1 00:00:01,800 --> 00:00:04,433 {\an1}(spaghetti western music playing) 2 00:00:10,700 --> 00:00:13,209 {\an1}(din of busy city street, car alarm blaring) 3 00:00:13,233 --> 00:00:16,642 JAMES SULLIVAN: You don't really stop and think about why 4 00:00:16,666 --> 00:00:19,376 {\an1}half of the population of the planet is wearing them 5 00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:21,242 on any given day. 6 00:00:21,266 --> 00:00:22,876 We just are. 7 00:00:22,900 --> 00:00:24,709 {\an8}♪ ♪ 8 00:00:24,733 --> 00:00:26,576 {\an8}MELISSA LEVENTON: Have you ever asked yourself 9 00:00:26,600 --> 00:00:29,576 {\an7}why everyone you know 10 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:32,642 {\an7}owns multiple pairs of jeans? 11 00:00:32,666 --> 00:00:34,209 {\an8}JONATHAN SQUARE: Dress it up, dress it down... 12 00:00:34,233 --> 00:00:35,676 TOMMY HILFIGER: People know that when they wear them 13 00:00:35,700 --> 00:00:37,009 they look cool. 14 00:00:37,033 --> 00:00:40,942 EMMA McCLENDON: This one garment can be both 15 00:00:40,966 --> 00:00:45,642 {\an1}universal and individual at the same time. 16 00:00:45,666 --> 00:00:47,809 {\an1}There is nothing like that in the history of clothing. 17 00:00:47,833 --> 00:00:51,309 {\an8}VALERIE STEELE: And, in fact, Yves Saint Laurent said he wished 18 00:00:51,333 --> 00:00:54,076 {\an7}he had invented jeans, that he thought they were 19 00:00:54,100 --> 00:00:56,642 {\an7}the most important item of fashion in the 20th century. 20 00:00:56,666 --> 00:00:58,909 {\an8}MAN: They wore them in the mines, 21 00:00:58,933 --> 00:01:00,476 {\an7}on the cattle trails. 22 00:01:00,500 --> 00:01:05,642 {\an1}My own father wore them toppling 200-foot Douglas firs. 23 00:01:05,666 --> 00:01:08,666 {\an1}Jeans are the quintessential American garment. 24 00:01:11,100 --> 00:01:12,942 NEWS ANNOUNCER: 120 years later, gentlemen, 25 00:01:12,966 --> 00:01:16,542 {\an1}blue jeans are still basically the same pair of pants 26 00:01:16,566 --> 00:01:19,609 that came out of the California Gold Rush. 27 00:01:19,633 --> 00:01:23,009 STEPHEN ARON: But so much of the story we tell about jeans 28 00:01:23,033 --> 00:01:24,442 is a myth. 29 00:01:24,466 --> 00:01:27,776 NEWS ANNOUNCER: The strongest pants the West has ever seen. 30 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:30,109 TANISHA FORD: It is about the cowboys, and the West, 31 00:01:30,133 --> 00:01:31,709 {\an1}it's about Levi Strauss, 32 00:01:31,733 --> 00:01:33,309 and the Gold Rush. 33 00:01:33,333 --> 00:01:35,076 (horse whinnying) 34 00:01:35,100 --> 00:01:36,309 McCLENDON: It's always the same story... 35 00:01:36,333 --> 00:01:37,376 GENE VINCENT: ♪ Bluejean bop ♪ 36 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:38,709 {\an1}♪ Bluejean bop, baby. ♪ 37 00:01:38,733 --> 00:01:41,109 McCLENDON: After the cowboys, jeans got picked up 38 00:01:41,133 --> 00:01:44,109 {\an1}by rockers and bikers and hippies 39 00:01:44,133 --> 00:01:45,476 {\an1}and now everybody wears them. 40 00:01:45,500 --> 00:01:49,076 VINCENT: ♪ Bluejean bop, bluejean bop ♪ 41 00:01:49,100 --> 00:01:50,509 McCLENDON: But denim has been around 42 00:01:50,533 --> 00:01:52,042 much, much longer. 43 00:01:52,066 --> 00:01:55,542 {\an1}It has a long and deep history 44 00:01:55,566 --> 00:01:58,042 with so many other fascinating stories 45 00:01:58,066 --> 00:02:00,309 {\an1}that are not always told. 46 00:02:00,333 --> 00:02:02,866 ♪ ♪ (applause) 47 00:02:10,100 --> 00:02:12,242 ♪ ♪ 48 00:02:12,266 --> 00:02:15,709 {\an8}ANNOUNCER: In 1850, Levi Strauss invented the toughest pants 49 00:02:15,733 --> 00:02:17,276 {\an7}the West had ever known: 50 00:02:17,300 --> 00:02:19,542 {\an8}Levi's blue jeans. 51 00:02:19,566 --> 00:02:22,076 SULLIVAN: Blue jeans do represent American culture 52 00:02:22,100 --> 00:02:24,609 {\an1}to the rest of the world, 53 00:02:24,633 --> 00:02:27,742 {\an7}but like any other good product of America, 54 00:02:27,766 --> 00:02:30,309 {\an7}you know, we, we borrow all the best ideas 55 00:02:30,333 --> 00:02:31,177 {\an1}from, from everywhere. 56 00:02:31,201 --> 00:02:32,376 SINGER: ♪ Levi's ♪ 57 00:02:32,400 --> 00:02:34,542 SULLIVAN: The real fact of the matter is 58 00:02:34,566 --> 00:02:37,609 {\an1}that blue jeans themselves originated somewhere else. 59 00:02:37,633 --> 00:02:41,109 {\an8}SINGER: ♪ That Levi's were surely the best things of all ♪ 60 00:02:41,133 --> 00:02:44,309 {\an8}♪ To roll out of America's West ♪ 61 00:02:44,333 --> 00:02:48,342 {\an8}♪ To roll out of America's West. ♪ 62 00:02:48,366 --> 00:02:50,709 JENKINS: The story of denim jeans 63 00:02:50,733 --> 00:02:52,009 {\an7}is so much more than Wrangler, 64 00:02:52,033 --> 00:02:53,942 {\an7}it's more than Levi Strauss, 65 00:02:53,966 --> 00:02:57,176 {\an1}especially when it comes to the material. 66 00:02:57,200 --> 00:02:59,676 ♪ ♪ 67 00:02:59,700 --> 00:03:02,976 SULLIVAN: We're not quite sure exactly where the fabric originated, 68 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:05,442 {\an1}but there are several hints. 69 00:03:05,466 --> 00:03:09,642 {\an1}One is Dungri, India, where as early as the 17th century, 70 00:03:09,666 --> 00:03:12,442 they were creating a coarse cloth for workers, 71 00:03:12,466 --> 00:03:16,142 {\an1}eventually called dungaree. 72 00:03:16,166 --> 00:03:18,509 {\an1}There's the Genoans of Italy, 73 00:03:18,533 --> 00:03:20,176 {\an1}who had a type of sail cloth 74 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:24,742 {\an1}that was fashioned into work pants. 75 00:03:24,766 --> 00:03:28,942 {\an1}And there's Nimes, France, where the cloth there was known 76 00:03:28,966 --> 00:03:32,609 as "serge de Nimes." 77 00:03:32,633 --> 00:03:34,109 {\an1}Not always, but very often, 78 00:03:34,133 --> 00:03:36,776 {\an1}these various types of cloth were dyed blue, 79 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:40,176 {\an1}probably to hide dirt as much as anything. 80 00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:44,809 GOODY: So, we have blue "jean" from Genoa, 81 00:03:44,833 --> 00:03:49,742 {\an1}we have blue "de Nimes" or denim coming from Nimes, 82 00:03:49,766 --> 00:03:53,576 {\an1}but when we make it into pants in America, 83 00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:58,709 {\an7}we end up morphing the garment into blue jeans. 84 00:03:58,733 --> 00:04:02,009 ♪ ♪ 85 00:04:02,033 --> 00:04:03,976 SULLIVAN: People don't necessarily think about how their blue jeans 86 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:05,809 came to be blue. 87 00:04:05,833 --> 00:04:07,866 {\an1}Historically, that's because of the indigo dye. 88 00:04:09,233 --> 00:04:13,242 {\an1}Centuries ago, indigo was said to be worth its weight in gold. 89 00:04:13,266 --> 00:04:17,109 {\an1}Competition for it was so fierce Europeans actually called it 90 00:04:17,133 --> 00:04:19,576 the "devil's dye." 91 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:21,366 CATHERINE McKINLEY: Indigo is in fact a weed. 92 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:26,142 {\an7}The process of turning indigo from this small green leaf 93 00:04:26,166 --> 00:04:30,776 {\an8}into a dye is a very delicate process; 94 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:33,342 {\an7}so only the most skilled are able to do this. 95 00:04:33,366 --> 00:04:35,009 ♪ ♪ 96 00:04:35,033 --> 00:04:39,676 GOODY: One of the neatest things about dying with indigo 97 00:04:39,700 --> 00:04:41,776 {\an1}is the dye vat is green; it's not blue. 98 00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:43,609 ♪ ♪ 99 00:04:43,633 --> 00:04:48,976 {\an1}And when you introduce a fabric like denim to the dye vat, 100 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:50,976 it comes out green. 101 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:56,609 {\an1}And then, as it oxidizes in our atmosphere, it turns blue. 102 00:04:56,633 --> 00:04:58,209 It is magic. 103 00:04:58,233 --> 00:04:59,676 {\an1}Indigo dyeing is magic. 104 00:04:59,700 --> 00:05:01,800 ♪ ♪ 105 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:09,242 McKINLEY: In many cultures, indigo cloth has a spiritual importance. 106 00:05:09,266 --> 00:05:12,342 In Africa, the cloth is considered the next layer 107 00:05:12,366 --> 00:05:14,209 to the skin. 108 00:05:14,233 --> 00:05:17,776 {\an1}It holds the person's soul, their spirit. 109 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:20,442 ♪ ♪ 110 00:05:20,466 --> 00:05:26,042 {\an1}Africans have had a long history of working indigo and knew 111 00:05:26,066 --> 00:05:28,442 {\an1}the special process involved in making the dye 112 00:05:28,466 --> 00:05:29,443 and in dyeing cloth. 113 00:05:29,467 --> 00:05:32,776 ♪ ♪ 114 00:05:32,800 --> 00:05:36,209 SETH ROCKMAN: And of course many African captives who became enslaved 115 00:05:36,233 --> 00:05:38,942 {\an1}in the new world brought with them knowledge of how 116 00:05:38,966 --> 00:05:41,276 to extract the blue from the plant, 117 00:05:41,300 --> 00:05:45,942 {\an1}and how to fix the blue to fabrics. 118 00:05:45,966 --> 00:05:49,476 {\an1}Indigo is one of the ways in which slave-holding 119 00:05:49,500 --> 00:05:52,809 {\an8}became tied to the economic fortunes 120 00:05:52,833 --> 00:05:54,876 {\an7}of the colonial experiment in the Americas. 121 00:05:54,900 --> 00:05:56,609 ♪ ♪ 122 00:05:56,633 --> 00:05:59,909 McKINLEY: So in the mid-1700s, there was this labor 123 00:05:59,933 --> 00:06:02,476 {\an1}that had been extracted from Africa, 124 00:06:02,500 --> 00:06:05,176 {\an1}and indigo presents itself as this thing 125 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:08,109 {\an1}with economic possibility. 126 00:06:08,133 --> 00:06:09,542 {\an1}And then when you add to it 127 00:06:09,566 --> 00:06:13,509 {\an1}moving the dye stuff from one end of the world to the other, 128 00:06:13,533 --> 00:06:15,442 {\an1}it only increased in value. 129 00:06:15,466 --> 00:06:16,942 ♪ ♪ 130 00:06:16,966 --> 00:06:19,509 {\an1}And Eliza Lucas benefited enormously 131 00:06:19,533 --> 00:06:23,109 {\an1}from the impact of this trade. 132 00:06:23,133 --> 00:06:27,109 DAINA BERRY: Eliza Lucas has been credited as literally producing 133 00:06:27,133 --> 00:06:28,509 indigo in America. 134 00:06:28,533 --> 00:06:31,642 {\an1}She's been credited as a botanist. 135 00:06:31,666 --> 00:06:34,242 {\an7}She's even written about in elementary school 136 00:06:34,266 --> 00:06:35,742 {\an7}and high school textbooks. 137 00:06:35,766 --> 00:06:40,609 McKINLEY: Eliza Lucas was the daughter of a colonial governor. 138 00:06:40,633 --> 00:06:42,342 {\an1}She had studied botany, 139 00:06:42,366 --> 00:06:47,542 {\an1}and when Eliza was a teenager, her father bought her, 140 00:06:47,566 --> 00:06:51,209 {\an1}among many other plants, indigo. 