150 years of jeans

..and why those denims are still wearing well

TAKE a peek in almost any wardrobe and you will find them: bootcut, skinny, boyfriend, tapered, wide-legged or flared, there will be a pair of jeans.

And today the tough trousers invented by Levi Strauss celebrate their 150th birthday - and are as popular as ever.

The cotton twill material they are made from was originally manufactured in the French city of Nîmes and was called Serge de Nîmes, but got shortened to denim over time.

German-Jewish migrant Levi Strauss might have remained a small-time trader in San Francisco had it not been for local tailor Jacob Davis, who regularly bought bolts of denim from Strauss's warehouse.

One of Davis's customers complained about how often his trousers got torn which meant buying extra cloth to mend them.

Davis hit upon the bright idea of using copper rivets to reinforce the pressure points of his client's trousers but, lacking funds to turn the idea into a successful venture, wrote to Strauss suggesting they go into business together.