U.S. Boys' Jeans and Overalls: Chronology


Figure 1.--The Kodak Brownie helped to make the family snapshot possible, taking photography out of the studio. This makes it possible to follow overalls more closely. Here we see rural Ohio boys plaing in what looks like a flooded stream, but we think it was what went for roads outside the major cities at the time. They are wearing overalls which they have rolled up. It was a postcard-back snapshot dated July 20 1909. A boy named Ray is writing to his aunt asking her to send Kenneth (presumably a cousin) if she can not visit. The snapshot was presumably to illustrate the fun the boys could have together.

Overalls were invented in the mid-19th century by a German Jewish immigrant--Levi Straus. They were for the most part imyially a garment for workers and miners. As best we can tell, only later were they adopted by farmers. There is a mssive photographic record. But as 19th century photography was most studio work, this is one fadhion trend that is not well covered, at least for adults. People dressed up for studio portraits and did not show up in dingy work clothes. Nor do we see boys wearing them. This suddenly changed about 1908-09. And a little after the turn-of-the 20 century, boys began wearing them. We still do no see them in family portraits, but suddenly we see them in school portraits. And the Kodak Brownie introduced the family snapshot to the average family. We see both play garments and children in rural areas wearing them to school. Then movie cowboys began wearing jeans without the bib-front. This led to them becoing increasingly popular as did the military using them for fatigues during the War. After World War II jeabds became popular with teenagers, although many schools prohibited them. Finally they became a fashion phenomenon in the 1970s and the appearanc of designer jeans.

19th Century

Thus the early history of jeans is primarily an American story. The history of jeans on the main jerns page essentially tells the story of 19th century trends in America. The first jeans were bib-front overalls created by Levi Strauss in the 1840s as work clothes. They were widekly worn by working men, first in mines and than in factories. We see them being very commonly worn by miners and factory workers by the 1880s. We are less sure just when American farmers began to wear overalls. Eventually overalls became associted more with farmers than any other workig group. them. Notably we do not see children in rural areas wearing them to school in the 19th cetury. We are not sure about Western mining towns. The ophotographic record, however, clearly shows that American boys did not commonly wear overalls to school in the 19th century. For nearly a century after they were created, jeans were primarily worn in America and to some extent neighboring Canada by working men.

20th Century

American boys began wearing jeans more commonly in the 20th century. We note rural boys wearing overalls to school for the first time in the lste 1900s and it was common by the 1910s. We are unsure why this occurred so suddently at this time. About the same time Kovealls appeared. Thus we see city boys wearing these overall-styled garments as well. City boys did not wear ovealls to school. Boys wore commonly wore corduroy knickers, but after World War II jeans were very commonly worn to elemntary (primary) schools. They were not generally allowed in secondary school which had stricter dress codes until the 1970s. Quite a range of different types of jeans and overalls begin to appear by the 1970s. One common ferature was that until the 1970s and apperance of cut-offs thery were almost always long pants. Bu the 1970s designer jeans began to make their appearance.







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Created: 4:42 AM 3/4/2016
Last updated: 7:52 PM 6/26/2017