141 00:06:51,233 --> 00:06:54,276 EVAN MORRISON: The gift came from perhaps Antigua. 142 00:06:54,300 --> 00:06:55,309 {\an1}The South needed something 143 00:06:55,333 --> 00:06:58,442 {\an7}to add to crop rotation, and tobacco 144 00:06:58,466 --> 00:07:00,576 {\an1}was something cultivated here. 145 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:03,042 {\an1}Rice was cultivated here. 146 00:07:03,066 --> 00:07:04,876 {\an1}Adding indigo into your crop rotation 147 00:07:04,900 --> 00:07:06,742 was a way to find additional profit. 148 00:07:06,766 --> 00:07:08,576 ♪ ♪ 149 00:07:08,600 --> 00:07:12,342 BERRY: Once Eliza gets her hands on the indigo seeds, 150 00:07:12,366 --> 00:07:14,442 it takes off in terms of production. 151 00:07:14,466 --> 00:07:19,676 {\an7}Indigo was a second cash crop behind rice in South Carolina. 152 00:07:19,700 --> 00:07:22,009 {\an7}And on the eve of the American Revolution, 153 00:07:22,033 --> 00:07:23,942 {\an1}more than a million pounds of indigo 154 00:07:23,966 --> 00:07:25,809 {\an1}was being shipped overseas. 155 00:07:25,833 --> 00:07:28,509 ♪ ♪ 156 00:07:28,533 --> 00:07:33,342 {\an1}Eliza Lucas was probably one of the most well-known producers 157 00:07:33,366 --> 00:07:37,076 {\an1}of indigo in colonial America. 158 00:07:37,100 --> 00:07:39,409 {\an1}But Eliza's hands weren't blue. 159 00:07:39,433 --> 00:07:42,309 {\an1}She didn't get her hands dirty with the indigo crop. 160 00:07:42,333 --> 00:07:46,042 {\an1}The knowledge to grow indigo came from enslaved people. 161 00:07:46,066 --> 00:07:48,509 {\an1}They're the ones that did the work that allowed her 162 00:07:48,533 --> 00:07:51,376 {\an1}to become this great planter that she's been credited for. 163 00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:55,276 ♪ ♪ 164 00:07:55,300 --> 00:07:57,276 McKINLEY: Indigo really encapsulates 165 00:07:57,300 --> 00:08:01,942 {\an1}this problem of how do we begin to tell the story 166 00:08:01,966 --> 00:08:05,209 {\an8}of captive people and how we document 167 00:08:05,233 --> 00:08:08,042 {\an1}their contributions in America, 168 00:08:08,066 --> 00:08:11,642 {\an1}and to the denim history in particular. 169 00:08:11,666 --> 00:08:13,042 BERRY: We know the names 170 00:08:13,066 --> 00:08:14,842 {\an1}of all the enslaved people that were owned 171 00:08:14,866 --> 00:08:16,476 by the Lucas and Pinckney family. 172 00:08:16,500 --> 00:08:21,309 MAN: "Isaac, Pompey, Molly, and their child, Nanny... 173 00:08:21,333 --> 00:08:23,409 {\an1}Mary and her children, Prince and Be..." 174 00:08:23,433 --> 00:08:26,976 BERRY: These are generations of families. 175 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:29,076 {\an1}We're not just talking about a husband and a wife, 176 00:08:29,100 --> 00:08:31,509 or a mom and a dad. 177 00:08:31,533 --> 00:08:33,276 We see grandparents on this list. 178 00:08:33,300 --> 00:08:35,009 {\an8}MAN: "Nanny and her children. Juno..." 179 00:08:35,033 --> 00:08:38,576 {\an8}BERRY: They're the ones that came from communities that dyed 180 00:08:38,600 --> 00:08:41,942 all kinds of cloth in beautiful colors. 181 00:08:41,966 --> 00:08:44,176 {\an1}They're the ones that had the knowledge of indigo 182 00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:47,109 {\an1}and created generations of wealth for these 183 00:08:47,133 --> 00:08:49,266 {\an1}white slave-holding families. 184 00:08:55,166 --> 00:08:56,676 MORRISON: Back in the 19th century, 185 00:08:56,700 --> 00:09:00,476 {\an1}denim really dominated, because it's a strong weave. 186 00:09:00,500 --> 00:09:03,842 So with the rise in durable cotton goods, 187 00:09:03,866 --> 00:09:08,409 denim made itself the accepted second skin 188 00:09:08,433 --> 00:09:10,442 {\an1}in terms of cloth that was put into clothing 189 00:09:10,466 --> 00:09:11,842 {\an1}meant for laborious work. 190 00:09:11,866 --> 00:09:15,776 ROCKMAN: As American cotton manufacturing begins to sort of 191 00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:18,776 {\an1}find its footing in the 18-teens and 1820s, 192 00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:21,909 {\an1}mills in Rhode Island, mills in Massachusetts, 193 00:09:21,933 --> 00:09:25,276 {\an1}mills in New Hampshire, they need a source of cotton. 194 00:09:25,300 --> 00:09:28,409 {\an7}And the only source of cotton to make these mills 195 00:09:28,433 --> 00:09:29,842 economically viable 196 00:09:29,866 --> 00:09:32,609 {\an1}is cotton that's being grown by enslaved men, women, 197 00:09:32,633 --> 00:09:34,776 and children in the American South. 198 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:36,476 ANNOUNCER: Cotton from Alabama, 199 00:09:36,500 --> 00:09:38,942 {\an1}cotton from Louisiana, 200 00:09:38,966 --> 00:09:40,509 Texas cotton, Mississippi cotton, 201 00:09:40,533 --> 00:09:42,742 cotton from Georgia, 202 00:09:42,766 --> 00:09:44,809 {\an1}cotton from Charleston. 203 00:09:44,833 --> 00:09:47,709 {\an1}It takes two pounds of cotton to make a pair of jeans. 204 00:09:47,733 --> 00:09:51,376 GOODY: When you follow the trail of cotton being grown 205 00:09:51,400 --> 00:09:56,709 {\an1}in this country in the South, being shipped to the North, 206 00:09:56,733 --> 00:10:00,042 {\an1}being woven into blue jeans, 207 00:10:00,066 --> 00:10:04,009 {\an1}and then being shipped down back to the South, 208 00:10:04,033 --> 00:10:05,010 where is it going? 209 00:10:05,034 --> 00:10:06,376 Who's wearing it? 210 00:10:06,400 --> 00:10:09,309 {\an1}There's a database that's called Freedom on the Move 211 00:10:09,333 --> 00:10:11,809 that has cataloged and crowdsourced 212 00:10:11,833 --> 00:10:15,209 {\an1}runaway slave advertisements from all over the United States. 213 00:10:15,233 --> 00:10:17,309 ♪ ♪ 214 00:10:17,333 --> 00:10:20,342 {\an1}So slavers would put an ad describing the person 215 00:10:20,366 --> 00:10:22,576 {\an1}with detailed descriptions of what they had on them 216 00:10:22,600 --> 00:10:23,842 when they left. 217 00:10:23,866 --> 00:10:25,609 {\an1}What clothing they were wearing, what type of clothing, 218 00:10:25,633 --> 00:10:27,609 {\an1}what color the clothing was. 219 00:10:27,633 --> 00:10:31,176 MAN: "Had on when he left, dark jeans clothes, and a black hat." 220 00:10:31,200 --> 00:10:34,876 MAN 2: "He carried off a blue cloth coat, one blue jeans, 221 00:10:34,900 --> 00:10:36,876 {\an1}and two or three pair pantaloons." 222 00:10:36,900 --> 00:10:39,809 WOMAN: "Has on a blue Kentucky jeans coat and striped pants." 223 00:10:39,833 --> 00:10:42,609 MAN 3: "wore a brown jeans coat, and blue jeans pants..." 224 00:10:42,633 --> 00:10:44,242 MAN 4: "New brown jeans." 225 00:10:44,266 --> 00:10:46,009 MAN 5: "Mixed jeans, frock coat, and pantaloons." 226 00:10:46,033 --> 00:10:48,009 WOMAN 2: "A pair of jeans pants." 227 00:10:48,033 --> 00:10:52,376 {\an1}"...a blue jeans homespun dress coat." 228 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:54,342 BERRY: And so you have advertisements that have very 229 00:10:54,366 --> 00:10:58,576 detailed information about enslaved people. 230 00:10:58,600 --> 00:11:00,509 {\an1}And enslaved people were, in fact, wearing jeans. 231 00:11:00,533 --> 00:11:02,876 ♪ ♪ 232 00:11:02,900 --> 00:11:06,709 ROCKMAN: This is a story in which coerced labor produces a raw material 233 00:11:06,733 --> 00:11:10,142 {\an1}that is exported from one region to a second region 234 00:11:10,166 --> 00:11:13,809 {\an1}and which is then sold back in an ongoing cycle. 235 00:11:13,833 --> 00:11:16,442 ♪ ♪ 236 00:11:16,466 --> 00:11:18,876 {\an1}An increasing number of American slaves will come 237 00:11:18,900 --> 00:11:20,742 to be wearing cloth that's manufactured 238 00:11:20,766 --> 00:11:24,776 {\an1}in the United States, that travels under a number of names, 239 00:11:24,800 --> 00:11:26,809 {\an1}that sometimes goes under 240 00:11:26,833 --> 00:11:29,442 {\an1}an umbrella category of "Negro cloth." 241 00:11:29,466 --> 00:11:31,942 ♪ ♪ 242 00:11:31,966 --> 00:11:34,109 {\an1}This is one of the powerful things about clothing, right? 243 00:11:34,133 --> 00:11:36,709 {\an1}The ways in which it can be used, not only for individuals 244 00:11:36,733 --> 00:11:39,876 {\an1}to perform their own identity, but also for the ways in which 245 00:11:39,900 --> 00:11:42,509 a dominant society can stigmatize people. 246 00:11:42,533 --> 00:11:45,666 ♪ ♪ 247 00:11:47,933 --> 00:11:49,776 SULLIVAN: So blue jeans 248 00:11:49,800 --> 00:11:53,076 clearly existed, clearly predated Levi Strauss. 249 00:11:53,100 --> 00:11:55,976 {\an1}You're looking at farmers, 250 00:11:56,000 --> 00:11:57,642 you're looking at factory workers. 251 00:11:57,666 --> 00:12:00,976 {\an1}Miners were wearing denim. 252 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:02,042 {\an1}The enslaved peoples of America 253 00:12:02,066 --> 00:12:04,642 {\an1}were clothed very often in denim. 254 00:12:04,666 --> 00:12:10,576 McCLENDON: Basically any type of labor, hard work, 255 00:12:10,600 --> 00:12:13,009 {\an1}that you can think of in the late 19th century, 256 00:12:13,033 --> 00:12:15,476 {\an1}you would have found people wearing denim. 257 00:12:15,500 --> 00:12:18,276 Jeans did exist, 258 00:12:18,300 --> 00:12:19,376 {\an8}but they ripped. 259 00:12:19,400 --> 00:12:22,642 {\an7}They ripped and they wore down 260 00:12:22,666 --> 00:12:23,709 {\an1}and they became tatters. 261 00:12:23,733 --> 00:12:24,809 {\an1}They became unusable. 262 00:12:24,833 --> 00:12:26,109 {\an1}They didn't last as long. 263 00:12:26,133 --> 00:12:29,676 {\an7}Anybody who has ever torn a seam 264 00:12:29,700 --> 00:12:32,476 {\an1}through exertion knows 265 00:12:32,500 --> 00:12:34,942 {\an1}that there are certain points in garment structures 266 00:12:34,966 --> 00:12:38,876 {\an1}that are more stressed than others. 267 00:12:38,900 --> 00:12:41,609 {\an1}So Jacob Davis is really sort of the unsung hero here. 268 00:12:41,633 --> 00:12:43,176 ♪ ♪ 269 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:47,442 MORRISON: Jacob Davis was a tailor in Reno, Nevada 270 00:12:47,466 --> 00:12:51,133 {\an1}or somewhere thereabouts in the 1870s. 271 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:56,976 ARON: Nevada was, you know, one of the great bonanzas at the time. 272 00:12:57,000 --> 00:12:58,876 {\an1}There's this enormous rush of people. 273 00:12:58,900 --> 00:13:03,076 {\an1}And great fortunes are made there from mining gold. 274 00:13:03,100 --> 00:13:06,509 {\an1}But the greatest fortunes that are made there are not made 275 00:13:06,533 --> 00:13:08,909 {\an1}by individual prospectors. 276 00:13:08,933 --> 00:13:12,109 {\an7}They're made by the people who can sell goods to miners. 