymmetrical shoulder seams. One shoulder seam is in the usual place,but on the other side its several inches lower! I cant figure out what is going on with it. Any ideas?
Phew! For a minute there I thought that Levi didn't invent denim jeans!
They would have likely belonged to someone born in the late 18th century and whom lived through the early years of the nineteenth century, Likely a tradesman of some sort since agriculture would have been far to damaging to allow the pants to persist for so long. The individual would have been of an older age by the time denim fabrics became common, so a person who would cling to the style they wore throughout their life, but lived into the age were the style and fabrics were changing. As they aged, they may have been less able to do as much work in their trade, and so required no need to purchase new pants for the task and found it simpler to just keep wearing their pre-established work pants and repatch them.
i probably paid more attention to a video about old jeans then in my old high school math class
There was no mention of how the pants were obtained. Who stored them all these years?
Although most don't fit me any more, I've kept many of my old jeans as they are too good to throw out. But who knows, maybe one day they'll be sold on and they'll be worn again as fashionable retro items. Some I bought in the 80s from American thrift stores on holiday trips, so they have already had at least two owners.
We that was crazy interesting!
bring back the fall front (very similar to the 13 button navy pants)
A European, middle class man, perhaps a merchant or younger son, packed his possessions and came to America. Sure of finding his fortune in the New World, he found instead, the need to work hard, in order to survive. He used his everyday clothing for this labour and frugality had him repair, maintain them while he worked to improve his position. His wife was apparently a skilled or self taught, by neccessity, seamstress. Their sons would have also worked to advance the family. By the time this man died, he had enough of an estate to allow his wife to pack away his clothing. The trunk remained in an attic somewhere until the descendents either moved on to a modern mansion or lost the place to back taxes. While clearing out the old stuff, someone, having no emotional connections to the objects and having assumed that they had no great monetary value, decided to gift the lot to a local museum as an - oldtimey "quaintness" collection. I remember seeing an interview with YoYo Ma once, when he said, his immigrant grandfather believed, - Original immigrants worked hard just to survive, their children worked hard so that their children could be educated people and only the third or fourth generation was secure enough that they could have a choice to become artists or pursue an occupation of their own choosing. Seems to be a very true observation.
Very cool
They look earlier because they are Genovese ( Genova a Italy) sailors pants maybe?
Where'd you get the Canadian tuxedo?!
The story of denim is incomplete without reference to its origins.
The fabric was invented in France in a town called Nimes.
De Nimes, in French, means it
comes from or is of Nimes, which it did.
It was sold to the USA as a staple clothing for slaves and the merchants of Nimes grew rich upon this.Just like the plantation owners and the USA.
Denim.
That is such a politically loaded story.
Denim traces its roots to the gold rush in the USA. Your pseudo origin is Euro centric and anti-American. Yes France would later turn our work clothes into fashion that then ended up coming back to and being popularized in the US.
Funny enough despite the America->France->America story of fashion denim, the highest quality blue denim jeans being made today actually come from the Japanese who bought the old machines that were being replaced with new "better" ones here in the states and now continue to produce old world quality selvage denim.
IS THIS BRAND OR THIS PAIR OLDER THAN LEVI'S?
Wish they would’ve showed us what was behind the flap
Love that the front is a flap ..not a great idea if you’re not careful when doing #1 but looks cool
The front flap was first used in Germany and Austria. It was because a button fly was too bulky on leather pants and shorts.
You forgot to mention how the girls loved those front flaps. Just two buttons and you could even keep your pants on in the car park behind the bar. The best ever German invention. 😃😃😃
Thanks 🙂
Fall front pants never went out of business, you can still buy them today in some countries.
Would love to know the measurements on garments, especially the older ones. It would make them much more accessible to the imagination.
Go to a museum and look at uniforms, body armor and general pieces of clothing to realize how much smaller people were many generations ago. Sometimes it looks as if a jacket or the whole uniform of a celebrated hero actually belonged to a child.
@@chapiit08 I believe the average height of a man in the United States during the Civil War was 5'8".
I have no idea why this is interesting, but it definitely is.
Repurposed uniform trousers/pants ?
I would buy a pair
You can. They were hand made. Just go to a taylor, or some one who sews.
this pant before LEVIS .... Amazing Europe !
thank you
That's how we should treat our clothes, with care. Not buy new stuff we don't need year after year, throwing out perfectly fine pieces. Such wasteful consumerism. We need to get back to repairing, re-using, sustainability.
Interestingly, that's what the industrial revolution brought about...the ability for the average person to own more than one set of clothes. The fact that we can now afford to buy multiple sets of clothes on a yearly basis is the culmination of that revolution. Wasteful consumerism? Imagine if a single suit or dress cost more than a year's wages, say $30,000-$50,000 ...or however much you make in one year. Of course you would take care of it, but work clothes are work clothes and they wear out. What if you had to pay $500 on one set of overalls which you wore every day out in the field. I don't mean fancy branded clothing made of exotic materials, just everyday wear type of items.
Beautiful
AMAZING
They looked like they had a nice fit to them as well . I'm guessing 34x30
Pants with front flap were made in Germany all the way till ww1 if not longer. My grandfather had pictures of his gone relatives wearing them.
when your poor you patch or hand them down especially 1840s
But how do the pants smell??
Blue jean baby
L.A. lady
Seamstress for the band.....
That's what was in my head as I watched. What's the chorus? Oh yeah....
Hold me closer, Tony Danza.....
Those are Sears pants I had a few pair growing up.
big city greens had an episode where the dad goes to a hippie dippy store and everyone was amazed at his distressed jeans so much they made a normal sandwich and named it after him.
Just think of all the masses of perfectly good clothing we all throw out, (doesn’t make me look thin, just don’t really like it anymore, seam ripped a bit, lost a button). What a shock that would be to people from the 1800s and earlier.
so a laborer bought them at a thrift store and converted them into work jeans?
La durabolidad del cotton esta en el cardado.solamente eso.