The History of Denim

The term "denim " originates from the French town, "de Nîmes", where the fabric is said to have first been produced. As the fabric produced is tough and hard, it was nicknamed "serge de Nîmes" (serge being French for "sturdy "), becoming today known simply as "denim."

In terms of raw denim specifically, it is difficult to trace back the exact time of raw denim’s first emergence.   Yet, raw denim likely emerged between the late 1800s and mid 1900s.  At this point, raw denim is widely produced and worn on a larger scale in America by trades workers and miners — hence the vintage Americana appeal of some brands such as Rising Sun & Co.  It is worth noting that denim produced during this time is primarily, if not entirely, premium denim.

In the 1950’s, World War II was won and youth culture dominates.  Denim is so popular that many American mills abandon the slower shuttle looms switching to faster, industrial machines with mass production capabilities.

What happened to the shuttle looms? Long story short, the U.S. aided in the rebuilding many of Japan’s industries, especially the textile industry. Thus, Japan receives many, many shuttle looms that give impetus to the start of numerous denim mills.  Thereby, today’s "Japanese raw denim" craze is born.

Premium denim jeans built to last at lease one thousand wears is providing some significant advantages in the marketplace.

Denim Weights

All clothing manufacturers have a standard language to ensure that discussions concerning fabric are the same throughout the world.  When comparing denim products, the discussion centers on the topic of weight.  The weight refers to the weight of one square yard of fabric.  To keep the talking points to something easy to remember consider that the lighter the weight; the softer and more pliable the fabric.

At BlackStar Denim, our lightest fabric is the midweight standard.  This fabric weighs 12.5 ounces per square yard.  This is heavier that the average denim jean purchased in most department stores.   Midweight fabrics are initially quite rigid.  The initial break in time for these products is several weeks.

Midweight denims last longer and have better fading properties than most popular and lighter denim products.   The "disadvantages" are that there is a longer break in time and the fabric is more rigid initially.

For the denim connoiseur, Blackstar Denim creates products with a heavy weight.  These fabrics are hefty weighing in at 16 ounces per square yard.  Heavy weight are made specifically for hardwearing.   These jeans handle just about anything you throw at them.  The heavy weight denim jeans produce distinct high contrast wear patterns.  The biggest advantage of heavy weight denims is that they last a lifetime.  The "disadvantages" are that they have the longest break in time and can be very uncomfortable to wear in the summer months.