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[din of a busy city street]
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♪
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[car alarm blaring]
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JAMES SULLIVAN: You don't
really stop and think about why
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half of the population
of the planet is wearing them
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on any given day.
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We just are.
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♪
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MELISSA LEVENTON:
Have you ever asked yourself
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why everyone you know
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owns multiple pairs of jeans?
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JONATHAN SQUARE:
Dress it up, dress it down...
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TOMMY HILFIGER: People
know that when they wear them
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they look cool.
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EMMA McCLENDON:
This one garment can be both
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universal and individual at the same time.
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There is nothing like that
in the history of clothing.
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VALERIE STEELE: And, in fact,
Yves Saint Laurent said he wished
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00:01:02,959 --> 00:01:05,686
he had invented jeans,
that he thought they were
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the most important item of
fashion in the 20th century.
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MAN:
They wore them in the mines,
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on the cattle trails.
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My own father wore them toppling
200-foot Douglas firs.
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Jeans are the quintessential
American garment.
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NEWS ANNOUNCER:
120 years later, gentlemen,
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blue jeans are still basically
the same pair of pants
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that came out of the California Gold Rush.
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STEPHEN ARON: But so much
of the story we tell about jeans
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is a myth.
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NEWS ANNOUNCER: The
strongest pants the West has ever seen.
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TANISHA FORD: It is about
the cowboys, and the West,
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it's about Levi Strauss,
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and the Gold Rush.
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[horse whinnying]
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McCLENDON:
It's always the same story...
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GENE VINCENT:
♪ Bluejean bop ♪
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♪ Bluejean bop, baby. ♪
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McCLENDON: After the
cowboys, jeans got picked up
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by rockers and bikers and hippies
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and now everybody wears them.
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VINCENT: ♪ Bluejean bop,
bluejean, bluejean bop ♪
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McCLENDON:
But denim has been around
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much, much longer.
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It has a long and deep history
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with so many other fascinating stories
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that are not always told.
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[applause]
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♪
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ANNOUNCER: In 1850, Levi
Strauss invented the toughest pants
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the West had ever known:
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Levi's blue jeans.
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SULLIVAN: Blue jeans do
represent American culture
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to the rest of the world,
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but like any other good
product of America,
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you know, we, we borrow all the best ideas
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from, from everywhere.
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SINGER:
♪ Levi's ♪
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SULLIVAN:
The real fact of the matter is
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that blue jeans themselves
originated somewhere else.
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SINGER: ♪ That Levi's were
surely the best things of all ♪
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♪ To roll out of
America's West ♪
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♪ To roll out of
America's West. ♪
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JENKINS:
The story of denim jeans
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is so much more than Wrangler,
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it's more than Levi Strauss,
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especially when it comes to the material.
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♪
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SULLIVAN: We're not quite sure
exactly where the fabric originated,
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but there are several hints.
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One is Dungri, India, where as
early as the 17th century,
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they were creating
a coarse cloth for workers,
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eventually called dungaree.
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There's the Genoans of Italy,
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who had a type of sail cloth
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that was fashioned into work pants.
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And there's Nimes, France,
where the cloth there was known
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as "serge de Nimes."
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Not always, but very often,
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these various types of cloth
were dyed blue,
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probably to hide dirt as much as anything.
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GOODY: So, we have blue "jean" from Genoa,
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we have blue "de Nimes" or denim
coming from Nimes,
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but when we make it into pants in America,
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we end up morphing the garment
into blue jeans.
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♪
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SULLIVAN: People don't necessarily
think about how their blue jeans
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came to be blue.
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Historically, that's because of
the indigo dye.
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Centuries ago, indigo was said
to be worth its weight in gold.
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Competition for it was so fierce
Europeans actually called it
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the "devil's dye."
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CATHERINE McKINLEY:
Indigo is in fact a weed.
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The process of turning indigo
from this small green leaf
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into a dye is a very delicate process;
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so only the most skilled
are able to do this.
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♪
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GOODY: One of the neatest
things about dying with indigo
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is the dye vat is green;
it's not blue.
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♪
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And when you introduce a fabric
like denim to the dye vat,
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it comes out green.
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And then, as it oxidizes in
our atmosphere, it turns blue.
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It is magic.
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Indigo dyeing is magic.
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♪
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McKINLEY: In many cultures,
indigo cloth has a spiritual importance.
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In Africa, the cloth
is considered the next layer
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to the skin.
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It holds the person's soul, their spirit.
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♪
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Africans have had a long history
of working indigo and knew
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the special process involved
in making the dye
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and in dyeing cloth.
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♪
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SETH ROCKMAN: And of course many
African captives who became enslaved
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in the new world brought with
them knowledge of how
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to extract the blue from the plant,
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and how to fix the blue to fabrics.
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Indigo is one of the ways
in which slave-holding
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became tied to the economic fortunes
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of the colonial experiment
in the Americas.
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♪
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McKINLEY: So in the
mid-1700s, there was this labor
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that had been extracted from Africa,
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and indigo presents itself as this thing
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with economic possibility.
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And then when you add to it
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moving the dye stuff from one
end of the world to the other,
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it only increased in value.
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♪
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And Eliza Lucas benefited enormously
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from the impact of this trade.
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DAINA BERRY: Eliza Lucas has
been credited as literally producing
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indigo in America.
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She's been credited as a botanist.
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She's even written about
in elementary school
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and high school textbooks.
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McKINLEY: Eliza Lucas was the
daughter of a colonial governor.
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She had studied botany,
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and when Eliza was a teenager,
her father bought her,
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among many other plants, indigo.
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EVAN MORRISON: The gift
came from perhaps Antigua.
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The South needed something
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to add to crop rotation, and tobacco
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was something cultivated here.
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Rice was cultivated here.
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Adding indigo into your crop rotation
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was a way to find additional profit.
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♪
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BERRY: Once Eliza gets
her hands on the indigo seeds,
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it takes off in terms of production.
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Indigo was a second cash crop
behind rice in South Carolina.
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And on the eve of the American Revolution,
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more than a million pounds of indigo
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was being shipped overseas.
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♪
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Eliza Lucas was probably one of
the most well-known producers
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of indigo in colonial America.
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But Eliza's hands weren't blue.
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She didn't get her hands dirty
with the indigo crop.
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The knowledge to grow indigo
came from enslaved people.
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They're the ones that did
the work that allowed her
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to become this great planter
that she's been credited for.
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♪
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McKINLEY:
Indigo really encapsulates
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00:08:05,968 --> 00:08:10,559
this problem of how do we begin
to tell the story
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of captive people and how we document
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their contributions in America,
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and to the denim history in particular.
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BERRY:
We know the names
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of all the enslaved people that were owned
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by the Lucas and Pinckney family.
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MAN: "Isaac, Pompey,
Molly, and their child, Nanny...
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00:08:30,026 --> 00:08:32,166
Mary and her children,
Prince and Be..."
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00:08:32,201 --> 00:08:35,653
BERRY: These are generations of families.
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00:08:35,687 --> 00:08:37,689
We're not just talking about
a husband and a wife,
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00:08:37,724 --> 00:08:40,209
or a mom and a dad.
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We see grandparents on this list.
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MAN: "Nanny and her children. Juno..."
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BERRY: They're the ones
that came from communities that dyed
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all kinds of cloth in beautiful colors.
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00:08:50,599 --> 00:08:52,808
They're the ones that had
the knowledge of indigo
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00:08:52,842 --> 00:08:55,707
and created generations
of wealth for these
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00:08:55,742 --> 00:08:57,675
white slave-holding families.
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MORRISON:
Back in the 19th century,
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00:09:05,372 --> 00:09:09,100
denim really dominated,
because it's a strong weave.
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00:09:09,134 --> 00:09:12,517
So with the rise in durable cotton goods,
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00:09:12,552 --> 00:09:17,108
denim made itself the accepted second skin
193
00:09:17,142 --> 00:09:19,075
in terms of cloth that was
put into clothing
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00:09:19,110 --> 00:09:20,525
meant for laborious work.
195
00:09:20,560 --> 00:09:24,460
ROCKMAN: As American cotton
manufacturing begins to sort of
196
00:09:24,494 --> 00:09:27,428
find its footing in the 18-teens
and 1820s,
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00:09:27,463 --> 00:09:30,570
mills in Rhode Island,
mills in Massachusetts,
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00:09:30,604 --> 00:09:33,814
mills in New Hampshire,
they need a source of cotton.
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00:09:33,849 --> 00:09:37,024
And the only source of cotton to
make these mills
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00:09:37,059 --> 00:09:38,508
economically viable
201
00:09:38,543 --> 00:09:41,270
is cotton that's being grown
by enslaved men, women,
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and children in the American South.
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ANNOUNCER:
Cotton from Alabama,
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00:09:45,136 --> 00:09:47,621
cotton from Louisiana,
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00:09:47,656 --> 00:09:49,140
Texas cotton, Mississippi cotton,
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00:09:49,174 --> 00:09:51,349
cotton from Georgia,
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00:09:51,383 --> 00:09:53,489
cotton from Charleston.
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It takes two pounds of cotton
to make a pair of jeans.
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GOODY: When you follow
the trail of cotton being grown
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00:10:00,116 --> 00:10:05,328
in this country in the South,
being shipped to the North,
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00:10:05,363 --> 00:10:08,677
being woven into blue jeans,
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00:10:08,711 --> 00:10:12,646
and then being shipped down back
to the South,
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00:10:12,681 --> 00:10:13,647
where is it going?
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00:10:13,682 --> 00:10:15,028
Who's wearing it?
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00:10:15,062 --> 00:10:17,962
There's a database that's called
Freedom on the Move
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00:10:17,996 --> 00:10:20,481
that has cataloged and crowdsourced
217
00:10:20,516 --> 00:10:23,830
runaway slave advertisements
from all over the United States.
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00:10:23,864 --> 00:10:26,004
♪
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00:10:26,039 --> 00:10:29,007
So slavers would put an ad
describing the person
220
00:10:29,042 --> 00:10:31,182
with detailed descriptions
of what they had on them
221
00:10:31,216 --> 00:10:32,493
when they left.
222
00:10:32,528 --> 00:10:34,254
What clothing they were wearing,
what type of clothing,
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00:10:34,288 --> 00:10:36,359
what color the clothing was.
224
00:10:36,394 --> 00:10:39,915
MAN: "Had on when he left, dark
jeans clothes, and a black hat."
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00:10:39,949 --> 00:10:43,573
MAN 2: "He carried off a
blue cloth coat, one blue jeans,
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00:10:43,608 --> 00:10:45,610
and two or three pair
pantaloons."
227
00:10:45,645 --> 00:10:48,544
WOMAN: "Has on a blue Kentucky
jeans coat and striped pants."
228
00:10:48,578 --> 00:10:51,305
MAN 3: "... wore a brown jeans
coat, and blue jeans pants..."
229
00:10:51,340 --> 00:10:52,962
MAN 4:
"New brown jeans."
230
00:10:52,997 --> 00:10:54,654
MAN 5: "Mixed jeans,
frock coat, and pantaloons."
