Denim's Golden Age (Part 2)

Before the mid 1950s selvage denim was the norm, every pair of jeans was made off of shuttle looms that produced 29” wide denim finished with white selvage. It wasn’t till the 1980s that this method of making denim was reestablished. What happened to the last 30 years in regards to selvage denim? Well, it all started with the growing demand for jeans after the great depression in the 1940s and 50s. Up until the 40s jeans were seen as work wear, nothing more. Jeans were the everyday wear of the blue-collar worker, everything from miners to railroad conductors. They all supported the denim.

[Picture taken from Denim Design Lab]

The war changed the world’s perception of the blue jean.
When war broke out over-seas, almost every manufacturer answered their call of duty by making products for the cause Levis was no different. Enlisted men were supplied with one pair of Levis Dungarees. When men were off duty and dressed in their civilian’s clothes they were most likely wearing Levis. (This was the world’s first introduction to blue jeans, and the need for them was instantaneous.) To save on thread Levis painted their iconic arcuates on their back pockets, this may have been where a certain fanatical denim company called Evis later changed to Evisu got their idea for painting their gulls on the back pockets.

Let’s skip ahead to 1945, the troops are home and they’ve now adopted jeans as their “civi” clothes. Jeans, still held the connotation for being worn for the dirty work, but would soon become a cult phenomenon that would change the denim industry into what it is today.
Levis and other denim companies saw a new market to fit so they advertised accordingly. Instead of seeing adverts specifically geared towards workers you see them shift to families.

[Picture taken from Denim Design Lab]

Where better to make your mark on the world then in Hollywood? Marlon Brando and James Dean are two of the most well known movie stars to be seen wearing blue jeans on the silver screen. The roles these stars played perpetuated a stereotype that had been attached to the blue jean. They were rebellious. Who ever wore blue jeans was making a statement…they were against the establishment.

[Picture taken from Denim Design Lab]

The cult classic was born. The need for blue jeans spread like wildfire.
It was only when the demand for denim was greater then the mills production abilities that they ditched the old looms in order to make room for the newest manufacturing marvel, the open-end loom or OE loom which was designed to produce up to 60” of denim per yard versus the vintage shuttle looms 29” per yard.

A world thirsty for denim saw no need for selvage, so the shuttle looms were stored, trashed and shipped overseas where they lay dormant awaiting their day to spark a whole new kind of cult…the classics revival.

What is Selvage Denim? (Part 1)

Preface:
First off, in the denim community this term can be spelled one of 2 ways either selvage or selvedge both mean the same thing.

Argument:
I'm not going to try and sell anyone on Selvage Denim, instead I thought it'd be best to try and educate you all on some of the products that are out there...please let me know if this is at all confusing.

The Information:
Selvage or Selvedge is the term given to the uncut edge of the fabric which is on the right- and left-hand edges as it comes out of the loom. As such it is 'finished' and will not fray because the weft threads double back on themselves. We can also refer to this finished edge as the "self-edge". So, the term selvage can be applied to any fabric that has its edges finished by the loom.

Warp: Yarn that runs parallel to selvedge. In denim, it’s dyed indigo.
Weft: Weft, or filling yarn, runs from selvedge at right angles to warp yearn. In denim, this yarn is left a natural, undyed color.

A Brief History:
Denim hits the blue collar scene in a big way at the turn of the 20th century. This fabric was a favorite of wranglers, cowboys, railroad workers, and miners alike. The fabric proved to be resilient to say the least. As demand for dungarees and bib-overalls ("Union-alls") increased so did the competition. At this time there were only a handful of competitors and an even fewer number of mills that produced this wonder fabric. The top mill was Cone Mills located in South Carolina. The top players in the denim industry were Levis Strauss, Lee Jeans, Blue Bell, and a few others such as Can't Bust'Em Jeans, but the first three are the major competitors. Since Cone was the major supplier it was imperative that they had a way to distinguish their clients product, thus they started using different color stripes in the finished edges of the fabric, what we all know now as the selvage. This distinguishing characteristic also proved to be a great marketing tool. Levis was the trailblazer and chose to use a red and white striped selvage, Lee used a green and white stripe, and Blue Bell or Wrangler (as we know them today) a yellow and white stripe. Brand recognition had been established and loyal customers lived and died by their denim. This was the beginning of denims amazing transformation. Coming soon, denim's Golden Age...
Until then here is some examples of selvage denim (pics taken from Blue in Green)