277 00:13:12,133 --> 00:13:16,409 MORRISON: So this lady approached Jacob Davis and she said, 278 00:13:16,433 --> 00:13:18,309 {\an1}"I have a portly husband who continues to rip 279 00:13:18,333 --> 00:13:19,609 "his work pants, 280 00:13:19,633 --> 00:13:23,642 {\an1}and I'd like you to construct a sturdy pair for him." 281 00:13:23,666 --> 00:13:27,209 {\an1}So he thought, "Well, I have all these washer 282 00:13:27,233 --> 00:13:31,742 {\an1}"and post rivets that people put on these saddles. 283 00:13:31,766 --> 00:13:33,676 {\an1}"Let's add these to all these places he keeps 284 00:13:33,700 --> 00:13:34,876 ripping his pants." 285 00:13:34,900 --> 00:13:37,109 {\an1}So he adds them to places like 286 00:13:37,133 --> 00:13:39,276 {\an1}the fly and mouths of pockets, 287 00:13:39,300 --> 00:13:42,109 {\an1}and even onto the mouth of the back pocket, 288 00:13:42,133 --> 00:13:44,076 {\an1}which is a patch pocket. 289 00:13:44,100 --> 00:13:45,909 Customer loved them. 290 00:13:45,933 --> 00:13:47,542 {\an1}Obviously, word of mouth spread. 291 00:13:47,566 --> 00:13:50,576 {\an1}Soon he had more customers than he could handle, 292 00:13:50,600 --> 00:13:53,342 {\an1}and he wanted to scale up the business, 293 00:13:53,366 --> 00:13:56,876 {\an1}but he was one man in a tailor shop in Reno, Nevada. 294 00:13:56,900 --> 00:13:59,542 {\an1}So he contacted Levi Strauss, 295 00:13:59,566 --> 00:14:04,776 {\an1}who was his dry good supplier based in San Francisco, 296 00:14:04,800 --> 00:14:07,742 and offered him a partnership deal. 297 00:14:07,766 --> 00:14:09,809 {\an1}He said, basically, "Let's go into business together. 298 00:14:09,833 --> 00:14:11,109 "We need a patent. 299 00:14:11,133 --> 00:14:12,509 {\an1}"We'll take out the patent, 300 00:14:12,533 --> 00:14:14,809 {\an1}"and then we can make these riveted pants, 301 00:14:14,833 --> 00:14:17,776 {\an1}because you have the wherewithal to scale up." 302 00:14:17,800 --> 00:14:19,709 Levi agreed. 303 00:14:19,733 --> 00:14:24,242 {\an1}The two of them filed for the patent, and received it in 1873. 304 00:14:24,266 --> 00:14:26,042 NEWS ANCHOR: The basic design has not changed 305 00:14:26,066 --> 00:14:28,876 {\an1}in nearly a century and a half. 306 00:14:28,900 --> 00:14:31,576 {\an1}Today, every pair of Levi blue jeans 307 00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:33,309 {\an7}has six copper rivets 308 00:14:33,333 --> 00:14:36,609 {\an7}that ensure the longevity of each pair of pants. 309 00:14:36,633 --> 00:14:38,442 {\an8}McCLENDON: The rivets were crucial 310 00:14:38,466 --> 00:14:40,976 {\an1}in the design for durability. 311 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:42,109 It was like making 312 00:14:42,133 --> 00:14:44,209 {\an1}some kind of, you know, armor for your body, 313 00:14:44,233 --> 00:14:46,109 {\an1}that could just hold up to anything. 314 00:14:46,133 --> 00:14:50,709 SULLIVAN: With the addition of the copper rivets, 315 00:14:50,733 --> 00:14:54,942 {\an1}the product becomes the most durable form of workwear 316 00:14:54,966 --> 00:14:57,276 available to any working American. 317 00:14:57,300 --> 00:15:00,176 ♪ ♪ 318 00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:02,333 I'm looking for the ultimate jeans! 319 00:15:03,700 --> 00:15:07,476 (grunting loudly) 320 00:15:07,500 --> 00:15:08,509 Hya! 321 00:15:08,533 --> 00:15:11,433 ♪ ♪ 322 00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:15,409 McCLENDON: At the end of the 19th century, 323 00:15:15,433 --> 00:15:18,809 {\an1}Americans were still largely working with their hands. 324 00:15:18,833 --> 00:15:22,476 {\an1}Nearly 70% of workers were toiling on farms, 325 00:15:22,500 --> 00:15:25,242 in factories, mines, or construction. 326 00:15:25,266 --> 00:15:30,676 {\an1}This, of course, created a huge market for jeans. 327 00:15:30,700 --> 00:15:32,376 But jeans initially weren't called jeans. 328 00:15:32,400 --> 00:15:35,642 {\an1}They were called waist overalls. 329 00:15:35,666 --> 00:15:38,576 SULLIVAN: Overalls were so prevalent in the culture that jeans were 330 00:15:38,600 --> 00:15:41,342 {\an1}just a truncated version of overalls 331 00:15:41,366 --> 00:15:42,742 without the bib. 332 00:15:42,766 --> 00:15:45,209 {\an1}That's where the term "waist overalls" comes from. 333 00:15:45,233 --> 00:15:49,542 ♪ ♪ 334 00:15:49,566 --> 00:15:51,909 MORRISON: So 1890, 335 00:15:51,933 --> 00:15:55,876 {\an1}17 years of patent exclusivity for this rivet reinforced pocket 336 00:15:55,900 --> 00:15:58,676 {\an1}by Levi Strauss and Company ends. 337 00:15:58,700 --> 00:16:03,676 {\an7}Now anyone can use the rivet reinforced pocket that wants to, 338 00:16:03,700 --> 00:16:05,309 {\an1}and everybody does it. 339 00:16:05,333 --> 00:16:08,576 LEVENTON: Once they lose their patent protection, 340 00:16:08,600 --> 00:16:10,376 {\an1}there are rivets everywhere, 341 00:16:10,400 --> 00:16:13,076 {\an1}there are knockoff logos and brands everywhere. 342 00:16:13,100 --> 00:16:16,909 ♪ ♪ 343 00:16:16,933 --> 00:16:19,509 MORRISON: So you have companies called Can't Bust 'Em, 344 00:16:19,533 --> 00:16:21,142 Can't Rip 'Em, 345 00:16:21,166 --> 00:16:23,442 and Never Rip and Never Wear Out. 346 00:16:23,466 --> 00:16:27,709 SULLIVAN: There were brands called Blackbear, Dubbleware, Dozfit. 347 00:16:27,733 --> 00:16:29,042 LEVENTON: And Fitsu. 348 00:16:29,066 --> 00:16:30,176 MORRISON: Boss of the Road... 349 00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:31,143 SULLIVAN: Tuf Nut. 350 00:16:31,167 --> 00:16:32,366 MORRISON: Stronghold... 351 00:16:33,566 --> 00:16:35,442 {\an1}And so you have all these companies 352 00:16:35,466 --> 00:16:39,376 {\an1}trying to push their version of the work pant 353 00:16:39,400 --> 00:16:43,076 out into society, 354 00:16:43,100 --> 00:16:47,809 {\an1}and we start to see so much evolution going on within jeans. 355 00:16:47,833 --> 00:16:50,376 LEVENTON: We started with one pocket and a button fly. 356 00:16:50,400 --> 00:16:52,009 SULLIVAN: There were no belt loops. 357 00:16:52,033 --> 00:16:54,842 {\an1}Most people wore suspenders. 358 00:16:54,866 --> 00:16:59,009 MORRISON: But in mining you can't have a strap over your shoulder 359 00:16:59,033 --> 00:17:02,176 {\an1}that could get snagged and cause the mine to collapse. 360 00:17:02,200 --> 00:17:07,076 {\an1}So several folks had a rope tied around the waistband. 361 00:17:07,100 --> 00:17:09,076 LEVENTON: Then a second pocket was added, 362 00:17:09,100 --> 00:17:11,576 and there was also a waist cinch. 363 00:17:11,600 --> 00:17:13,942 MORRISON: And then they added zippers... 364 00:17:13,966 --> 00:17:15,442 SULLIVAN: Belt loops... 365 00:17:15,466 --> 00:17:17,376 LEVENTON: There was a rivet at the crotch. 366 00:17:17,400 --> 00:17:19,442 {\an1}People had been complaining about it for years. 367 00:17:19,466 --> 00:17:22,142 {\an1}I think they were happy to get rid of that rivet, 368 00:17:22,166 --> 00:17:24,400 {\an1}and that has never come back. 369 00:17:26,400 --> 00:17:28,809 McCLENDON: Denim was changing 370 00:17:28,833 --> 00:17:32,509 and so was America. 371 00:17:32,533 --> 00:17:34,442 {\an1}That image of someone clad in denim at the turn of 372 00:17:34,466 --> 00:17:38,576 {\an1}the 20th century is inevitably, you know, romanticized. 373 00:17:38,600 --> 00:17:45,109 {\an1}And the reality is that people of all different ages, races, 374 00:17:45,133 --> 00:17:48,576 {\an1}and genders were wearing denim during this time. 375 00:17:48,600 --> 00:17:50,609 {\an1}Sharecroppers in the South, 376 00:17:50,633 --> 00:17:53,976 {\an1}Chinese immigrants on the transcontinental railway... 377 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:55,776 ARON: As the word of the Gold Rush spreads 378 00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:59,709 {\an1}not only across the nation, but across the whole world, 379 00:17:59,733 --> 00:18:01,942 people really from all over the world 380 00:18:01,966 --> 00:18:06,042 {\an1}come through, and often stay in, San Francisco. 381 00:18:06,066 --> 00:18:08,576 ♪ ♪ 382 00:18:08,600 --> 00:18:09,577 {\an1}Turning San Francisco overnight, 383 00:18:09,601 --> 00:18:11,676 {\an1}not only into a booming boom town, 384 00:18:11,700 --> 00:18:16,676 {\an1}but also into a place where you have more diversity, 385 00:18:16,700 --> 00:18:19,109 {\an1}a more cosmopolitan place 386 00:18:19,133 --> 00:18:21,942 than any other spot on the face of the Earth. 387 00:18:21,966 --> 00:18:23,876 ♪ ♪ 388 00:18:23,900 --> 00:18:26,309 SULLIVAN: There was a huge nativist outcry in San Francisco 389 00:18:26,333 --> 00:18:29,442 at the time... The idea that other people 390 00:18:29,466 --> 00:18:32,076 {\an7}from elsewhere are coming to take our jobs away. 391 00:18:32,100 --> 00:18:34,609 ♪ ♪ 392 00:18:34,633 --> 00:18:38,109 ARON: The backlash galvanizes an immense political movement, 393 00:18:38,133 --> 00:18:41,609 {\an1}who make it their central platform to 394 00:18:41,633 --> 00:18:45,142 see the expulsion of Chinese labor. 395 00:18:45,166 --> 00:18:46,909 ♪ ♪ 396 00:18:46,933 --> 00:18:52,176 MORRISON: There's a rise in racism you do see in the 1880s and '90s... 397 00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:54,376 {\an1}"No Chinaman made your clothes," 398 00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:59,076 {\an1}and "Made by white labor only." 399 00:18:59,100 --> 00:19:02,576 SULLIVAN: Because Levi was a San Francisco based company, 400 00:19:02,600 --> 00:19:06,509 {\an1}they decided, "Okay, we're not hiring any Chinese people. 401 00:19:06,533 --> 00:19:08,876 {\an1}We're going to give the jobs to the local white people." 402 00:19:08,900 --> 00:19:10,842 ♪ ♪ 403 00:19:10,866 --> 00:19:14,309 BERRY: I think it's a challenge for us as we embrace 404 00:19:14,333 --> 00:19:15,842 {\an1}how we came to be here, 405 00:19:15,866 --> 00:19:18,309 {\an1}we have to embrace the whole story and the whole history. 406 00:19:18,333 --> 00:19:19,876 ♪ ♪ 407 00:19:19,900 --> 00:19:22,976 {\an1}Jeans are a great example to think about American history 408 00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:24,709 {\an1}and a way to go into parts of American history 409 00:19:24,733 --> 00:19:26,933 {\an1}that we haven't always addressed. 410 00:19:31,566 --> 00:19:33,142 (bulb flashes) 411 00:19:33,166 --> 00:19:36,309 MORRISON: During the Great Depression and the Farm Securities Act, 412 00:19:36,333 --> 00:19:40,009 {\an1}and the contracting of photographers to go about 413 00:19:40,033 --> 00:19:43,142 {\an1}the country to document everyday life, 414 00:19:43,166 --> 00:19:47,142 {\an1}denim became symbolic of our nation. 415 00:19:47,166 --> 00:19:52,009 {\an1}You see people on the West Coast wearing jeans, 416 00:19:52,033 --> 00:19:54,742 and people laboring in the ports and the shipyards. 