One of the main features that makes jeans so loved is their versatility. It is genderless, ageless, comfortable, resistant, suitable for every season and, with the right accessories, also for every occasion . The original fabric from Genoa used to make trousers and dungarees was first used for work clothes and then entered the everyday wardrobe.
A similar fate concerns the denim jacket , which already existed at the end of the 1800s. The fame, however, dates back to the 1950s, thanks also to the well-known brand Levis Strauss & Co , which in 1905 saw the long way and had the idea of filing a patent . From a technical point of view therefore, when it comes to fashion, the paternity of the denim jacket is to be entrusted to the Levis Strauss company; still today, it is one of the best-selling garments of this brand.
The revised model
Why did Levis Strauss even go so far as to patent his denim jacket model? Because he had revisited it. In summary, he had taken it out of the field of workwear to make it a fashionable item . He had added the pockets, shortened the bust, shaped the sleeves. So he had taken it to the runways and from there, in a short time, into the wardrobes of ordinary people. As the decades went by, jeans became more and more popular, until the 1950s when the denim jacket was linked to the history of movie stars
The denim jacket in the 60s and 70s
When cinema began to be successful, what the stars wore was what everyone wanted. And when Marilyn Monroe wore a denim jacket in the 1962 film The Misfits , the item became wildly popular. Marlon Brandon, James Dean and Elvis Presley also linked their image to the 60s style, where denim jackets alternated with leather ones.
It was almost the time of another cultural revolution, that of the flower children . What’s more iconic of the 70s than baggy flared jeans and denim jackets over floral dresses ? Hence, the jacket with pockets and round buttons continues to be the protagonist, loved by all, capable of bringing peace and love everywhere, without distinction of class, gender, age.
The last decades of the 1900s
From the flower children we pass to the punk generation, which in the 80s left Great Britain to spread throughout Europe. A culture that started from the world of music to break the mold with the past, rejecting those rules that had survived the liberation of the 70s. Still, the denim jacket managed to hold on. The style changed, it became wider, especially black, but it adapted to the new tastes .
It takes up its original model in the 90s when it becomes one of the protagonists of street style . The jeans jacket continues to make a splash among the stars, this time the icons of pop music: from Madonna to the Spaice Girls, up to the more recent Mariah Carey .
In this period it “decorated”, following the fashion of the moment. Sequins, rhinestones, embroidery, colored stitching, fabric inserts . The 80s are a bit of a time of excesses, at least in terms of color, and the taste drags on to the 90s. Then classic denim takes center stage again
The 2000s
The new Millennium leaves all the frills of the previous decades behind and decides to play more on the lines than on the accessories. The female denim jacket becomes tighter, adherent, follows the shapes. It is no longer just a jacket, it becomes a sort of shirt. Or it can be worn over a neutral-colored top, and the jacket itself becomes the protagonist .
Designers continue to include it in their collections, and it’s hard to find someone who doesn’t have their own model. The favorite color remains denim blue, or light blue, minus the black . The colored inserts remain the prerogative of the very young; for women, the denim jacket prefers to stay natural.
When wearing
As mentioned, jeans have the ability to adapt to any situation. Can a denim jacket do it too? Yes if you know how to match it. The narrower cut models can also work well on formal occasions , when combined with skinny trousers and a heel. Those with a classic cut are more suitable for casual occasions.
The most complicated combination remains the one with the skirt, but if you love the vintage style and know how to compose it, you can recreate a 70s atmosphere in a moment.