60. Blue jeans history

Welcome to American Mosaic from VOA Learning English. I’m June Simms. Today on the show: a little history of one of the most popular pieces of clothing¹ in America.  Then some music to go along with² it.

What defines American clothing or fashion³?  Can you think of a piece of clothing that is inseparably⁴ linked to⁵ American culture?  There is⁶ a good chance your answer⁷ would be blue jeans.  Many listeners⁸ have written⁹ to ask about¹⁰ the history of these well-loved pants¹¹. So today we will give it a try¹².

Levi Strauss did not invent jeans, but he is considered the first person to make and sell great numbers of them. He was born¹³ in Bavaria, an area that today is part of Germany¹⁴. In 1847 he and his family immigrated to the United States         

   

Levi Strauss opened a small dry goods store¹⁵, first in New York, then in San Francisco, California.  Among¹⁶ the products he sold¹⁷ were jeans.  These pants were especially useful¹⁸ for miners in California.  They needed clothing made from¹⁹ a strong material.  Jeans are usually²⁰ made from a heavy²¹ cotton cloth²² called denim.     

                                                                        

Levi Strauss partnered with²³ a clothing maker²⁴ named Jacob Davis. Davis had invented a process for making rivets²⁵ for jeans.  These little metal connectors helped hold the pieces of cloth together²⁶ to make the jeans stronger²⁷.

President Obama wears²⁸ jean as he throws out²⁹ the first pitch³⁰.

In 1873, the government gave³¹ Strauss and Davis a patent for their invention.  That meant³² no one else could³³ legally copy it without³⁴ their permission. They began³⁵ producing what they called “copper-riveted³⁶ waist³⁷ overalls³⁸.”

In 1928, the Levi Strauss company³⁹ registered the word “Levi’s” as a trademark⁴⁰ for their product.  The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington has one of the oldest⁴¹ known pairs⁴² of Levi’s.             

Writer⁴³ James Sullivan published a book called “Jeans: A Cultural History of an American Icon⁴⁴.” In it, he says jeans represent two American values: creativity and rebellion.

Cowboys wore⁴⁵ jeans in the old Wild West⁴⁶. In the 1950s, people saw⁴⁷ famous Hollywood actors like James Dean and Marlon Brando wearing jeans in movies.

Today jeans still⁴⁸ come in blue but also lots of other colors.  They can also differ widely in price⁴⁹. You might find⁵⁰ jeans for 15 dollars in an American discount store. However⁵¹, they can also sell for thousands of dollars a pair.

Some people like to buy jeans that look⁵² fresh and new.  Others like to buy new jeans that are torn⁵³ and look old. What kind of⁵⁴ jeans do you like? Let us know⁵⁵.  Send⁵⁶ an email to learningenglish@voanews.com.

Vocabulary

1. pieces of clothing = peças de vestuário
2. go along with = ir junto com, acompanhar
3. fashion = moda
4. inseparably = inseparavelmente
5. linked to = ligado a, vinculado a
6. There is = há
7. answer = resposta
8. listeners = ouvintes
9. written = escrito
10. ask about = perguntar sobre
11. pants = calças
12. give it a try = experimentar
13. He was born = ele nasceu
14. Germany = alemanha
15. dry goods store = loja de produtos secos
16. Among = entre
17. sold = vendia
18. useful = útil
19. clothing made from = vestuário feito de
20. usually = normalmente
21. heavy = pesado
22. cotton cloth = tecido de algodão
23. partnered with = fez parceria com
24. clothing maker = fabricante de roupas
25. rivets = rebites
26. hold the pieces of cloth together = manter os pedaços de tecido juntos
27. stronger = mais forte
28. wears = veste
29. throws out = arremessa
30. pitch = arremesso (baseball)
31. gave = deu
32. meant = significava
33. no one else could = ninguem mais poderia
34. without = sem
35. began = começaram
36. copper-riveted = com rebite de cobre
37. waist = cintura
38. overalls
39. company = empresa
40. trademark = marca registrada
41. one of the oldest = um dos mais antigos
42. known pairs = pares conhecidos
43. Writer = escritor
44. Icon = ícone
45. wore = vestiam
46. Wild West = oeste selvagem
47. saw = viram
48. still = ainda
49. can also differ widely in price = podem também diferir amplamente no preço
50. might find = pode encontrar
51. However = contudo
52. look = parecem
53. torn = rasgado
54. What kind of = que tipo de
55. Let us know = avise-nos
56.  Send