231
00:10:54,688 --> 00:10:56,690
WOMAN 2:
"A pair of jeans pants."
232
00:10:56,725 --> 00:11:01,143
"... a blue jeans homespun
dress coat."
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00:11:01,177 --> 00:11:03,041
BERRY: And so you have
advertisements that have very
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00:11:03,076 --> 00:11:07,321
detailed information
about enslaved people.
235
00:11:07,356 --> 00:11:09,151
And enslaved people were,
in fact, wearing jeans.
236
00:11:09,185 --> 00:11:11,601
♪
237
00:11:11,636 --> 00:11:15,364
ROCKMAN: This is a story in which
coerced labor produces a raw material
238
00:11:15,398 --> 00:11:18,816
that is exported from one region
to a second region
239
00:11:18,850 --> 00:11:22,440
and which is then sold back
in an ongoing cycle.
240
00:11:22,474 --> 00:11:25,098
♪
241
00:11:25,132 --> 00:11:27,583
An increasing number of
American slaves will come
242
00:11:27,617 --> 00:11:29,412
to be wearing cloth that's manufactured
243
00:11:29,447 --> 00:11:33,416
in the United States, that
travels under a number of names,
244
00:11:33,451 --> 00:11:35,487
that sometimes goes under
245
00:11:35,522 --> 00:11:38,076
an umbrella category of
"Negro cloth."
246
00:11:38,111 --> 00:11:40,665
♪
247
00:11:40,700 --> 00:11:42,805
This is one of the powerful
things about clothing, right?
248
00:11:42,840 --> 00:11:45,428
The ways in which it can be
used, not only for individuals
249
00:11:45,463 --> 00:11:48,604
to perform their own identity,
but also for the ways in which
250
00:11:48,638 --> 00:11:51,124
a dominant society can stigmatize people.
251
00:11:51,158 --> 00:11:54,092
♪
252
00:11:56,646 --> 00:11:58,441
SULLIVAN:
So blue jeans
253
00:11:58,476 --> 00:12:01,721
clearly existed,
clearly predated Levi Strauss.
254
00:12:01,755 --> 00:12:04,654
You're looking at farmers,
255
00:12:04,689 --> 00:12:06,277
you're looking at factory workers.
256
00:12:06,311 --> 00:12:09,590
Miners were wearing denim.
257
00:12:09,625 --> 00:12:10,730
The enslaved peoples of America
258
00:12:10,764 --> 00:12:13,422
were clothed very often in denim.
259
00:12:13,456 --> 00:12:19,290
McCLENDON: Basically
any type of labor, hard work,
260
00:12:19,324 --> 00:12:21,741
that you can think of
in the late 19th century,
261
00:12:21,775 --> 00:12:24,088
you would have found people wearing denim.
262
00:12:24,122 --> 00:12:26,849
Jeans did exist,
263
00:12:26,884 --> 00:12:27,954
but they ripped.
264
00:12:27,988 --> 00:12:31,233
They ripped and they wore down
265
00:12:31,267 --> 00:12:32,337
and they became tatters.
266
00:12:32,372 --> 00:12:33,442
They became unusable.
267
00:12:33,476 --> 00:12:34,684
They didn't last as long.
268
00:12:34,719 --> 00:12:38,309
Anybody who has ever torn a seam
269
00:12:38,343 --> 00:12:41,174
through exertion knows
270
00:12:41,208 --> 00:12:43,659
that there are certain points
in garment structures
271
00:12:43,693 --> 00:12:47,559
that are more stressed than others.
272
00:12:47,594 --> 00:12:50,252
So Jacob Davis is really sort of
the unsung hero here.
273
00:12:50,286 --> 00:12:51,874
♪
274
00:12:51,909 --> 00:12:56,120
MORRISON: Jacob Davis
was a tailor in Reno, Nevada,
275
00:12:56,154 --> 00:12:59,606
or somewhere thereabouts in the 1870s.
276
00:13:01,297 --> 00:13:05,681
ARON: Nevada was, you know,
one of the great bonanzas at the time.
277
00:13:05,715 --> 00:13:07,614
There's this enormous rush of people.
278
00:13:07,648 --> 00:13:11,756
And great fortunes are made
there from mining gold.
279
00:13:11,791 --> 00:13:15,139
But the greatest fortunes
that are made there are not made
280
00:13:15,173 --> 00:13:17,555
by individual prospectors.
281
00:13:17,589 --> 00:13:20,834
They're made by the people
who can sell goods to miners.
282
00:13:20,869 --> 00:13:25,080
MORRISON: So this lady
approached Jacob Davis and she said,
283
00:13:25,114 --> 00:13:26,909
"I have a portly husband
who continues to rip
284
00:13:26,944 --> 00:13:28,290
"his work pants,
285
00:13:28,324 --> 00:13:32,328
and I'd like you to construct
a sturdy pair for him."
286
00:13:32,363 --> 00:13:35,918
So he thought, "Well,
I have all these washer
287
00:13:35,953 --> 00:13:40,440
"and post rivets that people
put on these saddles.
288
00:13:40,474 --> 00:13:42,304
"Let's add these to all these
places he keeps
289
00:13:42,338 --> 00:13:43,512
ripping his pants."
290
00:13:43,546 --> 00:13:45,755
So he adds them to places like
291
00:13:45,790 --> 00:13:47,930
the fly and mouths of pockets,
292
00:13:47,965 --> 00:13:50,726
and even onto the mouth
of the back pocket,
293
00:13:50,760 --> 00:13:52,728
which is a patch pocket.
294
00:13:52,762 --> 00:13:54,523
Customer loved them.
295
00:13:54,557 --> 00:13:56,249
Obviously, word of mouth spread.
296
00:13:56,283 --> 00:13:59,286
Soon he had more customers
than he could handle,
297
00:13:59,321 --> 00:14:02,013
and he wanted to scale up the business,
298
00:14:02,048 --> 00:14:05,534
but he was one man in a
tailor shop in Reno, Nevada.
299
00:14:05,568 --> 00:14:08,295
So he contacted Levi Strauss,
300
00:14:08,330 --> 00:14:13,473
who was his dry good supplier
based in San Francisco,
301
00:14:13,507 --> 00:14:16,441
and offered him a partnership deal.
302
00:14:16,476 --> 00:14:18,443
He said, basically, "Let's go
into business together.
303
00:14:18,478 --> 00:14:19,755
"We need a patent.
304
00:14:19,789 --> 00:14:21,205
"We'll take out the patent,
305
00:14:21,239 --> 00:14:23,483
"and then we can make these riveted pants,
306
00:14:23,517 --> 00:14:26,417
because you have the wherewithal
to scale up."
307
00:14:26,451 --> 00:14:28,384
Levi agreed.
308
00:14:28,419 --> 00:14:32,906
The two of them filed for the
patent, and received it in 1873.
309
00:14:32,941 --> 00:14:34,666
NEWS ANCHOR:
The basic design has not changed
310
00:14:34,701 --> 00:14:37,600
in nearly a century and a half.
311
00:14:37,635 --> 00:14:40,189
Today, every pair of Levi blue jeans
312
00:14:40,224 --> 00:14:41,950
has six copper rivets
313
00:14:41,984 --> 00:14:45,229
that ensure the longevity
of each pair of pants.
314
00:14:45,263 --> 00:14:47,093
McCLENDON:
The rivets were crucial
315
00:14:47,127 --> 00:14:49,647
in the design for durability.
316
00:14:49,681 --> 00:14:50,786
It was like making
317
00:14:50,820 --> 00:14:52,926
some kind of, you know,
armor for your body,
318
00:14:52,961 --> 00:14:54,894
that could just hold up to anything.
319
00:14:54,928 --> 00:14:59,381
SULLIVAN: With the
addition of the copper rivets,
320
00:14:59,415 --> 00:15:03,626
the product becomes the most
durable form of workwear
321
00:15:03,661 --> 00:15:05,939
available to any working American.
322
00:15:05,974 --> 00:15:08,873
♪
323
00:15:08,908 --> 00:15:10,806
I'm looking for the ultimate jeans!
324
00:15:12,359 --> 00:15:16,122
[grunting loudly]
325
00:15:16,156 --> 00:15:17,157
Hya!
326
00:15:17,192 --> 00:15:19,919
♪
327
00:15:22,093 --> 00:15:24,130
McCLENDON:
At the end of the 19th century,
328
00:15:24,164 --> 00:15:27,547
Americans were still largely
working with their hands.
329
00:15:27,581 --> 00:15:31,137
Nearly 70% of workers
were toiling on farms,
330
00:15:31,171 --> 00:15:33,898
in factories, mines, or construction.
331
00:15:33,933 --> 00:15:39,386
This, of course, created
a huge market for jeans.
332
00:15:39,421 --> 00:15:40,974
But jeans initially weren't called jeans.
333
00:15:41,009 --> 00:15:44,426
They were called waist overalls.
334
00:15:44,460 --> 00:15:47,256
SULLIVAN: Overalls were so prevalent
in the culture that jeans were
335
00:15:47,291 --> 00:15:49,983
just a truncated version of overalls
336
00:15:50,018 --> 00:15:51,467
without the bib.
337
00:15:51,502 --> 00:15:53,883
That's where the term
"waist overalls" comes from.
338
00:15:53,918 --> 00:15:58,233
♪
339
00:15:58,267 --> 00:16:00,614
MORRISON:
So 1890,
340
00:16:00,649 --> 00:16:04,618
17 years of patent exclusivity
for this rivet reinforced pocket
341
00:16:04,653 --> 00:16:07,345
by Levi Strauss and Company ends.
342
00:16:07,380 --> 00:16:12,316
Now anyone can use the rivet
reinforced pocket that wants to,
343
00:16:12,350 --> 00:16:14,042
and everybody does it.
344
00:16:14,076 --> 00:16:17,217
LEVENTON: Once they
lose their patent protection,
345
00:16:17,252 --> 00:16:19,047
there are rivets everywhere,
346
00:16:19,081 --> 00:16:21,739
there are knockoff logos
and brands everywhere.
347
00:16:21,773 --> 00:16:25,674
♪
348
00:16:25,708 --> 00:16:28,159
MORRISON: So you have
companies called Can't Bust 'Em,
349
00:16:28,194 --> 00:16:29,885
Can't Rip 'Em,
350
00:16:29,919 --> 00:16:32,198
and Never Rip and Never Wear Out.
351
00:16:32,232 --> 00:16:36,443
SULLIVAN: There were brands
called Blackbear, Dubbleware, Dozfit.
352
00:16:36,478 --> 00:16:37,789
LEVENTON:
And Fitsu.
353
00:16:37,824 --> 00:16:38,894
MORRISON:
Boss of the Road...
354
00:16:38,928 --> 00:16:39,895
SULLIVAN:
Tuf Nut.
355
00:16:39,929 --> 00:16:40,861
MORRISON:
Stronghold...
356
00:16:42,311 --> 00:16:44,106
And so you have all these companies
357
00:16:44,141 --> 00:16:48,041
trying to push their version
of the work pant
358
00:16:48,076 --> 00:16:51,769
out into society,
359
00:16:51,803 --> 00:16:56,601
and we start to see so much
evolution going on within jeans.
