The first recorded denim jacket was created in the United States in about 1880 by Levi Strauss, approximately ten years after he had invented jeans as a new type of work apparel intended for use by cowboys, miners, and railroad workers. The "Type III" denim jacket, introduced by Levis Strauss & Co. in 1962, has been described as the Denim jacket "to rule them all". Also known as "the trucker jacket", design elements of the Type III include a tapered style, welt hand pockets, and bar tacks which hold down chest pocket and sleeve openings. In 2017, Google collaborated with Levi Strauss & Co. to develop a "connected" denim jacket described by Wired as the "denim jacket of the future". The underlying technology, named "Jacquard," encompassed a processor, a built-in battery, and a special yarn that gave the bottom of the arm a pseudo-touchscreen functionality. The same year, New York Fashion Week featured several denim jackets, with The Guardian predicting that the denim jacket would "be everywhere in 2018". A second version of the Jacquard jacket, featuring an appearance closer to jackets without the technology as well as a lower price, was released in late 2019. In addition to Levi Strauss & Co., other designers of denim jackets have included Wrangler, Calvin Klein, Tom Ford, Gucci, and Dior, among others.
Cultural impact
According to GQ, there are "few things more iconic, more innately American, than a denim jacket" and the magazine has called it "a staple for stylish men". Jean jackets have also been popular with women. Jean jackets, like jeans, are a major element of western wear, however, also like jeans, have enjoyed a more general appeal. Notable wearers of jean jackets have included western entertainers James Dean and John Lennon, as well as Polish anti-Communist dissident Jacek Kuroń. In 2017 GQ opined that Kanye West seemed to own "an alarming number of jean jackets", remarking that "he doesn't seem to go a few days without wearing one". According to Levi Strauss & Co., the jean jacket has traditionally appealed to nonconformists as "a knock to the 'suits' of the world, its informal yet edgy heritage making it the ideal item to stick it to the man".
Wear and styling
While jean jackets are predominantly found in blue, denim can be dyed any color achievable with cotton, so jackets in colors such as white and violet also exist. As with jeans themselves, it is possible to buy "raw" or "dry" denim jean jackets, which have not been washed or distressed at the factory and instead fade and break in naturally over time with wear. Jean jackets with sherpa lining for warmth are available.
