Denim is a cotton fabric from France called serge de Nimes used in 1849 by Levi Strauss to make pants that were worn by thousands of men who traveled West during the Gold Rush. By the twenty-first century, denim had taken on a totally new dimension. No longer relegated to casual wear, it can be found in all categories of fashion from intimate apparel to eveningwear.
Historical Dictionary of the Fashion Industry. Francesca Sterlacci and Joanne Arbuckle.