JEANS #1: THE HISTORY

LEVI STRAUSS
 In 1850, Levi Strauss learned that pants – sturdy
pants that would stand up to the rigors of the
digging in New York mining- were almost impossible
to find. He then had a kind of canvas tailored into a
pair of stiff but rugged pants. The miner was
Le delighted with the result, word got around about
“those pants of Levi’s,” and Strauss was in business.
vi’ When Strauss ran out of canvas, he wrote his
brothers to send more.
s He received instead a tough, brown cotton cloth
made in Nimes, France – called serge de Nimes and
(1 swiftly shortened to “denim” (the word “jeans”
derives from Gênes, the French word for Genoa,
) where a similar cloth was produced).
 The name of Jacob W. Davis firstly occurred when he added
the rivets to the pants to pacify a mean-tempered miner
called Alkali Ike. Alkali, the story goes, complained that the
pockets of his jeans always tore when he stuffed them with
ore samples and demanded that Davis do something about
it. As a kind of joke, Davis took the pants to a blacksmith
Le and had the pockets riveted; once again, the idea worked so
well that word got around; in 1873 Strauss appropriated and
vi’ patented the gimmick –and hired Davis as a regional
manager.
s From a company with fifteen salespeople, two plants, and
almost no business east of the Mississippi in 1946, Levi’s
(2 jeans grew in thirty years to include a sales force of more
than twenty-two thousand, with fifty plants and offices in

) thirty-five countries. They have become, through marketing,

word of mouth, and demonstrate reliability, the
common pants of America.
 The pants have become a tradition, and they adapt
themselves to any sort of idiosyncratic use. Along
the way have acquired a history of their own –so much
so that the company has opened a museum in San
Fransisco. There was, for example, the turn-of-century
Le trainman who replaced a faulty coupling with a pair
of jeans; the Wyoming man who used his jeans as a
vI towrope to haul his car out of a ditch; the Californian
who found several pairs in an abandoned mine, wore
’s them then discovered they were sixty-three years old
and still as good as new and turned them over to the
(3 Smithsonian as a tribute to their toughness. And then
there is the particularly terrifying story of the careless
) construction worker who dangled fifty-two stories
above the street until rescued, his sole support the
Levi’s belt loop through which his rope was hooked.
Based on the reading above, decide whether the
statement is True or False, and then give reason/s
to support your answer.
1. Jeans were invented at the first time in a mining area.
2. Jacob Davis was the inventor of the first jeans.
3. Alkali was a friendly miner.
4. Davis was also a blacksmith. He riveted the pockets for
Alkali.
5. Jeans have functioned not only as ordinary clothes, but
people also experienced them for life safety, too.
6. Jeans became more popular and Levi’s has become a
giant jeans company.
7. The word jeans originated from a place in France.
8. The gimmick of jeans is the existence of rivets.
 Group Work:
Try to explain the situation below. Create a reconstruction
story that will make people understand the concept.
1. Illustrate the situation before Levi Strauss invented jeans. What problems
did miners have? How did Levi help them solve the problems? Do you
think he was successful? Explain and give examples.
2. When Strauss ran out of canvas, he asked his brother in France to send
him some. Why didn’t he ask someone in America to send him more
canvas? Did he get what he wanted? Was he happy?
3. What was the situation when Jacob W. Davis invented rivets for jeans
pocket? Why did Alkali go to Jacob? Do you think Jacob knew what to do?
How did Alkali react to Jacob’s solution?
4. The idiosyncratic uses of jeans are displayed in the Smithsonian museum.
Explain what people could do with their jeans to save someone’s life.
5. Levi’s has developed from a very small company to a multi-billion-dollar
and multi-national company. Explain what aspects that have helped this
company grow so fast. Explain your answer and give detailed explanations.
Carry out a simple research by interviewing
your classmates:
1. Talk with people around you.
2. Try to find out what people think about jeans. What are the
reasons that make them wear jeans?
3. If they wear jeans, make sure you know their habits in wearing
jeans, i.e. what kinds of jeans, how many pairs of jeans, when and
where they (do not) wear jeans. Try to make them tell you an
unforgettable event when they wear jeans.
4. You also need to find at least one person who never wears jeans in
his/her life. Find the reasons why he/she never wears jeans. Do you
agree with the reasons or you have a different opinion? Explain.
5. Report the results of your project to class. You may use the power
point presentation to help you present your report.
JEANS #2: In
Modern Days
Discussion
1. Most people of all ages love wearing jeans.
Who are they? Why do they love jeans? When do
they wear jeans? Find people’s habits in wearing
jeans. Explain.
2. There are people who never wear jeans. What
reasons do they have to avoid wearing jeans? Do you
agree with them? Explain.
3. Share your own experience in wearing jeans. What
are the positive and negative aspects of wearing jeans
for you? Explain.
 Share the Results of
your Interview about
Modern Jeans:
1. Who wear jeans and why? What do they think about jeans. What
are the reasons that make them wear jeans?
2. If they wear jeans, share what you know about their habits in
wearing jeans. What do you think about their habits?
3. For the person who never wears jeans in his/her life, what are the
reasons they never wears jeans. Do you agree with them or do
you have a different opinion? Explain.
4. Put some health considerations when people want to wear jeans.
5. What can you learn about our discussion on jeans? Give your
deep opinion about jeans in modern days.
Discussion
1. Most people of all ages love wearing jeans.
Who are they? Why do they love jeans? When do
they wear jeans? Find people’s habits in wearing
jeans. Explain.
2. There are people who never wear jeans. What
reasons do they have to avoid wearing jeans? Do you
agree with them? Explain.
3. Share your own experience in wearing jeans. What
are the positive and negative aspects of wearing jeans
for you? Explain.
HOMEWORK: Reporting
Write a report based on the discussion we have today.
You can cover all the questions in the previous slide or
only some of them. Just make sure that you will put it
in five-paragraph essay that goes deep and thorough.
Post it in FB group. Make sure you check the spelling
and grammar before you posted.
Heroes
Watch Nick Vujicic
Watch Loretta Claiborne