417 00:19:54,766 --> 00:19:56,176 You see people 418 00:19:56,200 --> 00:19:59,409 {\an7}in the Empire State sitting on I-beams during lunch breaks. 419 00:19:59,433 --> 00:20:02,909 {\an1}And you see tobacco farmers with sun-faded overalls 420 00:20:02,933 --> 00:20:05,276 and it became this common identity 421 00:20:05,300 --> 00:20:08,176 {\an1}that I think helps the country 422 00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:10,842 {\an1}to still feel unified even during dark times. 423 00:20:10,866 --> 00:20:13,909 NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER: The knives are cutting; the load piles high. 424 00:20:13,933 --> 00:20:16,242 The sun beats down from the August sky. 425 00:20:16,266 --> 00:20:19,842 We built our freedom and strength this way. 426 00:20:19,866 --> 00:20:21,809 {\an7}We're building it still together. 427 00:20:21,833 --> 00:20:23,576 {\an8}SULLIVAN: Up until about the 1930s, 428 00:20:23,600 --> 00:20:26,876 {\an7}denim was really worn out of necessity. 429 00:20:26,900 --> 00:20:28,976 {\an8}ANNOUNCER: When we get together we're hard to stop. 430 00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:30,576 {\an8}Working together... 431 00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:33,509 SULLIVAN: It wasn't until those years and beyond that the product 432 00:20:33,533 --> 00:20:37,142 {\an1}went from a necessity to a fashion. 433 00:20:37,166 --> 00:20:38,609 (whip cracking) 434 00:20:38,633 --> 00:20:40,976 {\an1}A lot of that had to do with this nostalgia 435 00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:43,542 {\an1}for the American West. 436 00:20:43,566 --> 00:20:46,742 MAN: Hey, come back with them horses! 437 00:20:46,766 --> 00:20:48,542 (gunshots) 438 00:20:48,566 --> 00:20:50,842 HOLLY GEORGE-WARREN: Thanks to westerns, 439 00:20:50,866 --> 00:20:54,509 cowboys became the American figure 440 00:20:54,533 --> 00:20:56,876 {\an1}that kind of helped us get out of the Great Depression 441 00:20:56,900 --> 00:20:59,042 in a way. 442 00:20:59,066 --> 00:21:00,342 {\an1}We didn't have royalty 443 00:21:00,366 --> 00:21:02,376 {\an7}like in England and other European countries, 444 00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:03,676 {\an8}but we had cowboys 445 00:21:03,700 --> 00:21:05,142 wearing blue jeans. 446 00:21:05,166 --> 00:21:06,542 Thank you so much. 447 00:21:06,566 --> 00:21:08,042 GEORGE-WARREN: They were our knights in shining armor. 448 00:21:08,066 --> 00:21:11,342 {\an1}Follow me, ma'am, and you'll never go astray. 449 00:21:11,366 --> 00:21:13,276 {\an1}Right this way. 450 00:21:13,300 --> 00:21:16,309 {\an8}♪ ♪ 451 00:21:16,333 --> 00:21:19,042 {\an8}ARON: It's hard for people today to really appreciate 452 00:21:19,066 --> 00:21:21,909 {\an7}how big the western was. 453 00:21:21,933 --> 00:21:24,942 {\an7}As the United States is transformed from being 454 00:21:24,966 --> 00:21:27,076 {\an1}a rural and agrarian nation 455 00:21:27,100 --> 00:21:32,142 {\an1}to one in which most people live in cities or towns, 456 00:21:32,166 --> 00:21:35,709 {\an1}there is a nostalgic embrace 457 00:21:35,733 --> 00:21:37,976 {\an1}of the frontier world lost, 458 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:41,976 {\an1}and the cowboys in those westerns almost always 459 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:42,977 were wearing jeans. 460 00:21:43,001 --> 00:21:47,442 ♪ ♪ 461 00:21:47,466 --> 00:21:51,109 {\an1}And yet, there's no question that when we look more closely 462 00:21:51,133 --> 00:21:54,909 {\an1}at the ways in which jeans come into the West, 463 00:21:54,933 --> 00:21:57,476 {\an1}the story turns out to be much more problematic. 464 00:21:57,500 --> 00:22:00,176 ♪ ♪ 465 00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:03,642 {\an1}The stories we tell are all white people. 466 00:22:03,666 --> 00:22:07,676 {\an1}In fact, the reality of life in the American West 467 00:22:07,700 --> 00:22:10,376 {\an1}was much more multi-ethnic. 468 00:22:10,400 --> 00:22:13,676 {\an1}You know, a significant portion of the workforce 469 00:22:13,700 --> 00:22:16,409 {\an1}were people of color... 470 00:22:16,433 --> 00:22:17,676 People from Mexico, 471 00:22:17,700 --> 00:22:20,142 Native Americans, 472 00:22:20,166 --> 00:22:21,609 African Americans probably making up an eighth 473 00:22:21,633 --> 00:22:24,276 to a quarter of the cowboy workforce. 474 00:22:24,300 --> 00:22:26,476 ♪ ♪ 475 00:22:26,500 --> 00:22:28,809 {\an1}So we have a much more complicated reality 476 00:22:28,833 --> 00:22:32,209 that contrasts with the whitening 477 00:22:32,233 --> 00:22:34,476 of those figures in the westerns. 478 00:22:34,500 --> 00:22:39,242 ♪ ♪ 479 00:22:39,266 --> 00:22:40,976 McCLENDON: Of course, Hollywood's take on the cowboy 480 00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:43,709 {\an1}was just the start of denim spreading 481 00:22:43,733 --> 00:22:45,942 {\an1}beyond the working class. 482 00:22:45,966 --> 00:22:49,742 {\an1}Now this shift is, is happening 483 00:22:49,766 --> 00:22:53,642 in an era of huge economic schisms. 484 00:22:53,666 --> 00:22:58,242 {\an1}The vast majority of people were really struggling 485 00:22:58,266 --> 00:22:59,909 {\an1}during the Great Depression, 486 00:22:59,933 --> 00:23:02,109 {\an1}but there continued to be 487 00:23:02,133 --> 00:23:05,709 {\an1}an elite class of individuals. 488 00:23:05,733 --> 00:23:06,909 They still traveled. 489 00:23:06,933 --> 00:23:08,309 They still shopped. 490 00:23:08,333 --> 00:23:11,909 MAN: ♪ If you want to be a cowboy ♪ 491 00:23:11,933 --> 00:23:14,376 {\an1}♪ Just come along with me ♪ 492 00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:16,409 {\an1}♪ If westward you'd be going. ♪ 493 00:23:16,433 --> 00:23:18,109 SULLIVAN: One consequence at the time 494 00:23:18,133 --> 00:23:22,909 {\an1}was that this idea of the dude ranch came about. 495 00:23:22,933 --> 00:23:24,776 {\an1}The dude ranch was essentially 496 00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:29,009 {\an1}a getaway, like sort of a spa getaway for wealthy Easterners. 497 00:23:29,033 --> 00:23:31,642 MAN: ♪ Get yourself some wooly chaps ♪ 498 00:23:31,666 --> 00:23:34,076 {\an1}♪ Or can of beans in pails ♪ 499 00:23:34,100 --> 00:23:38,376 {\an1}♪ Then saddle up a wild mustang and head out on the trail. ♪ 500 00:23:38,400 --> 00:23:39,842 ADRIENNE ROSE BITAR: Because of the collapse 501 00:23:39,866 --> 00:23:43,209 {\an1}of many of the sources of income based on cattle ranching 502 00:23:43,233 --> 00:23:45,376 {\an1}and other traditional agricultural pursuits, 503 00:23:45,400 --> 00:23:47,476 {\an1}many working cattle ranches 504 00:23:47,500 --> 00:23:49,609 {\an7}turned their attention to dudes, 505 00:23:49,633 --> 00:23:51,376 {\an7}which was a more reliable source of income. 506 00:23:51,400 --> 00:23:56,176 MAN: ♪ The dude ranch cowhands demand the choicest roast ♪ 507 00:23:56,200 --> 00:23:59,176 {\an1}♪ They once ate beans and bacon but now it's quail on toast. ♪ 508 00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:01,342 BITAR: Many of these ranches were very remote. 509 00:24:01,366 --> 00:24:06,742 {\an1}It might take two weeks to even travel by train and horseback. 510 00:24:06,766 --> 00:24:09,509 MAN: ♪ Yippee-ki-yay ♪ 511 00:24:09,533 --> 00:24:11,376 BITAR: They were expensive. 512 00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:13,376 {\an1}They accepted paying guests 513 00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:16,542 {\an1}to participate in all the ranch chores... 514 00:24:16,566 --> 00:24:18,809 {\an1}to herd cattle, to brand cattle. 515 00:24:18,833 --> 00:24:22,142 MAN: ♪ Each wrangling cowhand is acting as a guide ♪ 516 00:24:22,166 --> 00:24:24,209 ♪ He's rounding up the moonbeams ♪ 517 00:24:24,233 --> 00:24:26,376 {\an1}♪ For the lady at his side ♪ 518 00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:28,042 ♪ Yippee-ki-yay ♪ ♪ Ki-yay ♪ 519 00:24:28,066 --> 00:24:31,642 LEVENTON: This was particularly an opportunity for women. 520 00:24:31,666 --> 00:24:36,709 {\an1}American society was still not fully comfortable with the idea 521 00:24:36,733 --> 00:24:40,609 {\an1}of women wearing pants in the 1930s. 522 00:24:40,633 --> 00:24:43,576 {\an1}Bifurcated garments seemed so unladylike. 523 00:24:43,600 --> 00:24:45,476 ♪ ♪ 524 00:24:45,500 --> 00:24:48,376 BITAR: Vacationing was a secure laboratory... 525 00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:51,409 {\an1}especially for the women. 526 00:24:51,433 --> 00:24:54,876 {\an1}When they looked in the mirror, which I think many dudines did, 527 00:24:54,900 --> 00:24:56,676 {\an1}they didn't see their old self from Connecticut 528 00:24:56,700 --> 00:24:58,709 or Rhode Island; 529 00:24:58,733 --> 00:25:01,542 they saw a cowgirl from the movies. 530 00:25:01,566 --> 00:25:03,309 ♪ ♪ 531 00:25:03,333 --> 00:25:07,742 {\an1}Denim afforded many women the ability to get dirty, to hunt, 532 00:25:07,766 --> 00:25:09,809 {\an1}to fish, to ride horses. 533 00:25:09,833 --> 00:25:11,642 {\an1}So I think blue jeans on a dude ranch 534 00:25:11,666 --> 00:25:13,742 {\an1}not only gave women the ability 535 00:25:13,766 --> 00:25:15,409 to move more freely, 536 00:25:15,433 --> 00:25:17,709 {\an1}to experience their bodies in different ways, 537 00:25:17,733 --> 00:25:20,709 {\an1}but perhaps also to sort of think more freely, 538 00:25:20,733 --> 00:25:23,642 {\an1}to rethink their position in American society. 539 00:25:23,666 --> 00:25:26,509 ♪ ♪ 540 00:25:26,533 --> 00:25:29,509 SULLIVAN: This was one of the first times that women felt 541 00:25:29,533 --> 00:25:32,476 {\an1}comfortable enough to say, "Hey, you know what? 542 00:25:32,500 --> 00:25:34,376 {\an7}"I enjoy wearing that kind of clothing. 543 00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:35,442 {\an8}I'm going to do it." 544 00:25:35,466 --> 00:25:36,776 {\an8}So the American 545 00:25:36,800 --> 00:25:40,742 {\an1}blue jeans manufacturers realized that there was 546 00:25:40,766 --> 00:25:42,609 a substantial market to be conquered 547 00:25:42,633 --> 00:25:47,309 by creating blue jeans lines for women. 548 00:25:47,333 --> 00:25:49,742 {\an1}So you start seeing the design of jeans 549 00:25:49,766 --> 00:25:51,676 {\an1}beginning to follow fashion 550 00:25:51,700 --> 00:25:56,642 {\an1}in a way that they didn't previously do 551 00:25:56,666 --> 00:26:01,109 {\an1}when they were strictly work pants. 552 00:26:01,133 --> 00:26:04,609 ♪ ♪ 553 00:26:04,633 --> 00:26:07,476 BITAR: Jeans entered the world of fashion in the 1930s 554 00:26:07,500 --> 00:26:09,576 {\an1}because they functioned as a souvenir 555 00:26:09,600 --> 00:26:14,542 {\an1}and they also functioned as a symbol of wealth and prestige. 