American Life and Fashion from Jeans to Jeggings

Book excerpt: Jeans are a type of trouser developed in 1873 and have been appropriated from work pants, typically worn by men, to the high fashion influence jeans have today. Jeggings are highly influenced by jeans, but what influenced the development from jeans to jeggings? How did the culture, political, and fashion influence decisions the designers made to develop their point of view? In this book, middle school readers will learn the answers to these questions and will be excited to understand how fashion designers use cultural and historical influences in their work. This book examines, decade by decade, how what was happening in the United Sates in culture, politics, and economics influenced fashion, specifically jeans, and vice versa throughout the post-World War II era. This high-interest book includes the history, current status and future of the art form and features rich illustrations, primary sources, and the historical and cultural context.