The German Jew Levi Strauss, the city of Nimes, France, the American gold rush and the Second World War have everything to do with it! As? They are responsible for the origin of the jeans that we love so much.

Let's get to the facts. In 1792 = you read that right, our jeans have been around for a lot longer than we think! - the first denim fabric was manufactured in the French city of Nimes. In the beginning it was called "fabric de Nimes", and it was from the abbreviation of this name that the famous term "denim" came about.

Much later, in mid-1853, the gold rush was taking place in the United States and there was a young man there who sold canvas for the miners' wagons. This young man is that Levi Strauss, who noticed how the miners' clothes wore out very quickly at work.

With that in mind, Levi came up with the idea of ​​using canvas fabric, which was much more resistant, to make pants for mine workers. The plan would have been brilliant, if not for one detail, the stiffness of the fabric made it not very flexible, hindering the work.

But the young entrepreneur was not discouraged and decided to look in Europe, the most evolved continent until then, for a fabric that was as resistant as canvas and flexible enough.

That's how he found the denim twill cotton, the dear Denim. Over time, details were added, such as metal buttons, rivets, pockets and more attractive colors - Mainly the famous blue jeans.

However, jeans only really won hearts around the world in the 1940s, with the Second World War. Jeans were adapted to be part of the uniform of the United States Army and so it was associated with the patriotic and virile image of the soldiers.

And you're there thinking: Well, it's all explained, but where did the name "jeans" come from? Remember that fabric originated in France, in Europe? It was also used by European sailors and it was through the sailors of the port of Genoa, Italy, who were nicknamed "genes" that derived its name from our well-known "jeans".

Knowing that our dear everyday jeans are part of world history makes you even slightly proud to have so many in your wardrobe, doesn't it?

In July 2022, Marco and Nelly Britto went to the city of Nimes in France to learn about this story. Our thanks to these two denim lovers and also the entire GB Customização team for telling us this story.