360
00:16:56,636 --> 00:16:59,087
LEVENTON: We started with
one pocket and a button fly.
361
00:16:59,121 --> 00:17:00,674
SULLIVAN:
There were no belt loops.
362
00:17:00,709 --> 00:17:03,643
Most people wore suspenders.
363
00:17:03,677 --> 00:17:07,785
MORRISON: But in mining you
can't have a strap over your shoulder
364
00:17:07,819 --> 00:17:10,891
that could get snagged
and cause the mine to collapse.
365
00:17:10,926 --> 00:17:15,793
So several folks had a rope tied
around the waistband.
366
00:17:15,827 --> 00:17:17,829
LEVENTON:
Then a second pocket was added,
367
00:17:17,864 --> 00:17:20,280
and there was also a waist cinch.
368
00:17:20,315 --> 00:17:22,662
MORRISON:
And then they added zippers...
369
00:17:22,696 --> 00:17:24,112
SULLIVAN:
Belt loops...
370
00:17:24,146 --> 00:17:26,079
LEVENTON:
There was a rivet at the crotch.
371
00:17:26,114 --> 00:17:28,116
People had been complaining
about it for years.
372
00:17:28,150 --> 00:17:30,808
I think they were happy
to get rid of that rivet,
373
00:17:30,842 --> 00:17:32,879
and that has never come back.
374
00:17:35,123 --> 00:17:37,470
McCLENDON:
Denim was changing
375
00:17:37,504 --> 00:17:41,198
and so was America.
376
00:17:41,232 --> 00:17:43,096
That image of someone clad
in denim at the turn of
377
00:17:43,131 --> 00:17:47,307
the 20th century is inevitably,
you know, romanticized.
378
00:17:47,342 --> 00:17:53,865
And the reality is that people
of all different ages, races,
379
00:17:53,900 --> 00:17:57,214
and genders were wearing denim
during this time.
380
00:17:57,248 --> 00:17:59,319
Sharecroppers in the South,
381
00:17:59,354 --> 00:18:02,736
Chinese immigrants on the
transcontinental railway...
382
00:18:02,771 --> 00:18:04,497
ARON: As the word of the Gold Rush spreads
383
00:18:04,531 --> 00:18:08,501
not only across the nation,
but across the whole world,
384
00:18:08,535 --> 00:18:10,641
people really from all over the world
385
00:18:10,675 --> 00:18:14,714
come through, and often stay in,
San Francisco.
386
00:18:14,748 --> 00:18:17,199
♪
387
00:18:17,234 --> 00:18:18,269
Turning San Francisco overnight,
388
00:18:18,304 --> 00:18:20,409
not only into a booming boom town,
389
00:18:20,444 --> 00:18:25,345
but also into a place
where you have more diversity,
390
00:18:25,380 --> 00:18:27,865
a more cosmopolitan place
391
00:18:27,899 --> 00:18:30,626
than any other spot
on the face of the Earth.
392
00:18:30,661 --> 00:18:32,594
♪
393
00:18:32,628 --> 00:18:35,044
SULLIVAN: There was a huge
nativist outcry in San Francisco
394
00:18:35,079 --> 00:18:38,117
at the time...
the idea that other people
395
00:18:38,151 --> 00:18:40,740
from elsewhere are coming to
take our jobs away.
396
00:18:40,774 --> 00:18:43,363
♪
397
00:18:43,398 --> 00:18:46,849
ARON: The backlash galvanizes
an immense political movement,
398
00:18:46,884 --> 00:18:50,336
who make it their central platform to
399
00:18:50,370 --> 00:18:53,822
see the expulsion of Chinese labor.
400
00:18:53,856 --> 00:18:55,686
♪
401
00:18:55,720 --> 00:19:00,829
MORRISON: There's a rise in racism
you do see in the 1880s and '90s...
402
00:19:00,863 --> 00:19:03,038
"No Chinaman made your clothes,"
403
00:19:03,072 --> 00:19:07,939
and "Made by white labor only."
404
00:19:07,974 --> 00:19:11,288
SULLIVAN: Because Levi was
a San Francisco based company,
405
00:19:11,322 --> 00:19:15,188
they decided, "Okay, we're not
hiring any Chinese people.
406
00:19:15,223 --> 00:19:17,535
We're going to give the jobs to
the local white people."
407
00:19:17,570 --> 00:19:19,606
♪
408
00:19:19,641 --> 00:19:22,954
BERRY: I think it's a
challenge for us as we embrace
409
00:19:22,989 --> 00:19:24,577
how we came to be here,
410
00:19:24,611 --> 00:19:26,993
we have to embrace the whole
story and the whole history.
411
00:19:27,027 --> 00:19:28,615
♪
412
00:19:28,650 --> 00:19:31,722
Jeans are a great example to
think about American history
413
00:19:31,756 --> 00:19:33,448
and a way to go into parts
of American history
414
00:19:33,482 --> 00:19:35,415
that we haven't always addressed.
415
00:19:40,248 --> 00:19:41,973
[bulb flashes]
416
00:19:42,008 --> 00:19:45,080
MORRISON: During the Great
Depression and the Farm Securities Act,
417
00:19:45,114 --> 00:19:48,704
and the contracting of
photographers to go about
418
00:19:48,739 --> 00:19:51,880
the country to document everyday life,
419
00:19:51,914 --> 00:19:55,849
denim became symbolic of our nation.
420
00:19:55,884 --> 00:20:00,716
You see people on the West Coast
wearing jeans,
421
00:20:00,751 --> 00:20:03,409
and people laboring
in the ports and the shipyards.
422
00:20:03,443 --> 00:20:04,858
You see people
423
00:20:04,893 --> 00:20:08,137
in the Empire State sitting on
I-beams during lunch breaks.
424
00:20:08,172 --> 00:20:11,624
And you see tobacco farmers
with sun-faded overalls
425
00:20:11,658 --> 00:20:13,971
and it became this common identity
426
00:20:14,005 --> 00:20:16,905
that I think helps the country
427
00:20:16,939 --> 00:20:19,632
to still feel unified
even during dark times.
428
00:20:19,666 --> 00:20:22,635
NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER: The
knives are cutting; the load piles high.
429
00:20:22,669 --> 00:20:24,982
The sun beats down from the August sky.
430
00:20:25,016 --> 00:20:28,468
We built our freedom
and strength this way.
431
00:20:28,503 --> 00:20:30,470
We're building it still together.
432
00:20:30,505 --> 00:20:32,265
SULLIVAN:
Up until about the 1930s,
433
00:20:32,300 --> 00:20:35,613
denim was really worn out of necessity.
434
00:20:35,648 --> 00:20:37,615
ANNOUNCER: When we
get together we're hard to stop.
435
00:20:37,650 --> 00:20:39,376
Working together...
436
00:20:39,410 --> 00:20:42,275
SULLIVAN: It wasn't until those
years and beyond that the product
437
00:20:42,310 --> 00:20:45,796
went from a necessity to a fashion.
438
00:20:45,830 --> 00:20:47,349
[whip cracking]
439
00:20:47,384 --> 00:20:49,662
A lot of that had to do with
this nostalgia
440
00:20:49,696 --> 00:20:52,285
for the American West.
441
00:20:52,320 --> 00:20:55,426
MAN:
Hey, come back with them horses!
442
00:20:55,461 --> 00:20:57,290
[gunshots]
443
00:20:57,325 --> 00:20:59,568
HOLLY GEORGE-WARREN:
Thanks to westerns,
444
00:20:59,603 --> 00:21:03,227
cowboys became the American figure
445
00:21:03,262 --> 00:21:05,540
that kind of helped us get out
of the Great Depression
446
00:21:05,574 --> 00:21:07,783
in a way.
447
00:21:07,818 --> 00:21:09,026
We didn't have royalty
448
00:21:09,060 --> 00:21:11,028
like in England and other
European countries,
449
00:21:11,062 --> 00:21:12,340
but we had cowboys
450
00:21:12,374 --> 00:21:13,824
wearing blue jeans.
451
00:21:13,858 --> 00:21:15,308
Thank you so much.
452
00:21:15,343 --> 00:21:16,723
GEORGE-WARREN: They
were our knights in shining armor.
453
00:21:16,758 --> 00:21:20,002
Follow me, ma'am,
and you'll never go astray.
454
00:21:20,037 --> 00:21:21,935
Right this way.
455
00:21:21,970 --> 00:21:25,076
♪
456
00:21:25,111 --> 00:21:27,665
ARON: It's hard for people
today to really appreciate
457
00:21:27,700 --> 00:21:30,565
how big the western was.
458
00:21:30,599 --> 00:21:33,637
As the United States is
transformed from being
459
00:21:33,671 --> 00:21:35,777
a rural and agrarian nation
460
00:21:35,811 --> 00:21:40,816
to one in which most people
live in cities or towns,
461
00:21:40,851 --> 00:21:44,372
there is a nostalgic embrace
462
00:21:44,406 --> 00:21:46,684
of the frontier world lost,
463
00:21:46,719 --> 00:21:50,654
and the cowboys in those
westerns almost always
464
00:21:50,688 --> 00:21:51,655
were wearing jeans.
465
00:21:51,689 --> 00:21:56,211
♪
466
00:21:56,245 --> 00:21:59,870
And yet, there's no question
that when we look more closely
467
00:21:59,904 --> 00:22:03,667
at the ways in which jeans
come into the West,
468
00:22:03,701 --> 00:22:06,186
the story turns out to be much
more problematic.
469
00:22:06,221 --> 00:22:08,948
♪
470
00:22:08,982 --> 00:22:12,365
The stories we tell are all white people.
471
00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:16,369
In fact, the reality of life
in the American West
472
00:22:16,404 --> 00:22:19,061
was much more multi-ethnic.
473
00:22:19,096 --> 00:22:22,375
You know, a significant portion
of the workforce
474
00:22:22,410 --> 00:22:25,102
were people of color...
475
00:22:25,136 --> 00:22:26,379
people from Mexico,
476
00:22:26,414 --> 00:22:28,899
Native Americans,
477
00:22:28,933 --> 00:22:30,383
African Americans
probably making up an eighth
478
00:22:30,418 --> 00:22:32,972
to a quarter of the cowboy workforce.
479
00:22:33,006 --> 00:22:35,250
♪
480
00:22:35,284 --> 00:22:37,563
So we have a much more complicated reality
481
00:22:37,597 --> 00:22:40,911
that contrasts with the whitening
482
00:22:40,945 --> 00:22:43,189
of those figures in the westerns.
483
00:22:43,223 --> 00:22:48,056
♪
484
00:22:48,090 --> 00:22:49,713
McCLENDON: Of course,
Hollywood's take on the cowboy
485
00:22:49,747 --> 00:22:52,405
was just the start of denim spreading
486
00:22:52,440 --> 00:22:54,580
beyond the working class.
487
00:22:54,614 --> 00:22:58,480
Now this shift is, is happening
488
00:22:58,515 --> 00:23:02,415
in an era of huge economic schisms.