556 00:26:14,566 --> 00:26:18,142 Somewhat ironically, the clothes of the working man 557 00:26:18,166 --> 00:26:22,509 {\an1}became a symbol that you belonged to the leisure class. 558 00:26:22,533 --> 00:26:25,676 ♪ ♪ 559 00:26:25,700 --> 00:26:30,142 McCLENDON: That's the dichotomy sort of represented in the juxtaposition 560 00:26:30,166 --> 00:26:33,409 {\an1}between the Dorothea Lange photos of the Dust Bowl 561 00:26:33,433 --> 00:26:36,309 {\an1}and Lady Levi's in "Vogue." 562 00:26:36,333 --> 00:26:39,409 They can co-exist 563 00:26:39,433 --> 00:26:43,509 {\an1}because there was this extreme inequality in America. 564 00:26:43,533 --> 00:26:47,666 ♪ ♪ 565 00:26:48,833 --> 00:26:53,966 ♪ ♪ 566 00:26:55,366 --> 00:26:58,242 NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER: Since October 16, 1940, 567 00:26:58,266 --> 00:27:01,809 {\an1}millions of American men have joined the armed forces 568 00:27:01,833 --> 00:27:05,309 {\an1}to defend our country and our democratic way of life. 569 00:27:05,333 --> 00:27:07,309 LEVENTON: For many men and women, 570 00:27:07,333 --> 00:27:09,242 {\an7}World War II was the first time they wore jeans. 571 00:27:09,266 --> 00:27:12,109 NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER: The minute the ship left port, neckties were dropped. 572 00:27:12,133 --> 00:27:15,342 {\an1}The enlisted men wore dungarees and the traditional white hats 573 00:27:15,366 --> 00:27:17,442 were dyed blue. 574 00:27:17,466 --> 00:27:18,809 {\an1}Here are the men who will fight. 575 00:27:18,833 --> 00:27:21,976 McCLENDON: World War II is a moment where 576 00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:24,909 {\an7}denim goes global in a sense. 577 00:27:24,933 --> 00:27:28,042 ♪ ♪ 578 00:27:28,066 --> 00:27:32,509 {\an1}One result of Americans fighting overseas was that the G.I.s, 579 00:27:32,533 --> 00:27:34,309 {\an1}when they were off duty, 580 00:27:34,333 --> 00:27:37,076 were in many cases wearing blue jeans, 581 00:27:37,100 --> 00:27:41,309 {\an1}and the locals took notice 582 00:27:41,333 --> 00:27:43,276 and thought, "Well, they look like movie stars, 583 00:27:43,300 --> 00:27:44,709 "they look cool. 584 00:27:44,733 --> 00:27:46,676 {\an1}They look like, you know, what we want to look like." 585 00:27:46,700 --> 00:27:51,376 ♪ ♪ 586 00:27:51,400 --> 00:27:54,376 McCLENDON: There's a way in which during the 1940s, 587 00:27:54,400 --> 00:27:58,309 {\an1}because of the patriotism around World War II, 588 00:27:58,333 --> 00:28:02,609 {\an1}denim almost became the blue 589 00:28:02,633 --> 00:28:05,742 {\an1}in the red, white, and blue of the American flag. 590 00:28:05,766 --> 00:28:07,842 MAN: ♪ The riveting machine ♪ 591 00:28:07,866 --> 00:28:09,376 McCLENDON: You know and Rosie the Riveter 592 00:28:09,400 --> 00:28:11,809 {\an1}is a kind of classic example of this. 593 00:28:11,833 --> 00:28:13,942 MAN: ♪ There's something true about red, white, and blue ♪ 594 00:28:13,966 --> 00:28:16,476 {\an1}♪ About Rosie the Riveter ♪ 595 00:28:16,500 --> 00:28:19,076 LEVENTON: "Rosie the Riveter" was a Norman Rockwell painting 596 00:28:19,100 --> 00:28:22,142 {\an1}that ended up on the cover of "The Saturday Evening Post." 597 00:28:22,166 --> 00:28:25,176 She was like the American everywoman, 598 00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:29,942 {\an1}who when the menfolk were away fighting the war in Europe, 599 00:28:29,966 --> 00:28:31,942 she pitched in, 600 00:28:31,966 --> 00:28:33,476 she did her part. 601 00:28:33,500 --> 00:28:34,809 MAN: ♪ All the day long ♪ 602 00:28:34,833 --> 00:28:36,009 {\an1}♪ Whether rain or shine ♪ 603 00:28:36,033 --> 00:28:38,676 ♪ She's a part of the assembly line ♪ 604 00:28:38,700 --> 00:28:41,209 {\an7}♪ She's making history working for victory ♪ 605 00:28:41,233 --> 00:28:43,542 {\an7}♪ Rosie the Riveter. ♪ 606 00:28:43,566 --> 00:28:45,509 {\an8}SULLIVAN: With so many of the men overseas, 607 00:28:45,533 --> 00:28:47,342 {\an1}something like six million 608 00:28:47,366 --> 00:28:49,676 {\an1}mothers and daughters were suddenly going to work 609 00:28:49,700 --> 00:28:50,876 on a daily basis, 610 00:28:50,900 --> 00:28:52,976 {\an1}and to a large extent wearing denim. 611 00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:56,209 NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER: Waitress, salesgirls, housewives... 612 00:28:56,233 --> 00:28:58,209 {\an1}these girls are now ready to tackle the work 613 00:28:58,233 --> 00:29:00,209 of producing weapons and equipment 614 00:29:00,233 --> 00:29:02,276 {\an1}essential to our armed forces. 615 00:29:02,300 --> 00:29:05,242 SINGERS: ♪ Rosie, Rosie, Rosie, Rosie ♪ 616 00:29:05,266 --> 00:29:08,576 {\an1}♪ Working on an assembly line. ♪ 617 00:29:08,600 --> 00:29:12,009 {\an1}(cheers and applause) 618 00:29:12,033 --> 00:29:15,242 {\an8}NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER: A day of days for America and her allies. 619 00:29:15,266 --> 00:29:17,042 (cheering continues) 620 00:29:17,066 --> 00:29:19,342 {\an1}How jubilant was the taste of victory. 621 00:29:19,366 --> 00:29:21,442 {\an1}How sweet the rewards of peace. 622 00:29:21,466 --> 00:29:24,342 {\an1}(cheers and applause) 623 00:29:24,366 --> 00:29:27,076 {\an1}From all the scattered battlefields, he returned home 624 00:29:27,100 --> 00:29:31,576 {\an1}again to find a soldier's welcome. 625 00:29:31,600 --> 00:29:34,609 ♪ ♪ 626 00:29:34,633 --> 00:29:37,576 LEVENTON: So, what happens when the soldiers who were wearing 627 00:29:37,600 --> 00:29:38,809 {\an1}denim overseas come home? 628 00:29:38,833 --> 00:29:40,942 {\an1}They kept wearing denim. 629 00:29:40,966 --> 00:29:43,009 Why not? They're great pants. 630 00:29:43,033 --> 00:29:44,209 They're comfortable. They're durable. 631 00:29:44,233 --> 00:29:45,642 {\an1}They had gotten used to them. 632 00:29:45,666 --> 00:29:47,276 They liked them. Why not? 633 00:29:47,300 --> 00:29:50,276 ♪ ♪ 634 00:29:50,300 --> 00:29:53,842 BILL HAYES: As the World War II vets started to come back, 635 00:29:53,866 --> 00:29:55,309 {\an1}they obviously had been through a lot. 636 00:29:55,333 --> 00:29:58,009 {\an1}They felt a lot of camaraderie. 637 00:29:58,033 --> 00:30:01,476 {\an1}They felt a lot of brotherhood in the trenches. 638 00:30:01,500 --> 00:30:03,076 And they come back 639 00:30:03,100 --> 00:30:07,942 {\an8}into a very staid, kind of 9:00 to 5:00 lifestyle, 640 00:30:07,966 --> 00:30:11,866 {\an1}for some people it wasn't going to work. 641 00:30:14,033 --> 00:30:18,276 But the combination of a big motorcycle and denim, 642 00:30:18,300 --> 00:30:19,809 that really works. 643 00:30:19,833 --> 00:30:22,076 MAN: ♪ He wore black denim trousers and motorcycle boots ♪ 644 00:30:22,100 --> 00:30:25,742 {\an1}♪ And a black leather jacket with an eagle on the back. ♪ 645 00:30:25,766 --> 00:30:27,609 HAYES: They've all got jeans on. 646 00:30:27,633 --> 00:30:29,776 {\an1}T-shirt with a cigarette pack rolled up in it... 647 00:30:29,800 --> 00:30:32,976 {\an1}you look pretty tough. 648 00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:34,976 {\an1}Suddenly bikers have become modern-day outlaws. 649 00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:37,642 MAN: ♪ Well, he never washed his face and he never combed his hair ♪ 650 00:30:37,666 --> 00:30:40,909 {\an1}♪ He had axel grease embedded underneath his fingernails. ♪ 651 00:30:40,933 --> 00:30:43,609 LEVENTON: So the idea of the outlaw, 652 00:30:43,633 --> 00:30:45,176 which has always had 653 00:30:45,200 --> 00:30:48,576 {\an1}a stronghold on the American popular imagination, 654 00:30:48,600 --> 00:30:51,676 {\an1}was actually promoted by the movies, 655 00:30:51,700 --> 00:30:53,709 {\an1}and linked in particular with jeans. 656 00:30:53,733 --> 00:30:59,476 ♪ ♪ 657 00:30:59,500 --> 00:31:01,609 SULLIVAN: You know, we see that a lot 658 00:31:01,633 --> 00:31:03,542 {\an1}in the Hollywood of the 1950s, 659 00:31:03,566 --> 00:31:05,376 {\an1}classically represented by Marlon Brando 660 00:31:05,400 --> 00:31:08,176 in the biker film "The Wild One." 661 00:31:08,200 --> 00:31:09,776 ♪ ♪ 662 00:31:09,800 --> 00:31:12,842 {\an1}Brando's character, who was, of course, the guy who's asked, 663 00:31:12,866 --> 00:31:14,609 {\an1}"What are you rebelling against?" 664 00:31:14,633 --> 00:31:16,476 {\an1}Hey Johnny, what are you rebelling against? 665 00:31:16,500 --> 00:31:19,076 {\an5}SULLIVAN: And he says... What do you got? 666 00:31:19,100 --> 00:31:21,442 {\an1}Like, "I don't know what it is that I'm rebelling against. 667 00:31:21,466 --> 00:31:23,442 I'm just doing it." 668 00:31:23,466 --> 00:31:25,576 ♪ ♪ 669 00:31:25,600 --> 00:31:27,509 HAYES: All bets were off at that point. 670 00:31:27,533 --> 00:31:30,409 {\an1}A lot of the teenagers may not have wanted to become 671 00:31:30,433 --> 00:31:31,976 Wally or Beaver. 672 00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:33,376 {\an1}But my friends call me Beaver. 673 00:31:33,400 --> 00:31:34,676 {\an1}Well, may I call you Beaver? 674 00:31:34,700 --> 00:31:35,677 {\an1}I'd like you to be my friend. 675 00:31:35,701 --> 00:31:37,509 Okay. 676 00:31:37,533 --> 00:31:40,342 HAYES: They were able to make the choice, 677 00:31:40,366 --> 00:31:42,676 {\an1}and part of that choice 678 00:31:42,700 --> 00:31:45,509 {\an1}was, you know, having jeans on. 679 00:31:45,533 --> 00:31:50,209 NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER: The early teens are years of upheaval and turmoil. 680 00:31:50,233 --> 00:31:53,142 {\an1}They're years of physical and glandular change. 681 00:31:53,166 --> 00:31:54,809 {\an1}Parents of almost every child 682 00:31:54,833 --> 00:31:58,042 {\an1}find the age of puberty or early adolescence 683 00:31:58,066 --> 00:31:59,509 full of problems. 684 00:31:59,533 --> 00:32:01,009 GEORGE-WARREN: After World War II, 685 00:32:01,033 --> 00:32:04,709 {\an1}really the "teenager" as we now know it came into being. 686 00:32:04,733 --> 00:32:09,442 NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER: Their actions may seem excessive but that's normal for teenagers. 687 00:32:09,466 --> 00:32:12,042 {\an1}They seem to spend hours in completely useless activities. 688 00:32:12,066 --> 00:32:13,376 {\an1}(rock and roll music playing) 689 00:32:13,400 --> 00:32:14,842 SULLIVAN: Prior to World War II, 690 00:32:14,866 --> 00:32:18,642 {\an1}you were either a young person living at home, 691 00:32:18,666 --> 00:32:20,342 going to school, 692 00:32:20,366 --> 00:32:22,509 {\an1}or when you were finished with school, 693 00:32:22,533 --> 00:32:25,076 {\an1}then you entered the workforce. 694 00:32:25,100 --> 00:32:27,676 {\an7}You were contributing to the family income. 695 00:32:27,700 --> 00:32:29,576 {\an1}♪ You rockin' and you rockin' and you rockin' around ♪ 696 00:32:29,600 --> 00:32:31,076 {\an1}♪ Hop, hop, hop everybody ♪ 697 00:32:31,100 --> 00:32:33,209 SULLIVAN: After World War II, 698 00:32:33,233 --> 00:32:34,842 {\an1}the middle class exploded. 