History of Denim

Denim is more than a cotton fabric; it inspires strong opinions from historians, designers, teenagers, movie stars, reporters and writer. In 1969 a writer for American Fabrics magazine declared, “Denim is one of the world’s oldest fabrics, yet it remains eternally young.” If continuous use of and interest in an item makes it “eternally young, “then denim certainly qualifies.

Legend and fact are also interwoven when scholars discuss the origin of the name denim. Most reference books say that denim is an English corruption of the French phrase “serge de Nimes;” a serge fabric from the town of Nimes in France. However, some scholars have begun to question this explanation.

Origins in Europe

There are a few scholars of thought on the derivation of the word “denim.” The serge de Nimes fabric traces back to France prior to the 17th century. At the same time, there was also a fabric known in France as “nim.” Both fabrics were composed partly of wool.

Serge de Nimes was also known in England before the end of the 17th century. The question then arises: was this fabric imported from France or was it an English fabric bearing the same name? Fabrics which were named for a certain geographic location were often also made elsewhere; the name was used to lend a certain cachet to the fabric when it was offered for sale. Therefore a “serge de Nimes” purchased in England was very likely also made in England, and not in Nimes, France.

There still remains the question of how the word “denim” is thought to have descended from the word “serge de Nimes.” Serge de Nimes was made of silk and wool, but denim has always been made of cotton. Again, this relation between fabrics is in name only, though both fabrics are twill weave. Is the real origin of the word denim “serge de nim,” meaning a fabric that resembled the part-wool fabric called nim? Was serge de Nimes more well-known than serge de nim and mis-translated when it crossed the English Channel? It’s likely we will never really know.

To confuse things even more, another fabric known as “Jean” also existed at this same time. Research on this textile indicates that it was fustian – cotton, linen and / or wool blend – and that fustian from Genoa, Italy was called jean. This is evidence of a fabric being named for a place of origin; it was apparently quite popular and imported into England in large quantities during the 16th century. By the end of this period, jean was being produced in Lancashire. By the 18th century, jean cloth was made completely of cotton and used to make men’s clothing, valued especially for its property of durability even after many types of washing.

Denim’s popularity was also on the rise. It was stronger and more expensive than jean, and thought the two fabrics were very similar in some ways, they did have one major difference: denim was made of one colored thread and one white thread; jean was woven of two threads of the same color.