489
00:23:02,450 --> 00:23:07,006
The vast majority of people
were really struggling
490
00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:08,663
during the Great Depression,
491
00:23:08,697 --> 00:23:10,803
but there continued to be
492
00:23:10,837 --> 00:23:14,427
an elite class of individuals.
493
00:23:14,462 --> 00:23:15,601
They still traveled.
494
00:23:15,635 --> 00:23:17,085
They still shopped.
495
00:23:17,119 --> 00:23:20,606
MAN:
♪ If you want to be a cowboy ♪
496
00:23:20,640 --> 00:23:23,056
♪ Just come along with me ♪
497
00:23:23,091 --> 00:23:25,162
♪ If westward you'd be going. ♪
498
00:23:25,196 --> 00:23:26,853
SULLIVAN:
One consequence at the time
499
00:23:26,888 --> 00:23:31,582
was that this idea of the
dude ranch came about.
500
00:23:31,617 --> 00:23:33,481
The dude ranch was essentially
501
00:23:33,515 --> 00:23:37,830
a getaway, like sort of a spa
getaway for wealthy Easterners.
502
00:23:37,864 --> 00:23:40,349
MAN: ♪ Get yourself some wooly chaps ♪
503
00:23:40,384 --> 00:23:42,800
♪ Or can of beans in pails ♪
504
00:23:42,835 --> 00:23:47,115
♪ Then saddle up a wild mustang
and head out on the trail. ♪
505
00:23:47,149 --> 00:23:48,530
ADRIENNE ROSE BITAR:
Because of the collapse
506
00:23:48,565 --> 00:23:51,982
of many of the sources of income
based on cattle ranching
507
00:23:52,016 --> 00:23:54,087
and other traditional
agricultural pursuits,
508
00:23:54,122 --> 00:23:56,124
many working cattle ranches
509
00:23:56,158 --> 00:23:58,298
turned their attention to dudes,
510
00:23:58,333 --> 00:24:00,231
which was a more reliable source
of income.
511
00:24:00,266 --> 00:24:04,891
MAN: ♪ The dude ranch cowhands
demand the choicest roast ♪
512
00:24:04,926 --> 00:24:08,067
♪ They once ate beans and bacon
but now it's quail on toast. ♪
513
00:24:08,101 --> 00:24:10,069
BITAR: Many of these
ranches were very remote.
514
00:24:10,103 --> 00:24:15,488
It might take two weeks to even
travel by train and horseback.
515
00:24:15,523 --> 00:24:17,214
MAN:
♪ Yippee-ki-yay ♪
516
00:24:17,248 --> 00:24:18,284
♪ Ki-yay ♪
♪ Ki-oh ♪
517
00:24:18,318 --> 00:24:20,079
BITAR:
They were expensive.
518
00:24:20,113 --> 00:24:22,150
They accepted paying guests
519
00:24:22,184 --> 00:24:25,222
to participate in all the ranch chores...
520
00:24:25,256 --> 00:24:27,604
to herd cattle, to brand cattle.
521
00:24:27,638 --> 00:24:30,883
MAN: ♪ Each wrangling
cowhand is acting as a guide ♪
522
00:24:30,917 --> 00:24:32,919
♪ He's rounding up
the moonbeams ♪
523
00:24:32,954 --> 00:24:35,163
♪ For the lady at his side ♪
524
00:24:35,197 --> 00:24:36,751
♪ Yippee-ki-yay ♪
♪ Ki-yay ♪
525
00:24:36,785 --> 00:24:40,375
LEVENTON: This was particularly
an opportunity for women.
526
00:24:40,409 --> 00:24:45,484
American society was still not
fully comfortable with the idea
527
00:24:45,518 --> 00:24:49,384
of women wearing pants in the 1930s.
528
00:24:49,418 --> 00:24:52,283
Bifurcated garments seemed so unladylike.
529
00:24:52,318 --> 00:24:54,285
♪
530
00:24:54,320 --> 00:24:57,081
BITAR: Vacationing
was a secure laboratory...
531
00:24:57,116 --> 00:25:00,119
especially for the women.
532
00:25:00,153 --> 00:25:03,605
When they looked in the mirror,
which I think many dudines did,
533
00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:05,365
they didn't see their old self
from Connecticut
534
00:25:05,400 --> 00:25:07,540
or Rhode Island;
535
00:25:07,575 --> 00:25:10,267
they saw a cowgirl from the movies.
536
00:25:10,301 --> 00:25:12,096
♪
537
00:25:12,131 --> 00:25:16,411
Denim afforded many women the
ability to get dirty, to hunt,
538
00:25:16,445 --> 00:25:18,551
to fish, to ride horses.
539
00:25:18,586 --> 00:25:20,311
So I think blue jeans on a dude ranch
540
00:25:20,346 --> 00:25:22,451
not only gave women the ability
541
00:25:22,486 --> 00:25:24,177
to move more freely,
542
00:25:24,212 --> 00:25:26,490
to experience their bodies
in different ways,
543
00:25:26,525 --> 00:25:29,493
but perhaps also to sort of
think more freely,
544
00:25:29,528 --> 00:25:32,358
to rethink their position
in American society.
545
00:25:32,392 --> 00:25:35,292
♪
546
00:25:35,326 --> 00:25:38,295
SULLIVAN: This was one of
the first times that women felt
547
00:25:38,329 --> 00:25:41,194
comfortable enough to say,
"Hey, you know what?
548
00:25:41,229 --> 00:25:43,058
"I enjoy wearing that kind of clothing.
549
00:25:43,093 --> 00:25:44,094
I'm going to do it."
550
00:25:44,128 --> 00:25:45,509
So the American
551
00:25:45,544 --> 00:25:49,513
blue jeans manufacturers
realized that there was
552
00:25:49,548 --> 00:25:51,377
a substantial market to be conquered
553
00:25:51,411 --> 00:25:56,037
by creating blue jeans lines for women.
554
00:25:56,071 --> 00:25:58,453
So you start seeing the design of jeans
555
00:25:58,487 --> 00:26:00,455
beginning to follow fashion
556
00:26:00,489 --> 00:26:05,391
in a way that they didn't previously do
557
00:26:05,425 --> 00:26:09,809
when they were strictly work pants.
558
00:26:09,844 --> 00:26:13,468
♪
559
00:26:13,502 --> 00:26:16,229
BITAR: Jeans entered the
world of fashion in the 1930s
560
00:26:16,264 --> 00:26:18,369
because they functioned as a souvenir
561
00:26:18,404 --> 00:26:23,340
and they also functioned as a
symbol of wealth and prestige.
562
00:26:23,374 --> 00:26:26,861
Somewhat ironically,
the clothes of the working man
563
00:26:26,895 --> 00:26:31,210
became a symbol that you
belonged to the leisure class.
564
00:26:31,244 --> 00:26:34,489
♪
565
00:26:34,523 --> 00:26:38,873
McCLENDON: That's the dichotomy
sort of represented in the juxtaposition
566
00:26:38,907 --> 00:26:42,117
between the Dorothea Lange
photos of the Dust Bowl
567
00:26:42,152 --> 00:26:45,017
and Lady Levi's in "Vogue."
568
00:26:45,051 --> 00:26:48,192
They can co-exist
569
00:26:48,227 --> 00:26:52,231
because there was this extreme
inequality in America.
570
00:26:52,265 --> 00:26:56,200
♪
571
00:26:57,581 --> 00:27:02,517
♪
572
00:27:04,105 --> 00:27:06,970
NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER:
Since October 16, 1940,
573
00:27:07,004 --> 00:27:10,594
millions of American men
have joined the armed forces
574
00:27:10,629 --> 00:27:14,046
to defend our country and
our democratic way of life.
575
00:27:14,080 --> 00:27:15,944
LEVENTON:
For many men and women,
576
00:27:15,979 --> 00:27:18,084
World War II was the first time
they wore jeans.
577
00:27:18,119 --> 00:27:20,846
NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER: The minute
the ship left port, neckties were dropped.
578
00:27:20,880 --> 00:27:24,021
The enlisted men wore dungarees
and the traditional white hats
579
00:27:24,056 --> 00:27:26,127
were dyed blue.
580
00:27:26,161 --> 00:27:27,611
Here are the men who will fight.
581
00:27:27,646 --> 00:27:30,683
McCLENDON:
World War II is a moment where
582
00:27:30,718 --> 00:27:33,652
denim goes global in a sense.
583
00:27:33,686 --> 00:27:36,793
♪
584
00:27:36,827 --> 00:27:41,176
One result of Americans fighting
overseas was that the G.I.s,
585
00:27:41,211 --> 00:27:43,075
when they were off duty,
586
00:27:43,109 --> 00:27:45,767
were in many cases wearing blue jeans,
587
00:27:45,802 --> 00:27:50,082
and the locals took notice
588
00:27:50,116 --> 00:27:51,946
and thought, "Well,
they look like movie stars,
589
00:27:51,980 --> 00:27:53,499
"they look cool.
590
00:27:53,533 --> 00:27:55,397
They look like, you know,
what we want to look like."
591
00:27:55,432 --> 00:28:00,230
♪
592
00:28:00,264 --> 00:28:03,164
McCLENDON: There's a
way in which during the 1940s,
593
00:28:03,198 --> 00:28:07,099
because of the patriotism
around World War II,
594
00:28:07,133 --> 00:28:11,413
denim almost became the blue
595
00:28:11,448 --> 00:28:14,520
in the red, white, and blue
of the American flag.
596
00:28:14,554 --> 00:28:16,625
MAN:
♪ The riveting machine ♪
597
00:28:16,660 --> 00:28:18,110
McCLENDON:
You know and Rosie the Riveter
598
00:28:18,144 --> 00:28:20,664
is a kind of classic example of this.
599
00:28:20,699 --> 00:28:22,666
MAN: ♪ There's something
true about red, white, and blue ♪
600
00:28:22,701 --> 00:28:25,289
♪ About Rosie the Riveter ♪
601
00:28:25,324 --> 00:28:27,844
LEVENTON: "Rosie the Riveter"
was a Norman Rockwell painting
602
00:28:27,878 --> 00:28:30,881
that ended up on the cover of
"The Saturday Evening Post."
603
00:28:30,916 --> 00:28:33,953
She was like the American everywoman,
604
00:28:33,988 --> 00:28:38,647
who when the menfolk were away
fighting the war in Europe,
605
00:28:38,682 --> 00:28:40,684
she pitched in,
606
00:28:40,719 --> 00:28:42,272
she did her part.
607
00:28:42,306 --> 00:28:43,549
MAN:
♪ All the day long ♪
608
00:28:43,583 --> 00:28:44,792
♪ Whether rain or shine ♪
609
00:28:44,826 --> 00:28:47,415
♪ She's a part of
the assembly line ♪
610
00:28:47,449 --> 00:28:49,900
♪ She's making history working
for victory ♪
611
00:28:49,935 --> 00:28:52,282
♪ Rosie the Riveter. ♪
612
00:28:52,316 --> 00:28:54,215
SULLIVAN: With so many
of the men overseas,
613
00:28:54,249 --> 00:28:56,113
something like six million
614
00:28:56,148 --> 00:28:58,391
mothers and daughters
were suddenly going to work
615
00:28:58,426 --> 00:28:59,668
on a daily basis,
616
00:28:59,703 --> 00:29:01,809
and to a large extent wearing denim.