699 00:32:34,866 --> 00:32:36,409 {\an1}Families could offer their kids 700 00:32:36,433 --> 00:32:38,342 more leisure time, 701 00:32:38,366 --> 00:32:39,676 more independence. 702 00:32:39,700 --> 00:32:42,342 NEWSREEL ANCHOR: the rock and roll teenage cowboy. 703 00:32:42,366 --> 00:32:43,776 GEORGE-WARREN: The American consumer economy 704 00:32:43,800 --> 00:32:46,709 {\an1}was booming and it just became the American way of life: 705 00:32:46,733 --> 00:32:49,942 {\an1}spend money, buy things, dress up, you know, 706 00:32:49,966 --> 00:32:51,142 {\an1}move up the food chain. 707 00:32:51,166 --> 00:32:52,409 NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER: Gather 'round, kiddies. 708 00:32:52,433 --> 00:32:55,476 {\an1}Today I'm going to give you a quick look-see 709 00:32:55,500 --> 00:32:57,842 {\an1}at what the well-dressed teenager is doing 710 00:32:57,866 --> 00:32:59,409 {\an1}in the way of fun and fashion. 711 00:32:59,433 --> 00:33:01,409 SULLIVAN: If teenagers decided to work, 712 00:33:01,433 --> 00:33:04,109 {\an1}they could use that money for their own benefit, 713 00:33:04,133 --> 00:33:05,300 {\an1}for their own leisure time. 714 00:33:06,766 --> 00:33:08,876 {\an1}They could buy their own cars. 715 00:33:08,900 --> 00:33:09,976 {\an1}They bought their own records. 716 00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:11,442 {\an1}They sort of helped create rock and roll. 717 00:33:11,466 --> 00:33:13,742 NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER: Teenagers... they're terrific. 718 00:33:13,766 --> 00:33:16,742 ♪ ♪ 719 00:33:16,766 --> 00:33:18,276 McCLENDON: Jeans got sort of 720 00:33:18,300 --> 00:33:21,542 (laughing): irreparably linked 721 00:33:21,566 --> 00:33:23,376 with cool. 722 00:33:23,400 --> 00:33:27,376 {\an1}And coolness became the ideal to strive for. 723 00:33:27,400 --> 00:33:30,342 NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER: Kay's mother may have other opinions of style 724 00:33:30,366 --> 00:33:31,842 of what looks best. 725 00:33:31,866 --> 00:33:35,209 {\an1}But of course mother has old-fashioned ideas. 726 00:33:35,233 --> 00:33:36,876 It's like, "What mom and dad want to do? 727 00:33:36,900 --> 00:33:38,776 "Oh my God. I can't even talk to them. 728 00:33:38,800 --> 00:33:41,309 {\an1}I do not want to wear what they're wearing." 729 00:33:41,333 --> 00:33:43,309 NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER: The adolescent is self-centered. 730 00:33:43,333 --> 00:33:45,109 LEVENTON: The charisma of deviance is powerful. 731 00:33:45,133 --> 00:33:49,176 NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER: Their sloppiness is so deliberate as to be offensive. 732 00:33:49,200 --> 00:33:51,809 ♪ ♪ 733 00:33:51,833 --> 00:33:57,309 McCLENDON: So during the 1950s, denim becomes increasingly 734 00:33:57,333 --> 00:34:02,709 {\an1}associated with biker gangs and juvenile delinquency. 735 00:34:02,733 --> 00:34:07,342 {\an1}There was a sort of fear, I think, among adults that 736 00:34:07,366 --> 00:34:08,842 if teenagers put on a pair of jeans, 737 00:34:08,866 --> 00:34:11,909 {\an1}they were automatically going to become delinquents 738 00:34:11,933 --> 00:34:14,409 in some way. 739 00:34:14,433 --> 00:34:17,842 GEORGE-WARREN: School systems literally started banning blue jeans 740 00:34:17,866 --> 00:34:20,209 {\an1}because they identified the kids who wore them 741 00:34:20,233 --> 00:34:21,676 as the "bad seeds." 742 00:34:21,700 --> 00:34:24,142 {\an7}They were going to, you know, beat up a little old lady 743 00:34:24,166 --> 00:34:26,466 {\an1}and steal her pocketbook or, or whatever. 744 00:34:28,733 --> 00:34:31,309 SULLIVAN: The parents' generation started to clamp down, 745 00:34:31,333 --> 00:34:34,309 {\an1}which caused a dip in sales. 746 00:34:34,333 --> 00:34:35,742 {\an1}Suddenly families were 747 00:34:35,766 --> 00:34:37,476 {\an1}shying away from buying blue jeans. 748 00:34:37,500 --> 00:34:39,942 ♪ ♪ 749 00:34:39,966 --> 00:34:42,342 McCLENDON: The denim companies start to get worried. 750 00:34:42,366 --> 00:34:44,942 As a result, a lot of the major companies 751 00:34:44,966 --> 00:34:48,576 {\an1}band together to form what they called the Denim Council. 752 00:34:48,600 --> 00:34:51,209 ♪ ♪ 753 00:34:51,233 --> 00:34:54,142 ANNOUNCER: More people than ever are wearing denim. 754 00:34:54,166 --> 00:34:56,776 {\an1}You'd have to look far and wide to find an American of any age 755 00:34:56,800 --> 00:34:58,576 {\an1}who has never worn blue jeans. 756 00:34:58,600 --> 00:35:03,142 GEORGE-WARREN: So they start this whole campaign first to try to counter 757 00:35:03,166 --> 00:35:06,676 {\an7}the "bad blue jean" look with the wholesome blue jean look. 758 00:35:06,700 --> 00:35:09,542 {\an1}"This is the right way to wear jeans," 759 00:35:09,566 --> 00:35:11,309 {\an1}and it's neat with a nice shirt 760 00:35:11,333 --> 00:35:15,042 {\an1}and this very kind of healthy-looking kid. 761 00:35:15,066 --> 00:35:16,642 And then, "This is the bad blue jean." 762 00:35:16,666 --> 00:35:17,676 {\an1}And so it's the more the kid 763 00:35:17,700 --> 00:35:19,842 {\an1}like with his hair hanging down, greasy, 764 00:35:19,866 --> 00:35:20,810 {\an1}and all that kind of stuff. 765 00:35:20,834 --> 00:35:22,476 Like, see? There is a difference. 766 00:35:22,500 --> 00:35:24,742 {\an1}You can be a good kid and wear blue jeans. 767 00:35:24,766 --> 00:35:26,842 ANNOUNCER: Denim is really great for sports. 768 00:35:26,866 --> 00:35:28,976 {\an1}Looks like this joker is knocking himself out 769 00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:31,609 trying to prove it. 770 00:35:31,633 --> 00:35:34,676 {\an1}Folks wear jeans to get the work done 771 00:35:34,700 --> 00:35:36,909 {\an1}and jeans to relax in. 772 00:35:36,933 --> 00:35:38,742 McCLENDON: They tried to create a National Denim Day. 773 00:35:38,766 --> 00:35:39,776 {\an1}They had all sorts of 774 00:35:39,800 --> 00:35:41,809 {\an1}campaigns around the country 775 00:35:41,833 --> 00:35:47,542 which are all about the discovery of America. 776 00:35:47,566 --> 00:35:48,609 {\an1}They are about cowboys, 777 00:35:48,633 --> 00:35:51,742 {\an1}they are about adventure, 778 00:35:51,766 --> 00:35:53,476 and history. 779 00:35:53,500 --> 00:35:56,209 ANNOUNCER: Blue denim is a symbol of our pioneering spirit. 780 00:35:56,233 --> 00:35:58,909 It goes right back to the beginning of America. 781 00:35:58,933 --> 00:36:02,442 {\an1}Men in blue denim opened up the old West, 782 00:36:02,466 --> 00:36:05,509 {\an1}and built our bridges and skyscrapers. 783 00:36:05,533 --> 00:36:06,976 SULLIVAN: That series of advertisements 784 00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:10,942 {\an1}helped reverse the trend away from blue jeans. 785 00:36:10,966 --> 00:36:12,576 JOHN F. KENNEDY: In the last few months 786 00:36:12,600 --> 00:36:15,076 {\an1}more applications for the Peace Corps have come to us. 787 00:36:15,100 --> 00:36:17,676 SULLIVAN: By the first years of the 1960s, 788 00:36:17,700 --> 00:36:21,009 the Peace Corps, JFK's initiative 789 00:36:21,033 --> 00:36:22,509 {\an1}sending young Americans out across the globe 790 00:36:22,533 --> 00:36:23,876 to do good deeds, 791 00:36:23,900 --> 00:36:26,576 {\an1}they were actually dressed in blue jeans. 792 00:36:26,600 --> 00:36:28,376 {\an1}That was their uniform. 793 00:36:28,400 --> 00:36:31,242 {\an1}So no longer was it that 794 00:36:31,266 --> 00:36:33,433 {\an1}the bad kids were the only ones wearing blue jeans. 795 00:36:36,800 --> 00:36:39,276 McCLENDON: One thing in particular that's interesting about this period 796 00:36:39,300 --> 00:36:41,242 {\an1}is the denim companies 797 00:36:41,266 --> 00:36:44,542 {\an1}spend all this time in the 1950s 798 00:36:44,566 --> 00:36:50,276 trying to get away from the rebel image 799 00:36:50,300 --> 00:36:53,676 {\an1}and then the 1960s happens. 800 00:36:53,700 --> 00:36:56,376 NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER: Hippies made a colorful scene with wild costumes, 801 00:36:56,400 --> 00:36:58,276 uninhibited dancing, and general high frolicking. 802 00:36:58,300 --> 00:37:03,276 FORD: When we think about the denim story in the 1960s, 803 00:37:03,300 --> 00:37:06,442 {\an1}we almost automatically think of the hippies, 804 00:37:06,466 --> 00:37:09,709 {\an7}with their bellbottoms, and tie-dye, 805 00:37:09,733 --> 00:37:14,109 {\an1}but the hippies weren't the only people wearing those clothes. 806 00:37:14,133 --> 00:37:19,242 {\an1}MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.: A man dies when he refuses to stand up for justice. 807 00:37:19,266 --> 00:37:22,842 {\an1}A man dies when he refuses to take a stand 808 00:37:22,866 --> 00:37:24,609 {\an1}for that which is true. 809 00:37:24,633 --> 00:37:26,909 {\an1}So we're going to stand up right here. 810 00:37:26,933 --> 00:37:29,676 McCLENDON: The classic image of the Civil Rights Movement 811 00:37:29,700 --> 00:37:32,576 {\an1}is Martin Luther King Jr. 812 00:37:32,600 --> 00:37:37,709 {\an1}and he and many of his closest partners 813 00:37:37,733 --> 00:37:41,976 wore suits and button down shirts, 814 00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:43,876 {\an1}sort of a "Sunday best" approach. 815 00:37:43,900 --> 00:37:46,009 KING JR.: We will be able to join hands 816 00:37:46,033 --> 00:37:48,642 {\an1}and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, 817 00:37:48,666 --> 00:37:51,542 {\an1}free at last, free at last, 818 00:37:51,566 --> 00:37:54,176 {\an1}thank God Almighty we are free at last. 819 00:37:54,200 --> 00:37:56,076 {\an1}(cheers and applause) 820 00:37:56,100 --> 00:37:57,642 SQUARE: Being a man of African descent, 821 00:37:57,666 --> 00:38:01,742 a lot hinged on his self-representation. 822 00:38:01,766 --> 00:38:03,042 {\an7}He needed to present himself to the world 823 00:38:03,066 --> 00:38:04,809 {\an7}as a respectable person, 824 00:38:04,833 --> 00:38:06,442 {\an1}because there was already a notch against him 825 00:38:06,466 --> 00:38:07,542 {\an1}for being a Black man. 826 00:38:07,566 --> 00:38:09,776 ♪ ♪ 827 00:38:09,800 --> 00:38:12,476 FORD: The focus on the Sunday best 828 00:38:12,500 --> 00:38:17,276 {\an1}has obscured the fact that at that time there were 829 00:38:17,300 --> 00:38:20,642 {\an1}these young college students who say, 830 00:38:20,666 --> 00:38:23,376 {\an1}"Instead, we're going to wear denim because we want to show 831 00:38:23,400 --> 00:38:26,609 {\an1}"that our political bonds are to the Black working poor 832 00:38:26,633 --> 00:38:29,209 {\an1}and not to the Black bourgeois." 