Talk about a piece of history! Wearing denim jeans has been around for more than a century! Lets focus on the 1940′s here, and narrow the discussion a bit.
In 1943, Blue Bell Inc. acquired the Casey Jones Company… who had been making jeans since 1905. The combined knowledge promoted the Wrangler line of jeans, designed with cowboys in mind. In 1947, style 11MW (which was Men’s Western) was introduced, using 11 oz denim and a rust-proof zippered fly. Midwest-Vintage goes on to say this, “Wrangler, like Lee initially used the arcuate stitch on the back pockets, but this was quickly replaced in 1948 with the “W” stitch. It is interesting to note that the Wrangler label or the back of the jeans has never been produced in leather. The Wrangler label was first made in pressed card and then in plastic for a simple reason. The Wrangler jeans were designed for cowboys and when the leather label and leather saddle came into contact they would stick together. These jeans had a “Blue Bell” label sewn on the back of the zipper fly with the sizing and the world “Sanforized”.”
It is interesting to note that these earlier products had both the Wrangler and Blue Bell logo sewn into them!
Think you’ve got what it takes to make your own ‘vintage’ clothes? Good for you! You may have noticed by now that I post a lot of links to books here… it’s because research is key. So here, my friends, is a great place to do some research!
Why so many links for quilting books, you ask? Because they are going to show you reproduction prints of cotton fabrics that are going to make trips to the fabric store a whole new experience for you Go to the bookstore, or order online from the comfort of your own home, but check out what these books have to offer!
I put a lot of books up on here for you to look at today, then of course I had to go look at what I wanted to make for dinner tonight.
Silly me… Of COURSE you want to see what rationing cookbooks are out there! You’re in for a treat, because there are some great ones!! Pick one up, and spend a week trying to eat only what was allowed!
Here are some great books detailing what life was like during WWII, from mainland and island perspective.
Every story you read regarding the homefront is the history of a family… Every time you retell the tale, you are keeping those people, those events, and that moment in time alive for future generations.
You may not believe this, but once upon a time I knew nothing about WWII, or the Homefront. When I was 10, I had my tonsils taken out, as happens in many cases. My grandmother sent me some paper dolls to keep me quiet, created by a man named Tom Tierney, who was obviously in love with fashion from all periods. This was glamorous movie stars of the 1930′s…. I wanted to be that glamorous ever since! I probably own a half dozen of his paper dolls books, uncut, even now.
Here are some links to only a few of Tom Tierney’s paper dolls books, he has some fascinating collections of paper dolls, which give a great look at what people were looking to wear!
In 1943, Blue Bell Inc. acquired the Casey Jones Company… who had been making jeans since 1905. The combined knowledge promoted the Wrangler line of jeans, designed with cowboys in mind. In 1947, style 11MW (which was Men’s Western) was introduced, using 11 oz denim and a rust-proof zippered fly. Midwest-Vintage goes on to say this, “Wrangler, like Lee initially used the arcuate stitch on the back pockets, but this was quickly replaced in 1948 with the “W” stitch. It is interesting to note that the Wrangler label or the back of the jeans has never been produced in leather. The Wrangler label was first made in pressed card and then in plastic for a simple reason. The Wrangler jeans were designed for cowboys and when the leather label and leather saddle came into contact they would stick together. These jeans had a “Blue Bell” label sewn on the back of the zipper fly with the sizing and the world “Sanforized”.”
Go to the bookstore, or order online from the comfort of your own home, but check out what these books have to offer!