617
00:29:01,843 --> 00:29:04,984
NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER:
Waitress, salesgirls, housewives...
618
00:29:05,019 --> 00:29:07,055
these girls are now ready
to tackle the work
619
00:29:07,090 --> 00:29:08,919
of producing weapons and equipment
620
00:29:08,954 --> 00:29:11,025
essential to our armed forces.
621
00:29:11,059 --> 00:29:13,924
SINGERS:
♪ Rosie, Rosie, Rosie, Rosie ♪
622
00:29:13,959 --> 00:29:17,307
♪ Working on an assembly line. ♪
623
00:29:17,341 --> 00:29:20,793
[cheers and applause]
624
00:29:20,828 --> 00:29:23,969
NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER: A
day of days for America and her allies.
625
00:29:24,003 --> 00:29:25,833
[cheering continues]
626
00:29:25,867 --> 00:29:28,042
How jubilant was the taste of victory.
627
00:29:28,076 --> 00:29:30,147
How sweet the rewards of peace.
628
00:29:30,182 --> 00:29:33,116
[cheers and applause]
629
00:29:33,150 --> 00:29:35,808
From all the scattered
battlefields, he returned home
630
00:29:35,843 --> 00:29:40,295
again to find a soldier's welcome.
631
00:29:40,330 --> 00:29:43,471
♪
632
00:29:43,505 --> 00:29:46,301
LEVENTON: So, what happens
when the soldiers who were wearing
633
00:29:46,336 --> 00:29:47,509
denim overseas come home?
634
00:29:47,544 --> 00:29:49,718
They kept wearing denim.
635
00:29:49,753 --> 00:29:51,790
Why not?
They're great pants.
636
00:29:51,824 --> 00:29:52,929
They're comfortable.
They're durable.
637
00:29:52,963 --> 00:29:54,378
They had gotten used to them.
638
00:29:54,413 --> 00:29:56,001
They liked them.
Why not?
639
00:29:56,035 --> 00:29:59,107
♪
640
00:29:59,142 --> 00:30:02,628
BILL HAYES: As the World
War II vets started to come back,
641
00:30:02,662 --> 00:30:04,009
they obviously had been through a lot.
642
00:30:04,043 --> 00:30:06,770
They felt a lot of camaraderie.
643
00:30:06,805 --> 00:30:10,187
They felt a lot of brotherhood
in the trenches.
644
00:30:10,222 --> 00:30:11,775
And they come back
645
00:30:11,810 --> 00:30:16,676
into a very staid,
kind of 9:00 to 5:00 lifestyle,
646
00:30:16,711 --> 00:30:20,404
for some people it wasn't going to work.
647
00:30:22,855 --> 00:30:26,997
But the combination
of a big motorcycle and denim,
648
00:30:27,032 --> 00:30:28,688
that really works.
649
00:30:28,723 --> 00:30:30,863
MAN: ♪ He wore black denim
trousers and motorcycle boots ♪
650
00:30:30,898 --> 00:30:34,556
♪ And a black leather jacket
with an eagle on the back. ♪
651
00:30:34,591 --> 00:30:36,420
HAYES:
They've all got jeans on.
652
00:30:36,455 --> 00:30:38,526
T-shirt with a cigarette pack
rolled up in it...
653
00:30:38,560 --> 00:30:41,770
you look pretty tough.
654
00:30:41,805 --> 00:30:43,807
Suddenly bikers have become
modern-day outlaws.
655
00:30:43,842 --> 00:30:46,430
MAN: ♪ Well, he never washed his
face and he never combed his hair ♪
656
00:30:46,465 --> 00:30:49,709
♪ He had axel grease embedded
underneath his fingernails. ♪
657
00:30:49,744 --> 00:30:52,333
LEVENTON:
So the idea of the outlaw,
658
00:30:52,367 --> 00:30:53,955
which has always had
659
00:30:53,990 --> 00:30:57,372
a stronghold on the American
popular imagination,
660
00:30:57,407 --> 00:31:00,444
was actually promoted by the movies,
661
00:31:00,479 --> 00:31:02,446
and linked in particular with jeans.
662
00:31:02,481 --> 00:31:08,349
♪
663
00:31:08,383 --> 00:31:10,351
SULLIVAN:
You know, we see that a lot
664
00:31:10,385 --> 00:31:12,284
in the Hollywood of the 1950s,
665
00:31:12,318 --> 00:31:14,148
classically represented by Marlon Brando
666
00:31:14,182 --> 00:31:16,909
in the biker film
"The Wild One."
667
00:31:16,944 --> 00:31:18,531
♪
668
00:31:18,566 --> 00:31:21,603
Brando's character, who was,
of course, the guy who's asked,
669
00:31:21,638 --> 00:31:23,329
"What are you rebelling
against?"
670
00:31:23,364 --> 00:31:25,331
Hey Johnny, what are you
rebelling against?
671
00:31:25,366 --> 00:31:27,886
SULLIVAN:
And he says... What do you got?
672
00:31:27,920 --> 00:31:30,164
Like, "I don't know what it is
that I'm rebelling against.
673
00:31:30,198 --> 00:31:32,166
I'm just doing it."
674
00:31:32,200 --> 00:31:34,340
♪
675
00:31:34,375 --> 00:31:36,308
HAYES:
All bets were off at that point.
676
00:31:36,342 --> 00:31:39,104
A lot of the teenagers
may not have wanted to become
677
00:31:39,138 --> 00:31:40,726
Wally or Beaver.
678
00:31:40,760 --> 00:31:42,107
But my friends call me Beaver.
679
00:31:42,141 --> 00:31:43,418
Well, may I call you Beaver?
680
00:31:43,453 --> 00:31:44,419
I'd like you to be my friend.
681
00:31:44,454 --> 00:31:46,387
Okay.
682
00:31:46,421 --> 00:31:49,045
HAYES: They were able to make the choice,
683
00:31:49,079 --> 00:31:51,392
and part of that choice
684
00:31:51,426 --> 00:31:54,360
was, you know, having jeans on.
685
00:31:54,395 --> 00:31:58,986
NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER: The early
teens are years of upheaval and turmoil.
686
00:31:59,020 --> 00:32:01,885
They're years of physical
and glandular change.
687
00:32:01,920 --> 00:32:03,576
Parents of almost every child
688
00:32:03,611 --> 00:32:06,855
find the age of puberty
or early adolescence
689
00:32:06,890 --> 00:32:08,374
full of problems.
690
00:32:08,409 --> 00:32:09,755
GEORGE-WARREN:
After World War II,
691
00:32:09,789 --> 00:32:13,517
really the "teenager" as we now
know it came into being.
692
00:32:13,552 --> 00:32:18,246
NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER: Their actions may seem
excessive but that's normal for teenagers.
693
00:32:18,281 --> 00:32:20,800
They seem to spend hours in
completely useless activities.
694
00:32:20,835 --> 00:32:22,181
[rock and roll music playing]
695
00:32:22,216 --> 00:32:23,631
SULLIVAN:
Prior to World War II,
696
00:32:23,665 --> 00:32:27,359
you were either a young person
living at home,
697
00:32:27,393 --> 00:32:29,154
going to school,
698
00:32:29,188 --> 00:32:31,190
or when you were finished with school,
699
00:32:31,225 --> 00:32:33,813
then you entered the workforce.
700
00:32:33,848 --> 00:32:36,437
You were contributing
to the family income.
701
00:32:36,471 --> 00:32:38,301
♪ You rockin' and you rockin'
and you rockin' around ♪
702
00:32:38,335 --> 00:32:39,888
♪ Hop, hop, hop everybody ♪
703
00:32:39,923 --> 00:32:41,960
SULLIVAN:
After World War II,
704
00:32:41,994 --> 00:32:43,547
the middle class exploded.
705
00:32:43,582 --> 00:32:45,135
Families could offer their kids
706
00:32:45,170 --> 00:32:47,068
more leisure time,
707
00:32:47,103 --> 00:32:48,483
more independence.
708
00:32:48,518 --> 00:32:51,141
NEWSREEL ANCHOR:...the rock and roll
teenage cowboy.
709
00:32:51,176 --> 00:32:52,556
GEORGE-WARREN:
The American consumer economy
710
00:32:52,591 --> 00:32:55,490
was booming and it just became
the American way of life:
711
00:32:55,525 --> 00:32:58,666
spend money, buy things,
dress up, you know,
712
00:32:58,700 --> 00:32:59,943
move up the food chain.
713
00:32:59,978 --> 00:33:01,186
NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER:
Gather 'round, kiddies.
714
00:33:01,220 --> 00:33:04,258
Today I'm going to give you
a quick look-see
715
00:33:04,292 --> 00:33:06,605
at what the well-dressed teenager is doing
716
00:33:06,639 --> 00:33:08,262
in the way of fun and fashion.
717
00:33:08,296 --> 00:33:10,195
SULLIVAN:
If teenagers decided to work,
718
00:33:10,229 --> 00:33:12,852
they could use that money
for their own benefit,
719
00:33:12,887 --> 00:33:13,853
for their own leisure time.
720
00:33:15,510 --> 00:33:17,616
They could buy their own cars.
721
00:33:17,650 --> 00:33:18,755
They bought their own records.
722
00:33:18,789 --> 00:33:20,239
They sort of helped create rock and roll.
723
00:33:20,274 --> 00:33:22,483
NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER:
Teenagers... they're terrific.
724
00:33:22,517 --> 00:33:25,555
♪
725
00:33:25,589 --> 00:33:27,074
McCLENDON:
Jeans got sort of
726
00:33:27,108 --> 00:33:30,284
[laughing]:
irreparably linked
727
00:33:30,318 --> 00:33:32,182
with cool.
728
00:33:32,217 --> 00:33:36,255
And coolness became the ideal
to strive for.
729
00:33:36,290 --> 00:33:39,086
NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER: Kay's
mother may have other opinions of style
730
00:33:39,120 --> 00:33:40,639
of what looks best.
731
00:33:40,673 --> 00:33:44,022
But of course mother has
old-fashioned ideas.
732
00:33:44,056 --> 00:33:45,678
It's like, "What mom and dad want to do?
733
00:33:45,713 --> 00:33:47,577
"Oh my God.
I can't even talk to them.
734
00:33:47,611 --> 00:33:50,062
I do not want to wear
what they're wearing."
735
00:33:50,097 --> 00:33:52,133
NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER:
The adolescent is self-centered.
736
00:33:52,168 --> 00:33:53,997
LEVENTON: The charisma
of deviance is powerful.
737
00:33:54,032 --> 00:33:57,932
NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER: Their sloppiness
is so deliberate as to be offensive.
738
00:33:57,966 --> 00:34:00,693
♪
739
00:34:00,728 --> 00:34:06,113
McCLENDON: So during the
1950s, denim becomes increasingly
740
00:34:06,147 --> 00:34:11,532
associated with biker gangs
and juvenile delinquency.