833 00:38:29,233 --> 00:38:30,642 ♪ ♪ 834 00:38:30,666 --> 00:38:34,542 {\an1}These young people, once they left Howard University, 835 00:38:34,566 --> 00:38:39,842 Fisk University, Tougaloo College, to head south, 836 00:38:39,866 --> 00:38:42,609 {\an1}say, "We're going to wear this denim alongside 837 00:38:42,633 --> 00:38:45,942 {\an1}"the working class and sharecroppers who had been 838 00:38:45,966 --> 00:38:47,876 "trying for decades 839 00:38:47,900 --> 00:38:50,809 {\an1}to fight for their right to vote." 840 00:38:50,833 --> 00:38:54,276 {\an1}They were rebels with a cause. 841 00:38:54,300 --> 00:38:56,076 {\an1}(crowd clapping, singing) 842 00:38:56,100 --> 00:38:58,042 ♪ Freedom ♪ 843 00:38:58,066 --> 00:39:00,442 {\an8}♪ Freedom ♪ 844 00:39:00,466 --> 00:39:03,509 {\an8}♪ Freedom, freedom ♪ 845 00:39:03,533 --> 00:39:06,509 {\an8}JENKINS: For young Black protesters, it absolutely is risky 846 00:39:06,533 --> 00:39:08,142 {\an7}with what they're wearing 847 00:39:08,166 --> 00:39:11,409 {\an1}because they already have the systemic pressure 848 00:39:11,433 --> 00:39:14,642 {\an1}up against them presuming that they are 849 00:39:14,666 --> 00:39:16,709 {\an8}of a lower class or status in society. 850 00:39:16,733 --> 00:39:20,342 {\an7}And so wearing a certain style of dress that is aligned 851 00:39:20,366 --> 00:39:21,609 {\an1}with the laboring class, 852 00:39:21,633 --> 00:39:23,842 {\an1}that is absolutely bold. 853 00:39:23,866 --> 00:39:25,376 CROWD: ♪ Hold on ♪ 854 00:39:25,400 --> 00:39:27,409 ♪ Hold on. ♪ 855 00:39:27,433 --> 00:39:31,242 FORD: As this Southern movement spreads and garners 856 00:39:31,266 --> 00:39:33,209 {\an1}national media attention, 857 00:39:33,233 --> 00:39:37,642 {\an1}you now have white students who decide to go south 858 00:39:37,666 --> 00:39:39,376 {\an1}to help with the organizing. 859 00:39:39,400 --> 00:39:43,976 MAN: ♪ We are all here, Black and white ♪ 860 00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:47,576 FORD: So when those white students go back north, 861 00:39:47,600 --> 00:39:49,876 {\an1}they go back wearing denim. 862 00:39:49,900 --> 00:39:52,776 CROWD: ♪ Hold on, hold on. ♪ 863 00:39:52,800 --> 00:39:55,742 FORD: This becomes the look of youth rebellion 864 00:39:55,766 --> 00:39:57,142 in the 1960s. 865 00:39:57,166 --> 00:39:59,109 ♪ ♪ 866 00:39:59,133 --> 00:40:04,942 {\an1}(shouting, clamoring) 867 00:40:04,966 --> 00:40:08,276 JOHN O'BRIEN DOCKER: ♪ Baby, don't call me a liar ♪ 868 00:40:08,300 --> 00:40:11,609 REPORTER: They represent a new form of social rebellion. 869 00:40:11,633 --> 00:40:14,876 {\an1}They dress in bizarre and colorful ways. 870 00:40:14,900 --> 00:40:16,342 {\an1}Hippies are very interesting... 871 00:40:16,366 --> 00:40:19,642 McCLENDON: The 1960s is a pivotal point in the history of denim. 872 00:40:19,666 --> 00:40:21,642 REPORTER: They are hip, onto something good. 873 00:40:21,666 --> 00:40:23,509 McCLENDON: Just like for the Civil Rights Movement, 874 00:40:23,533 --> 00:40:25,476 for the hippies, 875 00:40:25,500 --> 00:40:28,776 {\an1}clothing was a form of political activism. 876 00:40:28,800 --> 00:40:30,442 WOMAN: Of course it's a whole different way of living, 877 00:40:30,466 --> 00:40:31,676 {\an1}it's a whole different way of thinking. 878 00:40:31,700 --> 00:40:36,376 {\an1}So many of the civilians have no concept. 879 00:40:36,400 --> 00:40:37,476 But it's fun. 880 00:40:37,500 --> 00:40:39,009 {\an1}It's fun to be bizarre. 881 00:40:39,033 --> 00:40:42,376 GEORGE-WARREN: There was such an emphasis with the counterculture 882 00:40:42,400 --> 00:40:44,476 {\an1}on creativity, on individuality, 883 00:40:44,500 --> 00:40:46,642 self-expression. 884 00:40:46,666 --> 00:40:49,542 ♪ ♪ 885 00:40:49,566 --> 00:40:52,742 HILFIGER: People then embellished their jeans. 886 00:40:52,766 --> 00:40:55,809 {\an1}They sewed fringe on them... 887 00:40:55,833 --> 00:40:57,076 They put feathers. 888 00:40:57,100 --> 00:40:58,909 {\an1}McCLENDON: They were patched... JENKINS: Painted... 889 00:40:58,933 --> 00:41:01,609 McCLENDON: Embroidered and shredded... 890 00:41:01,633 --> 00:41:03,009 HILFIGER: All of the sudden your jeans 891 00:41:03,033 --> 00:41:04,976 {\an8}were your canvases. 892 00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:08,009 ♪ ♪ 893 00:41:08,033 --> 00:41:09,742 {\an1}There was a cool factor. 894 00:41:09,766 --> 00:41:14,009 {\an1}And when rock stars and musicians started wearing denim, 895 00:41:14,033 --> 00:41:16,042 {\an1}it became even cooler. 896 00:41:16,066 --> 00:41:18,909 There was The Who, and Janis Joplin, 897 00:41:18,933 --> 00:41:24,709 {\an1}and the Doors, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin. 898 00:41:24,733 --> 00:41:26,042 {\an1}So then everyone wanted to wear them. 899 00:41:26,066 --> 00:41:30,342 MAN: ♪ By the time we got to Woodstock ♪ 900 00:41:30,366 --> 00:41:31,942 GEORGE-WARREN: "Woodstock"... that movie 901 00:41:31,966 --> 00:41:35,976 {\an1}completely expanded our idea of fashion. 902 00:41:36,000 --> 00:41:38,376 {\an1}I know for me being this kid in North Carolina, 903 00:41:38,400 --> 00:41:40,342 {\an1}when I saw that movie, I'm like, 904 00:41:40,366 --> 00:41:43,476 "I want to wear clothes like that." 905 00:41:43,500 --> 00:41:45,742 {\an1}♪ A little help from my friends ♪ 906 00:41:45,766 --> 00:41:47,109 (vocalizing) 907 00:41:47,133 --> 00:41:51,109 LEVENTON: Denim was the uniform of that generation, 908 00:41:51,133 --> 00:41:53,742 {\an1}and a lot of the denim companies 909 00:41:53,766 --> 00:41:55,500 {\an7}started to capitalize on that. 910 00:41:57,033 --> 00:41:59,776 McCLENDON: It's interesting to look at that case study of Levi's, 911 00:41:59,800 --> 00:42:04,709 because in the 1950s they tried so hard to get away 912 00:42:04,733 --> 00:42:06,976 {\an1}from the counterculture. 913 00:42:07,000 --> 00:42:09,109 And then by 1971, 914 00:42:09,133 --> 00:42:11,909 {\an7}they use an aerial shot of the crowd 915 00:42:11,933 --> 00:42:14,209 at a music festival 916 00:42:14,233 --> 00:42:19,442 {\an7}and just slap a Levi's logo on it, and that's it! 917 00:42:19,466 --> 00:42:22,766 {\an1}(cheers and applause) 918 00:42:26,066 --> 00:42:29,376 SULLIVAN: It's been said that "Those children of the '60s 919 00:42:29,400 --> 00:42:35,176 came in as a tribe and went out as a market." 920 00:42:35,200 --> 00:42:37,209 They were the market for blue jeans. 921 00:42:37,233 --> 00:42:40,976 {\an1}(cheers and applause) 922 00:42:41,000 --> 00:42:42,909 {\an8}♪ ♪ 923 00:42:42,933 --> 00:42:45,442 {\an8}McCLENDON: By the time you get into the early '70s, 924 00:42:45,466 --> 00:42:48,376 {\an7}hippie chic is everywhere. 925 00:42:48,400 --> 00:42:52,909 FORD: The fashion industry becomes wildly taken 926 00:42:52,933 --> 00:42:55,842 {\an1}with these young radicals. 927 00:42:55,866 --> 00:43:00,176 {\an7}You have designers with ads that suggested that, 928 00:43:00,200 --> 00:43:03,476 {\an7}"The real freedom movement is in your jeans." 929 00:43:03,500 --> 00:43:05,309 {\an8}(laughs) 930 00:43:05,333 --> 00:43:06,809 {\an8}SQUARE: It is ironic, isn't it? 931 00:43:06,833 --> 00:43:08,776 {\an1}Rewind like a decade earlier, 932 00:43:08,800 --> 00:43:11,876 {\an1}youth were sort of wearing denim as a form of rebellion. 933 00:43:11,900 --> 00:43:15,842 {\an1}By the time we get to the 1970s, like denim is being commodified. 934 00:43:15,866 --> 00:43:17,809 ♪ ♪ 935 00:43:17,833 --> 00:43:19,209 STEELE: The fashion industry co-opts 936 00:43:19,233 --> 00:43:22,376 {\an1}authentic subcultural styles 937 00:43:22,400 --> 00:43:25,109 {\an1}and then makes them part of the system. 938 00:43:25,133 --> 00:43:29,809 {\an1}Whether it seems dangerous or seems totally trivial, 939 00:43:29,833 --> 00:43:33,976 {\an7}the fashion industry takes any cool look or stance 940 00:43:34,000 --> 00:43:37,276 {\an7}and markets it if sees an audience for it. 941 00:43:37,300 --> 00:43:39,176 ♪ ♪ 942 00:43:39,200 --> 00:43:42,509 JENKINS: We start to see denim jeans become just a very 943 00:43:42,533 --> 00:43:44,042 lucrative product. 944 00:43:44,066 --> 00:43:48,076 {\an8}They were really a great blank canvas 945 00:43:48,100 --> 00:43:50,166 {\an7}for designers to express themselves. 946 00:43:52,100 --> 00:43:54,409 HILFIGER: When I was 16 years old, 947 00:43:54,433 --> 00:43:57,476 {\an1}I was enamored with music and musicians, 948 00:43:57,500 --> 00:44:01,309 and I couldn't play so I couldn't be a musician, 949 00:44:01,333 --> 00:44:03,176 {\an1}but I wanted to look like a rock star. 950 00:44:03,200 --> 00:44:08,542 {\an1}So I opened a small shop called People's Place 951 00:44:08,566 --> 00:44:10,042 {\an1}and started selling jeans. 952 00:44:10,066 --> 00:44:13,442 {\an1}At one point I was thinking, "I think I could design 953 00:44:13,466 --> 00:44:16,576 {\an1}better jeans than we're buying from vendors." 954 00:44:16,600 --> 00:44:18,176 ♪ ♪ 955 00:44:18,200 --> 00:44:20,309 McCLENDON: The fashion industry realizes 956 00:44:20,333 --> 00:44:22,676 {\an1}that there's this massive market 957 00:44:22,700 --> 00:44:24,842 {\an1}for all things denim. 958 00:44:24,866 --> 00:44:29,476 {\an1}Now it's sleek, high-rise, tight... 959 00:44:29,500 --> 00:44:31,809 ♪ ♪ 960 00:44:31,833 --> 00:44:35,342 {\an1}There becomes a certain kind of glamor associated with jeans 961 00:44:35,366 --> 00:44:36,509 for the first time. 962 00:44:36,533 --> 00:44:38,609 ♪ ♪ 963 00:44:38,633 --> 00:44:40,042 HILFIGER: It was a turning point, 964 00:44:40,066 --> 00:44:43,009 {\an1}which became the era of designer jeans. 965 00:44:43,033 --> 00:44:45,876 {\an1}There was Gloria Vanderbilt, 966 00:44:45,900 --> 00:44:47,142 Calvin Klein... 967 00:44:47,166 --> 00:44:48,909 {\an7}SQUARE: There was Halston... HILFIGER: Sasson... 968 00:44:48,933 --> 00:44:51,342 {\an7}McCLENDON: Fiorucci... HILFIGER: Sergio Valente... 969 00:44:51,366 --> 00:44:53,942 {\an1}We were really trying to outdo 970 00:44:53,966 --> 00:44:55,709 {\an1}one another with sexiness. 971 00:44:55,733 --> 00:44:59,542 (whistling) 972 00:44:59,566 --> 00:45:03,009 {\an1}But when Brooke Shields, as a young teen, 973 00:45:03,033 --> 00:45:08,009 {\an1}was the Calvin Klein poster girl, I think heads turned. 974 00:45:08,033 --> 00:45:11,042 {\an1}You wanna know what comes between me and my Calvins? 975 00:45:11,066 --> 00:45:12,209 {\an1}Nothing. 976 00:45:12,233 --> 00:45:13,876 {\an8}ANNOUNCER: Calvin Klein Jeans. 977 00:45:13,900 --> 00:45:16,176 HILFIGER: Everyone said, "Okay, well, this is going to 978 00:45:16,200 --> 00:45:17,709 a whole new level." 979 00:45:17,733 --> 00:45:20,009 WOMAN: ♪ You've got the look I want to know better ♪ 980 00:45:20,033 --> 00:45:23,476 McCLENDON: It is like a tidal wave over the whole industry. 