The legacy of denim in America, as seen through early FSA photographs of “blue collar” workers
There is perhaps no other fabric so inextricably associated with a country as is denim with the United States of America. First popularized by Levi’s iconic jean designs in the mid-1800s, denim quickly became the material of choice for working-class Americans, spurring an influx of other brands making workwear with the durable and ubiquitous fabric—from Wrangler and Lee to OshKosh and Carhartt. In the 1950s, denim moved from a work fabric to leisurewear. A large part of this transition was a new generation trying to connect with the rugged, patriotic spirit that the ordinary worker had come to symbolize after the onset of World War II. This volume traces the origins of this shift through a compendium of photos, drawn primarily from the archive of the Farm Security Administration (FSA), featuring American workers in denim. In both black and white and color, we see ordinary American laborers in the fields, dam construction workers, women toiling on the Chicago railroad, unemployed miners and steelworkers preparing the country for war, all donning denim overalls, jeans, jackets and shirts. The selection of 250 images represents an incredible feat of curation, drawing from an archive of over 170,000 images containing well-known stories and untold histories, but which has never been looked at through the prism of fashion history before. The images have all been rescanned from the original negatives and are reproduced here in exquisite quality such that the details of the denim—the heft of the weave, white stitching stark against indigo, cuffed hems—appear startlingly modern.
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
Esquire
Johnny Davis
The timing of the book is on-point—from Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter style to Pharrell’s Western-inspired Louis Vuitton collection, denim is hugely in fashion for 2024. But then again, when is it not?
Air Mail
Laura Craik
For anyone after a deeper knowledge of their favorite fabric than the one afforded by the glib description provided by their online retailer of choice (‘wide leg/high rise/turn-up cuffs’), a new book, 'Denim: The Fabric That Built America,' will act as a tall, cool glass of water.
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This holiday season, we honor the importance and beauty of gathering. At a time when our culture may seem more divided than ever, and more focused on consumption than connection, we take joy in this family photograph from Reel Art Press’s new book on FSA-era denim—the quintessentially American fabric. Pictured here, Feggen Jones and his fourteen children, Zebulon, North Carolina, March 1942. continue to blog
Taken by a roving FSA documentarian, this 1936 photograph captures the daughter of a farmer resettled to Kearney Farmsteads, Nebraska, during the Depression. On Thanksgiving day, the image of this young woman tending her flock simply made us smile, and reminded us to savor the small moments. It's reproduced from Denim: The Fabric That Built America, 1935–1944, the new release from our archive-obsessive friends at Reel Art Press. continue to blog
This 1926 advertisement for Levi Strauss’ original copper riveted waist overalls is reproduced from Reel Art Press new-release Denim: The Fabric That Built America, 1935–1944—a pure fashion history resource collecting more than 200 photographs of unself-conscious Americans living and working in their well-worn Depression-era denim. Culled from FDR’s Farm Security Administration archive of more than 170,000 photographs by such notable documentarians as Dorothea Lange, Gordon Parks, Arthur Rothstein, Jack Delano and Russell Lee, alongside many unknown names and anonymous contributions, this is a true denim deep dive. The story of Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis, “the godfathers of denim workwear,” is covered, alongside photographs of farmers, share croppers, train conductors, factory workers, mechanics and much more. “This book was an exciting—and enormous—undertaking, searching through hundreds of thousands of images into the hidden depths of the archive to unearth priceless denim gems,” Tony Nourmand writes. “The photographs were taken by some of America’s foremost photographers and each portrait, expression and movement is framed with the eye of a master. In this context, the detail of the denim—heft of the weave; fraying chore jacket layered over chambray shirt; patched overalls; white stitching contrasting against blue; metal rivets on rolled up jeans above steel-capped boots—is seen as startlingly modern.” continue to blog
FORMAT: Hbk, 9 x 10.75 in. / 240 pgs / 60 color / 140 b&w. LIST PRICE: U.S. $49.95 LIST PRICE: CANADA $69.95 ISBN: 9781909526976 PUBLISHER: Reel Art Press AVAILABLE: 10/29/2024 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Active AVAILABILITY: In stock TERRITORY: NA LA ASIA AFR ME
Published by Reel Art Press. Edited by Graham Marsh, Tony Nourmand.
The legacy of denim in America, as seen through early FSA photographs of “blue collar” workers
There is perhaps no other fabric so inextricably associated with a country as is denim with the United States of America. First popularized by Levi’s iconic jean designs in the mid-1800s, denim quickly became the material of choice for working-class Americans, spurring an influx of other brands making workwear with the durable and ubiquitous fabric—from Wrangler and Lee to OshKosh and Carhartt. In the 1950s, denim moved from a work fabric to leisurewear. A large part of this transition was a new generation trying to connect with the rugged, patriotic spirit that the ordinary worker had come to symbolize after the onset of World War II.
This volume traces the origins of this shift through a compendium of photos, drawn primarily from the archive of the Farm Security Administration (FSA), featuring American workers in denim. In both black and white and color, we see ordinary American laborers in the fields, dam construction workers, women toiling on the Chicago railroad, unemployed miners and steelworkers preparing the country for war, all donning denim overalls, jeans, jackets and shirts.
The selection of 250 images represents an incredible feat of curation, drawing from an archive of over 170,000 images containing well-known stories and untold histories, but which has never been looked at through the prism of fashion history before. The images have all been rescanned from the original negatives and are reproduced here in exquisite quality such that the details of the denim—the heft of the weave, white stitching stark against indigo, cuffed hems—appear startlingly modern.