741
00:34:11,566 --> 00:34:16,123
There was a sort of fear,
I think, among adults that
742
00:34:16,157 --> 00:34:17,676
if teenagers put on a pair of jeans,
743
00:34:17,710 --> 00:34:20,644
they were automatically going
to become delinquents
744
00:34:20,679 --> 00:34:23,233
in some way.
745
00:34:23,268 --> 00:34:26,616
GEORGE-WARREN: School systems
literally started banning blue jeans
746
00:34:26,650 --> 00:34:28,963
because they identified
the kids who wore them
747
00:34:28,997 --> 00:34:30,413
as the "bad seeds."
748
00:34:30,447 --> 00:34:32,898
They were going to, you know,
beat up a little old lady
749
00:34:32,932 --> 00:34:35,038
and steal her pocketbook or, or whatever.
750
00:34:37,592 --> 00:34:40,078
SULLIVAN: The parents'
generation started to clamp down,
751
00:34:40,112 --> 00:34:43,081
which caused a dip in sales.
752
00:34:43,115 --> 00:34:44,530
Suddenly families were
753
00:34:44,565 --> 00:34:46,222
shying away from buying blue jeans.
754
00:34:46,256 --> 00:34:48,845
♪
755
00:34:48,879 --> 00:34:51,158
McCLENDON: The denim
companies start to get worried.
756
00:34:51,192 --> 00:34:53,781
As a result, a lot of the major companies
757
00:34:53,815 --> 00:34:57,302
band together to form what
they called the Denim Council.
758
00:34:57,336 --> 00:35:00,098
♪
759
00:35:00,132 --> 00:35:02,928
ANNOUNCER: More people
than ever are wearing denim.
760
00:35:02,962 --> 00:35:05,517
You'd have to look far and wide
to find an American of any age
761
00:35:05,551 --> 00:35:07,381
who has never worn blue jeans.
762
00:35:07,415 --> 00:35:11,902
GEORGE-WARREN: So they start this
whole campaign first to try to counter
763
00:35:11,937 --> 00:35:15,458
the "bad" blue jean look with
the "wholesome" blue jean look.
764
00:35:15,492 --> 00:35:18,254
"This is the right way to wear jeans,"
765
00:35:18,288 --> 00:35:20,152
and it's neat with a nice shirt
766
00:35:20,187 --> 00:35:23,880
and this very kind of healthy-looking kid.
767
00:35:23,914 --> 00:35:25,399
And then,
"This is the bad blue jean."
768
00:35:25,433 --> 00:35:26,434
And so it's the more the kid
769
00:35:26,469 --> 00:35:28,609
like with his hair hanging down, greasy,
770
00:35:28,643 --> 00:35:29,610
and all that kind of stuff.
771
00:35:29,644 --> 00:35:31,301
Like, see?
There is a difference.
772
00:35:31,336 --> 00:35:33,614
You can be a good kid and wear blue jeans.
773
00:35:33,648 --> 00:35:35,616
ANNOUNCER: Denim
is really great for sports.
774
00:35:35,650 --> 00:35:37,721
Looks like this joker
is knocking himself out
775
00:35:37,756 --> 00:35:40,379
trying to prove it.
776
00:35:40,414 --> 00:35:43,417
Folks wear jeans to get the work done
777
00:35:43,451 --> 00:35:45,798
and jeans to relax in.
778
00:35:45,833 --> 00:35:47,490
McCLENDON: They tried
to create a National Denim Day.
779
00:35:47,524 --> 00:35:48,525
They had all sorts of
780
00:35:48,560 --> 00:35:50,631
campaigns around the country
781
00:35:50,665 --> 00:35:56,257
which are all about
the discovery of America.
782
00:35:56,292 --> 00:35:57,362
They are about cowboys,
783
00:35:57,396 --> 00:36:00,503
they are about adventure,
784
00:36:00,537 --> 00:36:02,367
and history.
785
00:36:02,401 --> 00:36:05,059
ANNOUNCER: Blue denim is
a symbol of our pioneering spirit.
786
00:36:05,093 --> 00:36:07,820
It goes right back
to the beginning of America.
787
00:36:07,855 --> 00:36:11,203
Men in blue denim opened up the old West,
788
00:36:11,238 --> 00:36:14,310
and built our bridges and skyscrapers.
789
00:36:14,344 --> 00:36:15,759
SULLIVAN:
That series of advertisements
790
00:36:15,794 --> 00:36:19,729
helped reverse the trend
away from blue jeans.
791
00:36:19,763 --> 00:36:21,386
JOHN F. KENNEDY:
In the last few months
792
00:36:21,420 --> 00:36:23,871
more applications for the
Peace Corps have come to us.
793
00:36:23,905 --> 00:36:26,425
SULLIVAN:
By the first years of the 1960s,
794
00:36:26,460 --> 00:36:29,808
the Peace Corps, JFK's initiative
795
00:36:29,842 --> 00:36:31,258
sending young Americans out
across the globe
796
00:36:31,292 --> 00:36:32,707
to do good deeds,
797
00:36:32,742 --> 00:36:35,296
they were actually dressed in blue jeans.
798
00:36:35,331 --> 00:36:37,125
That was their uniform.
799
00:36:37,160 --> 00:36:40,059
So no longer was it that
800
00:36:40,094 --> 00:36:42,027
the bad kids were the only ones
wearing blue jeans.
801
00:36:45,720 --> 00:36:48,033
McCLENDON: One thing in particular
that's interesting about this period
802
00:36:48,067 --> 00:36:49,966
is the denim companies
803
00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:53,349
spend all this time in the 1950s
804
00:36:53,383 --> 00:36:59,044
trying to get away from the rebel image
805
00:36:59,078 --> 00:37:02,565
and then the 1960s happens.
806
00:37:02,599 --> 00:37:05,223
NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER: Hippies
made a colorful scene with wild costumes,
807
00:37:05,257 --> 00:37:07,190
uninhibited dancing,
and general high frolicking.
808
00:37:07,225 --> 00:37:12,091
FORD: When we think about
the denim story in the 1960s,
809
00:37:12,126 --> 00:37:15,198
we almost automatically think
of the hippies,
810
00:37:15,233 --> 00:37:18,512
with their bellbottoms, and tie-dye,
811
00:37:18,546 --> 00:37:22,930
but the hippies weren't the only
people wearing those clothes.
812
00:37:22,964 --> 00:37:28,038
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.: A man dies
when he refuses to stand up for justice.
813
00:37:28,073 --> 00:37:31,559
A man dies when he refuses to take a stand
814
00:37:31,594 --> 00:37:33,423
for that which is true.
815
00:37:33,458 --> 00:37:35,805
So we're going to stand up right here.
816
00:37:35,839 --> 00:37:38,428
McCLENDON: The classic
image of the Civil Rights Movement
817
00:37:38,463 --> 00:37:41,362
is Martin Luther King Jr.
818
00:37:41,397 --> 00:37:46,505
and he and many of his closest partners
819
00:37:46,540 --> 00:37:50,785
wore suits and button down shirts,
820
00:37:50,820 --> 00:37:52,718
sort of a "Sunday best" approach.
821
00:37:52,753 --> 00:37:54,858
KING JR.:
We will be able to join hands
822
00:37:54,893 --> 00:37:57,413
and sing in the words
of the old Negro spiritual,
823
00:37:57,447 --> 00:38:00,312
free at last, free at last,
824
00:38:00,347 --> 00:38:02,935
thank God Almighty we are free at last.
825
00:38:02,970 --> 00:38:04,834
[cheers and applause]
826
00:38:04,868 --> 00:38:06,456
SQUARE:
Being a man of African descent,
827
00:38:06,491 --> 00:38:10,495
a lot hinged on his self-representation.
828
00:38:10,529 --> 00:38:11,737
He needed to present himself to the world
829
00:38:11,772 --> 00:38:13,636
as a respectable person,
830
00:38:13,670 --> 00:38:15,223
because there was already
a notch against him
831
00:38:15,258 --> 00:38:16,328
for being a Black man.
832
00:38:16,363 --> 00:38:18,606
♪
833
00:38:18,641 --> 00:38:21,299
FORD:
The focus on the Sunday best
834
00:38:21,333 --> 00:38:26,096
has obscured the fact that
at that time there were
835
00:38:26,131 --> 00:38:29,479
these young college students who say,
836
00:38:29,514 --> 00:38:32,240
"Instead, we're going to wear
denim because we want to show
837
00:38:32,275 --> 00:38:35,347
"that our political bonds
are to the Black working poor
838
00:38:35,382 --> 00:38:37,970
and not to the Black bourgeois."
839
00:38:38,005 --> 00:38:39,420
♪
840
00:38:39,455 --> 00:38:43,321
These young people, once they
left Howard University,
841
00:38:43,355 --> 00:38:48,671
Fisk University,
Tougaloo College, to head south,
842
00:38:48,705 --> 00:38:51,432
say, "We're going to wear
this denim alongside
843
00:38:51,467 --> 00:38:54,711
"the working class and
sharecroppers who had been
844
00:38:54,746 --> 00:38:56,679
"trying for decades
845
00:38:56,713 --> 00:38:59,578
to fight for their right
to vote."
846
00:38:59,613 --> 00:39:03,064
They were rebels with a cause.
847
00:39:03,099 --> 00:39:04,859
[crowd clapping, singing]
848
00:39:04,894 --> 00:39:06,861
♪ Freedom ♪
849
00:39:06,896 --> 00:39:09,208
♪ Freedom ♪
850
00:39:09,243 --> 00:39:12,315
♪ Freedom, freedom. ♪
851
00:39:12,350 --> 00:39:15,249
JENKINS: For young Black
protesters, it absolutely is risky
852
00:39:15,283 --> 00:39:16,975
with what they're wearing
853
00:39:17,009 --> 00:39:20,219
because they already have
the systemic pressure
854
00:39:20,254 --> 00:39:23,395
up against them presuming that they are
855
00:39:23,430 --> 00:39:25,432
of a lower class or status in society.
856
00:39:25,466 --> 00:39:29,090
And so wearing a certain style
of dress that is aligned
857
00:39:29,125 --> 00:39:30,368
with the laboring class,
858
00:39:30,402 --> 00:39:32,680
that is absolutely bold.
859
00:39:32,715 --> 00:39:34,164
CROWD:
♪ Hold on ♪
860
00:39:34,199 --> 00:39:36,339
♪ Hold on. ♪
861
00:39:36,374 --> 00:39:40,032
FORD: As this Southern
movement spreads and garners
862
00:39:40,067 --> 00:39:42,069
national media attention,
863
00:39:42,103 --> 00:39:46,418
you now have white students
who decide to go south
864
00:39:46,453 --> 00:39:48,316
to help with the organizing.
865
00:39:48,351 --> 00:39:52,873
MAN: ♪ We are all here, Black and white ♪
866
00:39:52,907 --> 00:39:56,359
FORD: So when those
white students go back north,
867
00:39:56,394 --> 00:39:58,706
they go back wearing denim.