981 00:45:23,500 --> 00:45:25,009 ♪ ♪ 982 00:45:25,033 --> 00:45:26,876 GEORGE-WARREN: People started actually 983 00:45:26,900 --> 00:45:29,876 {\an1}verbalizing what everyone had known for a hundred years, 984 00:45:29,900 --> 00:45:31,876 {\an1}that blue jeans are sexy. 985 00:45:31,900 --> 00:45:36,476 WOMAN: ♪ Jordache has the fit that's right. ♪ 986 00:45:36,500 --> 00:45:38,976 McCLENDON: By the late '70s, designer jeans 987 00:45:39,000 --> 00:45:43,309 were chipping away at the fashion hierarchy. 988 00:45:43,333 --> 00:45:46,642 {\an1}They make it acceptable for anyone 989 00:45:46,666 --> 00:45:51,276 {\an1}to wear a pair of jeans at any time or place. 990 00:45:51,300 --> 00:45:56,876 STEELE: Jeans undermine the idea of what fashion was supposed to be. 991 00:45:56,900 --> 00:46:00,109 {\an1}They were part of a more general democratization of fashion. 992 00:46:00,133 --> 00:46:01,476 (siren blaring) 993 00:46:01,500 --> 00:46:04,442 {\an1}It suddenly became possible to wear jeans 994 00:46:04,466 --> 00:46:07,042 {\an1}in almost all settings. 995 00:46:07,066 --> 00:46:08,376 ("Rapper's Delight" by Sugar Hill Gang playing) 996 00:46:08,400 --> 00:46:09,909 ♪ Hip hip hop and you don't stop ♪ 997 00:46:09,933 --> 00:46:11,576 {\an1}♪ We rock it out, baby, boppa to the boogity bang bang ♪ 998 00:46:11,600 --> 00:46:13,609 {\an1}♪ Boogie to the boogie, the beat ♪ 999 00:46:13,633 --> 00:46:17,909 JENKINS: In the late 1970s around the Bronx in New York City, 1000 00:46:17,933 --> 00:46:20,109 {\an1}we start to see hip hop emerge. 1001 00:46:20,133 --> 00:46:23,076 {\an1}And denim jeans become this sort of a uniform. 1002 00:46:23,100 --> 00:46:26,342 MAN: ♪ You see I'm six foot one and I'm tons of fun ♪ 1003 00:46:26,366 --> 00:46:28,142 {\an1}♪ And I dress to a T ♪ 1004 00:46:28,166 --> 00:46:30,009 {\an1}♪ You see I got more clothes than Muhammad Ali ♪ 1005 00:46:30,033 --> 00:46:32,042 {\an1}♪ And I dress so viciously ♪ 1006 00:46:32,066 --> 00:46:35,709 FORD: For African Americans, a pair of designer jeans 1007 00:46:35,733 --> 00:46:37,576 {\an1}came with a lot of value. 1008 00:46:37,600 --> 00:46:40,142 {\an1}That's why we get language coming straight out of hip hop, 1009 00:46:40,166 --> 00:46:43,342 {\an1}like "fresh," "dope," "fly." 1010 00:46:43,366 --> 00:46:45,476 MAN: ♪ And the rest is F-L-Y ♪ 1011 00:46:45,500 --> 00:46:48,909 FORD: You know, because that spoke to the value of clothing. 1012 00:46:48,933 --> 00:46:51,109 MAN: ♪ Everybody go hotel... ♪ 1013 00:46:51,133 --> 00:46:54,742 HILFIGER: Hip hop changed denim in a very big way. 1014 00:46:54,766 --> 00:46:59,576 {\an1}The hip hop stars started going on tour and doing MTV videos 1015 00:46:59,600 --> 00:47:03,009 {\an1}wearing really cool clothes. 1016 00:47:03,033 --> 00:47:07,942 {\an1}The way in which it was worn was very different. 1017 00:47:07,966 --> 00:47:09,242 MAN: ♪ Oh my Lord ♪ 1018 00:47:09,266 --> 00:47:11,476 {\an1}♪ Another corn chopped by the Wu-Tang sword ♪ 1019 00:47:11,500 --> 00:47:13,276 ♪ Hey hey hey ♪ 1020 00:47:13,300 --> 00:47:16,242 JENKINS: In the early '80s, with bands like Run DMC, 1021 00:47:16,266 --> 00:47:18,109 it's just more of a straight look, 1022 00:47:18,133 --> 00:47:19,442 {\an1}but then it becomes more baggy. 1023 00:47:19,466 --> 00:47:22,542 {\an1}♪ Blow up your project then take all your assets ♪ 1024 00:47:22,566 --> 00:47:24,609 {\an1}♪ 'Cause I came to shake the frame in half ♪ 1025 00:47:24,633 --> 00:47:28,142 FORD: And then they started to wear brands like Ralph Lauren, 1026 00:47:28,166 --> 00:47:31,376 {\an1}and Nautica, Tommy Hilfiger. 1027 00:47:31,400 --> 00:47:34,409 {\an1}Those brands represented a lifestyle that 1028 00:47:34,433 --> 00:47:37,376 {\an1}historically African Americans had been excluded from. 1029 00:47:37,400 --> 00:47:40,709 {\an1}I want to thank Snoop Doggy Dog and everybody on the show. 1030 00:47:40,733 --> 00:47:42,042 So wonderful... (cheers and applause) 1031 00:47:42,066 --> 00:47:45,842 SQUARE: I mean when we think about those brands, 1032 00:47:45,866 --> 00:47:49,476 {\an1}we think about the country club or yachting. 1033 00:47:49,500 --> 00:47:51,442 PUBA: ♪ Tommy Hilfiger top gear ♪ 1034 00:47:51,466 --> 00:47:53,842 {\an8}♪ Take no shorts I'm doing lovely in all sports ♪ 1035 00:47:53,866 --> 00:47:56,576 {\an7}♪ Even swing the pole at the hole in my golf course ♪ 1036 00:47:56,600 --> 00:47:57,742 {\an8}SQUARE: By putting a brand like 1037 00:47:57,766 --> 00:48:00,242 {\an1}Ralph Lauren or Tommy Hilfiger on their backs, 1038 00:48:00,266 --> 00:48:02,576 {\an1}they were changing the meaning of the brand. 1039 00:48:02,600 --> 00:48:03,942 {\an1}This brand that's associated 1040 00:48:03,966 --> 00:48:06,976 {\an1}with all-American identity or whiteness becomes associated 1041 00:48:07,000 --> 00:48:09,042 {\an1}with like hip hop culture. 1042 00:48:09,066 --> 00:48:11,109 {\an1}♪ K7 and The Swing Kids ♪ 1043 00:48:11,133 --> 00:48:13,409 {\an1}♪ Da ding de ding de ding de de de ding ding ♪ 1044 00:48:13,433 --> 00:48:14,410 ♪ Da ding de ding ♪ 1045 00:48:14,434 --> 00:48:15,876 {\an1}♪ De ding de de de ding ♪ 1046 00:48:15,900 --> 00:48:19,209 ♪ De de de ding ding de de de ding ding ♪ 1047 00:48:19,233 --> 00:48:21,276 {\an1}("Come Baby Come" by K7 playing) 1048 00:48:21,300 --> 00:48:24,542 JENKINS: Not only do we see hip hop artists able to remix 1049 00:48:24,566 --> 00:48:26,142 {\an1}sounds, and, you know, 1050 00:48:26,166 --> 00:48:28,442 {\an1}like in music, but they're also able to take clothing 1051 00:48:28,466 --> 00:48:31,276 {\an1}and remix it for their own means. 1052 00:48:31,300 --> 00:48:32,776 MAN: ♪ Yeah, yeah ♪ 1053 00:48:32,800 --> 00:48:36,676 JENKINS: To get your hands on that clothing and wear it 1054 00:48:36,700 --> 00:48:38,109 {\an1}is subversive in a way. 1055 00:48:38,133 --> 00:48:40,442 {\an1}Because it is saying, "I'm not supposed to be wearing this, 1056 00:48:40,466 --> 00:48:41,676 {\an1}but look at me, I am." 1057 00:48:41,700 --> 00:48:43,576 {\an7}("Come Baby Come" continues) 1058 00:48:43,600 --> 00:48:45,476 {\an7}Hip hop really helped to take command 1059 00:48:45,500 --> 00:48:47,609 {\an7}of the denim narrative. 1060 00:48:47,633 --> 00:48:49,409 MAN: Bring it! 1061 00:48:49,433 --> 00:48:54,642 {\an1}("Come Baby Come" continues) 1062 00:48:54,666 --> 00:48:56,342 {\an1}K7 and the Swing Kids! 1063 00:48:56,366 --> 00:48:57,442 {\an1}Peace! 1064 00:48:57,466 --> 00:49:01,233 {\an1}(cheers and applause) 1065 00:49:07,400 --> 00:49:12,109 ♪ ♪ 1066 00:49:12,133 --> 00:49:15,209 STEELE: Jeans are probably the single most iconic garment 1067 00:49:15,233 --> 00:49:17,509 of the 20th century. 1068 00:49:17,533 --> 00:49:18,876 Each generation 1069 00:49:18,900 --> 00:49:22,642 {\an1}keeps rediscovering how jeans can be meaningful for them. 1070 00:49:22,666 --> 00:49:26,133 ♪ ♪ 1071 00:49:33,133 --> 00:49:34,709 ROCKMAN: Blue jeans are an amazing thing 1072 00:49:34,733 --> 00:49:35,842 {\an1}for anyone trying to tell 1073 00:49:35,866 --> 00:49:39,109 a broader history of the United States. 1074 00:49:39,133 --> 00:49:41,342 {\an1}It allows you to talk about slavery. 1075 00:49:41,366 --> 00:49:45,976 {\an1}It allows you to talk about fashion and consumerism. 1076 00:49:46,000 --> 00:49:48,709 {\an1}It allows you to talk about cool and the invention of cool. 1077 00:49:48,733 --> 00:49:52,576 {\an1}And to have all of these things under the same heading 1078 00:49:52,600 --> 00:49:54,109 {\an1}is really quite remarkable. 1079 00:49:54,133 --> 00:49:56,442 ♪ ♪ 1080 00:49:56,466 --> 00:50:01,876 McCLENDON: Denim and its history is a perfect metaphor 1081 00:50:01,900 --> 00:50:07,709 {\an1}for where we find ourselves as a culture right now. 1082 00:50:07,733 --> 00:50:12,442 {\an1}Becoming much more aware of the silences, 1083 00:50:12,466 --> 00:50:16,342 of those groups 1084 00:50:16,366 --> 00:50:20,109 {\an1}that have been pushed to the side. 1085 00:50:20,133 --> 00:50:23,942 {\an1}Exposing and celebrating 1086 00:50:23,966 --> 00:50:26,809 {\an1}these narratives that haven't made it into 1087 00:50:26,833 --> 00:50:30,776 {\an1}that typical telling of jeans 1088 00:50:30,800 --> 00:50:34,409 {\an1}is part of the work to change our understanding 1089 00:50:34,433 --> 00:50:35,776 of American history. 1090 00:50:35,800 --> 00:50:41,109 ♪ ♪ 1091 00:50:41,133 --> 00:50:44,876 FORD: It's a long journey from "Negro cloth" 1092 00:50:44,900 --> 00:50:49,776 {\an1}to hip hop denim and baggy jeans ruling the denim market 1093 00:50:49,800 --> 00:50:52,409 in the 1990s. 1094 00:50:52,433 --> 00:50:56,642 {\an1}As I sit here in a denim jacket, you know, it's clear to me that 1095 00:50:56,666 --> 00:51:00,476 {\an1}we can see the rich tapestry of where we've been as a people, 1096 00:51:00,500 --> 00:51:04,376 as a nation. 1097 00:51:04,400 --> 00:51:07,476 ♪ ♪ 1098 00:51:07,500 --> 00:51:08,676 JENKINS: The thing about the denim jean 1099 00:51:08,700 --> 00:51:12,242 {\an1}is it tells a story about who we are. 1100 00:51:12,266 --> 00:51:15,909 {\an1}It's a garment that's almost like keeping the fingerprints 1101 00:51:15,933 --> 00:51:17,542 of our history... 1102 00:51:17,566 --> 00:51:22,009 {\an1}the creases, the tears, all of it. 1103 00:51:22,033 --> 00:51:23,342 {\an1}You know, you can repair it all you want, 1104 00:51:23,366 --> 00:51:26,676 {\an1}mend it all you want, but the scars of that, you know, 1105 00:51:26,700 --> 00:51:28,676 {\an1}the memory, that material memory 1106 00:51:28,700 --> 00:51:30,076 will remain there. 1107 00:51:30,100 --> 00:51:35,233 ♪ ♪ 1108 00:51:40,300 --> 00:51:42,142 {\an8}ANNOUNCER: Next time, 1109 00:51:42,166 --> 00:51:44,376 {\an8}the story of three Black diplomats 1110 00:51:44,400 --> 00:51:46,442 {\an7}who broke racial barriers. 1111 00:51:46,466 --> 00:51:49,609 {\an8}WOMAN: The State Department was extremely elitist. 1112 00:51:49,633 --> 00:51:50,876 {\an8}MAN: They could never conceive 1113 00:51:50,900 --> 00:51:52,876 {\an8}that a Black man could ever be an ambassador. 1114 00:51:52,900 --> 00:51:55,142 {\an8}WOMAN: It is hard to do the work of America 1115 00:51:55,166 --> 00:51:58,009 {\an7}when you have been Jim Crowed by your own government. 1116 00:51:58,033 --> 00:51:59,709 {\an8}ANNOUNCER: "The American Diplomat," 1117 00:51:59,733 --> 00:52:02,109 {\an8}next time, on "American Experience." 1118 00:52:02,133 --> 00:52:05,676 {\an7}Made possible in part by Liberty Mutual Insurance. 1119 00:52:05,700 --> 00:52:09,376 {\an7}"American Experience: Riveted: The History of Jeans" 1120 00:52:09,400 --> 00:52:11,042 {\an8}is available on DVD. 1121 00:52:11,066 --> 00:52:15,776 {\an7}To order, visit ShopPBS or call 1-800-PLAY-PBS. 1122 00:52:15,800 --> 00:52:18,276 {\an7}"American Experience" is also available 1123 00:52:18,300 --> 00:52:22,000 {\an8}with PBS Passport and on Amazon Prime Video. 1124 00:52:23,333 --> 00:52:27,066 {\an8}♪ ♪