868
00:39:58,741 --> 00:40:01,606
CROWD:
♪ Hold on, hold on. ♪
869
00:40:01,640 --> 00:40:04,505
FORD: This becomes
the look of youth rebellion
870
00:40:04,540 --> 00:40:05,920
in the 1960s.
871
00:40:05,955 --> 00:40:07,888
♪
872
00:40:07,922 --> 00:40:13,790
[shouting, clamoring]
873
00:40:13,825 --> 00:40:17,207
JOHN O'BRIEN DOCKER:
♪ Baby, don't call me a liar ♪
874
00:40:17,242 --> 00:40:20,452
REPORTER: They represent
a new form of social rebellion.
875
00:40:20,487 --> 00:40:23,628
They dress in bizarre and colorful ways.
876
00:40:23,662 --> 00:40:25,215
Hippies are very interesting...
877
00:40:25,250 --> 00:40:28,529
McCLENDON: The 1960s is a
pivotal point in the history of denim.
878
00:40:28,564 --> 00:40:30,531
REPORTER: They are
hip, onto something good.
879
00:40:30,566 --> 00:40:32,257
McCLENDON: Just like for the
Civil Rights Movement,
880
00:40:32,291 --> 00:40:34,328
for the hippies,
881
00:40:34,362 --> 00:40:37,642
clothing was a form of political activism.
882
00:40:37,676 --> 00:40:39,298
WOMAN: Of course it's a
whole different way of living,
883
00:40:39,333 --> 00:40:40,472
it's a whole different way of thinking.
884
00:40:40,507 --> 00:40:45,166
So many of the civilians have no concept.
885
00:40:45,201 --> 00:40:46,236
But it's fun.
886
00:40:46,271 --> 00:40:47,893
It's fun to be bizarre.
887
00:40:47,928 --> 00:40:51,138
GEORGE-WARREN: There was
such an emphasis with the counterculture
888
00:40:51,172 --> 00:40:53,243
on creativity, on individuality,
889
00:40:53,278 --> 00:40:55,453
self-expression.
890
00:40:55,487 --> 00:40:58,456
♪
891
00:40:58,490 --> 00:41:01,493
HILFIGER: People then
embellished their jeans.
892
00:41:01,528 --> 00:41:04,565
They sewed fringe on them...
893
00:41:04,600 --> 00:41:05,842
They put feathers.
894
00:41:05,877 --> 00:41:07,810
McCLENDON: They were
patched... JENKINS: Painted...
895
00:41:07,844 --> 00:41:10,468
McCLENDON:
Embroidered and shredded...
896
00:41:10,502 --> 00:41:11,745
HILFIGER:
All of the sudden your jeans
897
00:41:11,779 --> 00:41:13,747
were your canvases.
898
00:41:13,781 --> 00:41:16,750
♪
899
00:41:16,784 --> 00:41:18,510
There was a cool factor.
900
00:41:18,545 --> 00:41:22,790
And when rock stars and
musicians started wearing denim,
901
00:41:22,825 --> 00:41:24,896
it became even cooler.
902
00:41:24,930 --> 00:41:27,761
There was The Who, and Janis Joplin,
903
00:41:27,795 --> 00:41:33,525
and the Doors, the Rolling
Stones, Led Zeppelin.
904
00:41:33,560 --> 00:41:34,940
So then everyone wanted to wear them.
905
00:41:34,975 --> 00:41:39,151
MAN: ♪ By the time we got to Woodstock ♪
906
00:41:39,186 --> 00:41:40,774
GEORGE-WARREN:
"Woodstock"... that movie
907
00:41:40,808 --> 00:41:44,812
completely expanded our idea of fashion.
908
00:41:44,847 --> 00:41:47,125
I know for me being this kid
in North Carolina,
909
00:41:47,159 --> 00:41:49,161
when I saw that movie, I'm like,
910
00:41:49,196 --> 00:41:52,268
"I want to
wear clothes like that."
911
00:41:52,302 --> 00:41:54,512
♪ A little help
from my friends ♪
912
00:41:54,546 --> 00:41:56,030
[vocalizing]
913
00:41:56,065 --> 00:41:59,862
LEVENTON: Denim was
the uniform of that generation,
914
00:41:59,896 --> 00:42:02,520
and a lot of the denim companies
915
00:42:02,554 --> 00:42:04,107
started to capitalize on that.
916
00:42:05,971 --> 00:42:08,698
McCLENDON: It's interesting
to look at that case study of Levi's,
917
00:42:08,733 --> 00:42:13,496
because in the 1950s
they tried so hard to get away
918
00:42:13,531 --> 00:42:15,740
from the counterculture.
919
00:42:15,774 --> 00:42:17,845
And then by 1971,
920
00:42:17,880 --> 00:42:20,676
they use an aerial shot of the crowd
921
00:42:20,710 --> 00:42:22,988
at a music festival
922
00:42:23,023 --> 00:42:28,235
and just slap a Levi's logo
on it, and that's it!
923
00:42:28,269 --> 00:42:31,376
[cheers and applause]
924
00:42:35,000 --> 00:42:38,245
SULLIVAN: It's been said
that "Those children of the '60s
925
00:42:38,279 --> 00:42:44,009
came in as a tribe
and went out as a market."
926
00:42:44,044 --> 00:42:46,011
They were the market for blue jeans.
927
00:42:46,046 --> 00:42:49,739
[cheers and applause]
928
00:42:49,774 --> 00:42:51,672
♪
929
00:42:51,707 --> 00:42:54,192
McCLENDON: By the time
you get into the early '70s,
930
00:42:54,226 --> 00:42:57,298
hippie chic is everywhere.
931
00:42:57,333 --> 00:43:01,682
FORD: The fashion
industry becomes wildly taken
932
00:43:01,717 --> 00:43:04,616
with these young radicals.
933
00:43:04,651 --> 00:43:08,965
You have designers with ads
that suggested that,
934
00:43:09,000 --> 00:43:12,210
"The real freedom movement
is in your jeans."
935
00:43:12,244 --> 00:43:14,039
[laughs]
936
00:43:14,074 --> 00:43:15,627
SQUARE:
It is ironic, isn't it?
937
00:43:15,662 --> 00:43:17,595
Rewind like a decade earlier,
938
00:43:17,629 --> 00:43:20,667
youth were sort of wearing denim
as a form of rebellion.
939
00:43:20,701 --> 00:43:24,636
By the time we get to the 1970s,
like denim is being commodified.
940
00:43:24,671 --> 00:43:26,638
♪
941
00:43:26,673 --> 00:43:27,984
STEELE:
The fashion industry co-opts
942
00:43:28,019 --> 00:43:31,229
authentic subcultural styles
943
00:43:31,263 --> 00:43:33,956
and then makes them part of the system.
944
00:43:33,990 --> 00:43:38,616
Whether it seems dangerous
or seems totally trivial,
945
00:43:38,650 --> 00:43:42,758
the fashion industry takes any
cool look or stance
946
00:43:42,792 --> 00:43:46,071
and markets it if sees an audience for it.
947
00:43:46,106 --> 00:43:48,073
♪
948
00:43:48,108 --> 00:43:51,318
JENKINS: We start to see
denim jeans become just a very
949
00:43:51,352 --> 00:43:52,802
lucrative product.
950
00:43:52,837 --> 00:43:56,841
They were really a great blank canvas
951
00:43:56,875 --> 00:43:58,774
for designers to express themselves.
952
00:44:00,948 --> 00:44:03,295
HILFIGER:
When I was 16 years old,
953
00:44:03,330 --> 00:44:06,333
I was enamored with music and musicians,
954
00:44:06,367 --> 00:44:10,164
and I couldn't play
so I couldn't be a musician,
955
00:44:10,199 --> 00:44:11,994
but I wanted to look like a rock star.
956
00:44:12,028 --> 00:44:17,344
So I opened a small shop
called People's Place
957
00:44:17,378 --> 00:44:18,863
and started selling jeans.
958
00:44:18,897 --> 00:44:22,314
At one point I was thinking,
"I think I could design
959
00:44:22,349 --> 00:44:25,386
better jeans than we're buying
from vendors."
960
00:44:25,421 --> 00:44:27,043
♪
961
00:44:27,078 --> 00:44:29,080
McCLENDON:
The fashion industry realizes
962
00:44:29,114 --> 00:44:31,496
that there's this massive market
963
00:44:31,530 --> 00:44:33,705
for all things denim.
964
00:44:33,740 --> 00:44:38,296
Now it's sleek, high-rise, tight...
965
00:44:38,330 --> 00:44:40,643
♪
966
00:44:40,678 --> 00:44:44,129
There becomes a certain kind of
glamor associated with jeans
967
00:44:44,164 --> 00:44:45,303
for the first time.
968
00:44:45,337 --> 00:44:47,443
♪
969
00:44:47,477 --> 00:44:48,824
HILFIGER:
It was a turning point,
970
00:44:48,858 --> 00:44:51,792
which became the era of designer jeans.
971
00:44:51,827 --> 00:44:54,657
There was Gloria Vanderbilt,
972
00:44:54,692 --> 00:44:55,969
Calvin Klein...
973
00:44:56,003 --> 00:44:57,729
SQUARE: There was
Halston... HILFIGER: Sasson...
974
00:44:57,764 --> 00:45:00,145
McCLENDON: Fiorucci...
HILFIGER: Sergio Valente...
975
00:45:00,180 --> 00:45:02,734
We were really trying to outdo
976
00:45:02,769 --> 00:45:04,529
one another with sexiness.
977
00:45:04,563 --> 00:45:08,429
[whistling]
978
00:45:08,464 --> 00:45:11,881
But when Brooke Shields, as a young teen,
979
00:45:11,916 --> 00:45:16,852
was the Calvin Klein poster
girl, I think heads turned.
980
00:45:16,886 --> 00:45:19,786
You wanna know what comes
between me and my Calvins?
981
00:45:19,820 --> 00:45:20,994
Nothing.
982
00:45:21,028 --> 00:45:22,789
ANNOUNCER:
Calvin Klein Jeans.
983
00:45:22,823 --> 00:45:24,963
HILFIGER: Everyone said,
"Okay, well, this is going to
984
00:45:24,998 --> 00:45:26,620
a whole new level."
985
00:45:26,654 --> 00:45:28,864
WOMAN: ♪ You've got the
look I want to know better ♪
986
00:45:28,898 --> 00:45:32,281
McCLENDON: It is like a tidal
wave over the whole industry.
987
00:45:32,315 --> 00:45:33,834
♪
988
00:45:33,869 --> 00:45:35,767
GEORGE-WARREN:
People started actually
989
00:45:35,802 --> 00:45:38,701
verbalizing what everyone
had known for a hundred years,
990
00:45:38,736 --> 00:45:40,772
that blue jeans are sexy.
991
00:45:40,807 --> 00:45:45,328
WOMAN: ♪ Jordache
has the fit that's right. ♪
992
00:45:45,363 --> 00:45:47,848
McCLENDON:
By the late '70s, designer jeans
993
00:45:47,883 --> 00:45:52,163
were chipping away
at the fashion hierarchy.
994
00:45:52,197 --> 00:45:55,476
They make it acceptable for anyone
995
00:45:55,511 --> 00:46:00,136
to wear a pair of jeans
at any time or place.
996
00:46:00,171 --> 00:46:05,728
STEELE: Jeans undermine the idea
of what fashion was supposed to be.
997
00:46:05,763 --> 00:46:08,869
They were part of a more general
democratization of fashion.
998
00:46:08,904 --> 00:46:10,353
[siren blaring]
999
00:46:10,388 --> 00:46:13,218
It suddenly became possible to wear jeans
1000
00:46:13,253 --> 00:46:15,911
in almost all settings.
1001
00:46:15,945 --> 00:46:17,257
["Rapper's Delight"
by Sugar Hill Gang playing]
1002
00:46:17,291 --> 00:46:18,776
♪ Hip hip hop
and you don't stop ♪
1003
00:46:18,810 --> 00:46:20,432
♪ We rock it out, baby, boppa
to the boogity bang bang ♪
1004
00:46:20,467 --> 00:46:22,503
♪ Boogie to the boogie,
the beat ♪
1005
00:46:22,538 --> 00:46:26,714
JENKINS: In the late 1970s
around the Bronx in New York City,
1006
00:46:26,749 --> 00:46:28,993
we start to see hip hop emerge.
1007
00:46:29,027 --> 00:46:31,996
And denim jeans become this
sort of a uniform.
1008
00:46:32,030 --> 00:46:35,137
MAN: ♪ You see I'm six
foot one and I'm tons of fun ♪
1009
00:46:35,171 --> 00:46:37,001
♪ And I dress to a T ♪
1010
00:46:37,035 --> 00:46:38,830
♪ You see I got more clothes
than Muhammad Ali ♪
1011
00:46:38,865 --> 00:46:40,936
♪ And I dress so viciously ♪
1012
00:46:40,970 --> 00:46:44,525
FORD: For African Americans,
a pair of designer jeans
1013
00:46:44,560 --> 00:46:46,424
came with a lot of value.
1014
00:46:46,458 --> 00:46:48,944
That's why we get language
coming straight out of hip hop,
1015
00:46:48,978 --> 00:46:52,223
like "fresh," "dope," "fly."
1016
00:46:52,257 --> 00:46:54,397
MAN:
♪ And the rest is F-L-Y ♪
1017
00:46:54,432 --> 00:46:57,815
FORD: You know, because that spoke
to the value of clothing.
1018
00:46:57,849 --> 00:47:00,058
MAN:
♪ Everybody go hotel... ♪
1019
00:47:00,093 --> 00:47:03,613
HILFIGER: Hip hop changed
denim in a very big way.
1020
00:47:03,648 --> 00:47:08,446
The hip hop stars started going
on tour and doing MTV videos
1021
00:47:08,480 --> 00:47:11,863
wearing really cool clothes.
1022
00:47:11,898 --> 00:47:16,834
The way in which it was worn
was very different.
1023
00:47:16,868 --> 00:47:18,042
MAN:
♪ Oh my Lord ♪
1024
00:47:18,076 --> 00:47:20,251
♪ Another corn chopped by the
Wu-Tang sword ♪
1025
00:47:20,285 --> 00:47:22,149
♪ Hey hey hey ♪
1026
00:47:22,184 --> 00:47:25,083
JENKINS: In the early '80s,
with bands like Run DMC,
1027
00:47:25,118 --> 00:47:26,878
it's just more of a straight look,
1028
00:47:26,913 --> 00:47:28,328
but then it becomes more baggy.
1029
00:47:28,362 --> 00:47:31,400
♪ Blow up your project
then take all your assets ♪
1030
00:47:31,434 --> 00:47:33,574
♪ 'Cause I came to shake
the frame in half ♪
1031
00:47:33,609 --> 00:47:36,957
FORD: And then they started
to wear brands like Ralph Lauren,
1032
00:47:36,992 --> 00:47:40,202
and Nautica, Tommy Hilfiger.
1033
00:47:40,236 --> 00:47:43,239
Those brands represented a lifestyle that
1034
00:47:43,274 --> 00:47:46,242
historically African Americans
had been excluded from.
1035
00:47:46,277 --> 00:47:49,590
I want to thank Snoop Doggy Dog
and everybody on the show.
1036
00:47:49,625 --> 00:47:50,937
So wonderful... [cheers and applause]
1037
00:47:50,971 --> 00:47:54,699
SQUARE: I mean when we
think about those brands,
1038
00:47:54,733 --> 00:47:58,358
we think about the country club
or yachting.
1039
00:47:58,392 --> 00:48:00,187
PUBA:
♪ Tommy Hilfiger top gear ♪
1040
00:48:00,222 --> 00:48:02,638
♪ Take no shorts
I'm doing lovely in all sports ♪
1041
00:48:02,672 --> 00:48:05,330
♪ Even swing the pole at the
hole in my golf course ♪
1042
00:48:05,365 --> 00:48:06,538
SQUARE:
By putting a brand like
1043
00:48:06,573 --> 00:48:09,127
Ralph Lauren or Tommy Hilfiger
on their backs,
1044
00:48:09,162 --> 00:48:11,405
they were changing the meaning
of the brand.
1045
00:48:11,440 --> 00:48:12,786
This brand that's associated
1046
00:48:12,820 --> 00:48:15,823
with all-American identity
or whiteness becomes associated
1047
00:48:15,858 --> 00:48:17,895
with like hip hop culture.
1048
00:48:17,929 --> 00:48:19,966
♪ K7 and The Swing Kids ♪
1049
00:48:20,000 --> 00:48:22,209
♪ Da ding de ding de ding
de de de ding ding ♪
1050
00:48:22,244 --> 00:48:23,210
♪ Da ding de ding ♪
1051
00:48:23,245 --> 00:48:24,763
♪ De ding de de de ding ♪
1052
00:48:24,798 --> 00:48:27,974
♪ De de de ding ding
de de de ding ding ♪
1053
00:48:28,008 --> 00:48:30,183
["Come Baby Come" by K7 playing]
1054
00:48:30,217 --> 00:48:33,358
JENKINS: Not only do we
see hip hop artists able to remix
1055
00:48:33,393 --> 00:48:34,981
sounds, and, you know,
1056
00:48:35,015 --> 00:48:37,328
like in music, but they're also
able to take clothing
1057
00:48:37,362 --> 00:48:40,158
and remix it for their own means.
1058
00:48:40,193 --> 00:48:41,711
MAN:
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
1059
00:48:41,746 --> 00:48:45,474
JENKINS: To get your hands
on that clothing and wear it
1060
00:48:45,508 --> 00:48:46,993
is subversive in a way.
1061
00:48:47,027 --> 00:48:49,271
Because it is saying, "I'm not
supposed to be wearing this,
1062
00:48:49,305 --> 00:48:50,479
but look at me, I am."
1063
00:48:50,513 --> 00:48:52,377
["Come Baby Come" continues]
1064
00:48:52,412 --> 00:48:54,241
Hip hop really helped to take command
1065
00:48:54,276 --> 00:48:56,485
of the denim narrative.
1066
00:48:56,519 --> 00:48:58,211
MAN:
Bring it!
1067
00:48:58,245 --> 00:49:03,457
["Come Baby Come" continues]
1068
00:49:03,492 --> 00:49:05,114
K7 and the Swing Kids!
1069
00:49:05,149 --> 00:49:06,253
Peace!
1070
00:49:06,288 --> 00:49:09,877
[cheers and applause]
1071
00:49:16,229 --> 00:49:21,027
♪
1072
00:49:21,061 --> 00:49:24,030
STEELE: Jeans are probably
the single most iconic garment
1073
00:49:24,064 --> 00:49:26,308
of the 20th century.
1074
00:49:26,342 --> 00:49:27,757
Each generation
1075
00:49:27,792 --> 00:49:31,485
keeps rediscovering how jeans
can be meaningful for them.
1076
00:49:31,520 --> 00:49:34,764
♪
1077
00:49:41,979 --> 00:49:43,532
ROCKMAN:
Blue jeans are an amazing thing
1078
00:49:43,566 --> 00:49:44,740
for anyone trying to tell
1079
00:49:44,774 --> 00:49:47,985
a broader history of the United States.
1080
00:49:48,019 --> 00:49:50,194
It allows you to talk about slavery.
1081
00:49:50,228 --> 00:49:54,853
It allows you to talk about
fashion and consumerism.
1082
00:49:54,888 --> 00:49:57,580
It allows you to talk about cool
and the invention of cool.
1083
00:49:57,615 --> 00:50:01,412
And to have all of these things
under the same heading
1084
00:50:01,446 --> 00:50:02,965
is really quite remarkable.
1085
00:50:03,000 --> 00:50:05,416
♪
1086
00:50:05,450 --> 00:50:10,731
McCLENDON: Denim and its
history is a perfect metaphor
1087
00:50:10,766 --> 00:50:16,530
for where we find ourselves
as a culture right now.
1088
00:50:16,565 --> 00:50:21,225
Becoming much more aware of the silences,
1089
00:50:21,259 --> 00:50:25,229
of those groups
1090
00:50:25,263 --> 00:50:28,922
that have been pushed to the side.
1091
00:50:28,956 --> 00:50:32,857
Exposing and celebrating
1092
00:50:32,891 --> 00:50:35,653
these narratives that haven't made it into
1093
00:50:35,687 --> 00:50:39,691
that typical telling of jeans
1094
00:50:39,726 --> 00:50:43,247
is part of the work to change
our understanding
1095
00:50:43,281 --> 00:50:44,627
of American history.
1096
00:50:44,662 --> 00:50:50,047
♪
1097
00:50:50,081 --> 00:50:53,705
FORD: It's a long
journey from "Negro cloth"
1098
00:50:53,740 --> 00:50:58,607
to hip hop denim and baggy jeans
ruling the denim market
1099
00:50:58,641 --> 00:51:01,230
in the 1990s.
1100
00:51:01,265 --> 00:51:05,510
As I sit here in a denim jacket,
you know, it's clear to me that
1101
00:51:05,545 --> 00:51:09,307
we can see the rich tapestry
of where we've been as a people,
1102
00:51:09,342 --> 00:51:13,208
as a nation.
1103
00:51:13,242 --> 00:51:16,349
♪
1104
00:51:16,383 --> 00:51:17,591
JENKINS:
The thing about the denim jean
1105
00:51:17,626 --> 00:51:21,147
is it tells a story about who we are.
1106
00:51:21,181 --> 00:51:24,702
It's a garment that's almost
like keeping the fingerprints
1107
00:51:24,736 --> 00:51:26,393
of our history...
1108
00:51:26,428 --> 00:51:30,880
the creases, the tears, all of it.
1109
00:51:30,915 --> 00:51:32,192
You know, you can repair it all you want,
1110
00:51:32,227 --> 00:51:35,471
mend it all you want,
but the scars of that, you know,
1111
00:51:35,506 --> 00:51:37,508
the memory, that material memory
1112
00:51:37,542 --> 00:51:38,923
will remain there.
1113
00:51:38,957 --> 00:51:43,893
♪
1114
00:51:51,073 --> 00:51:55,319
♪
1115
00:52:15,960 --> 00:52:19,960
♪