Vintage Workwear Style Rocks and Rolls Denim Every Which Way
July 22, 2019Denim fabrics, trends and options permeate vintage workwear style for men and women who want to rock retro denim looks with a contemporary twist for today’s work and play.
Rock and roll vintage workwear style with tried-and-true retro denim looks made current for today’s street style that you can wear anywhere. These ideas can easily be used to combine contemporary workwear pieces with those from years gone by.
Vintage Workwear Style history
America has a rich history of using denim to meet working men needs, as far back as the 1800s, when denim workwear pieces were used by miners, farmers, construction workers, railroad workers and many other kinds of hands-on workers.
Vintage workwear in denim had the fabrication and construction to deliver the durability and resilience that stood up to the demands of working men.
Vintage workwear style like railroad jackets, work jackets, denim button-downs and overalls were offered by such renowned global denim business players as Levi, Lee, Crown and Carhartt.
These players in the global denim business started off by catering exclusively to the early adopters of denim and have now grown into key players of raw denim, done the street style way and offering their products to denim dudes and dudettes around the world.
Denim workwear pieces did not stay within the working men boundaries for long, however. By the 1950s, raw denim street style was adopted by global rebels like Marlon Brando, James Dean and Elvis Presley. These icons rocked their denim workwear pieces as emblems of rebellion and street savvy looks and the denim trend took off across all ages and cultures around the world.
Continuing through the 50s and 60s, women adopted denim styling fashions and trends and you would see stars like Marilyn Monroe rocking her high-waisted slim fitting denim jeans with a white button down, red neckerchief and ballet flats. These chic raw denim styles became the pervasive trend as Hollywood invaded the world.
Vintage Workwear Style Players in the global Marketplace Today
If you are looking for authentic vintage workwear style done the American way, check out Workers Denim at Heddels, an online Japanese store that specializes in American workwear style done the original denim way. They provide a portal to key players like Lee, Crown Overalls, Payday, Filson and others.
Adriano Goldschmied or AG Jeans, launched in the 2000s by a pioneer in the denim world called Yul Ku, offers you vintage workwear style tooled the contemporary way yet completely classic and sophisticated. Check out their online store at Agjeans and learn how they combine their design expertise with advanced manufacturing concepts reflective of their corporate citizenship values.
Another global denim business is Warehouse & Co at Sonofastag’s Collection, offering authentic high-end vintage workwear style and responsible for the vintage jeans boom of the 1990s.
Warehouse workwear pieces successfully bring back reproductions of denim styling that were previously relegated to the history books. They are known for their yellow line selvage, their Brown-Duck Digger line and their Heller’s Café line.
Amy Leverton
Denim styling through history is explored by Amy Leverton at her Denim Dudes site where you will find the stories of all thing’s denim. Her book, Denim Dudes, is full of raw denim and street style inspiration for the denim vintage workwear style aficionado. You’re sure to come away with some great ideas that you can incorporate into your personalised vintage workwear style.
Then learn about how Amy Leverton pays homage to female denim trailblazers in her new book, “Denim: Street Style, Vintage, Obsession”. She covers the backstory of Lynn Downey, who ran Levi’s vintage workwear style archives.
Amy also explores what makes denim unique and the ultimate expression of personality for denim dudes and denim dudettes.
Jason Denham
Another key player in the global denim business is Jason Denham, the founder and creator of the Denham jeans brand out of Amsterdam. Visit Jason Denham The Jean Maker to be inspired by Denham’s love story with denim vintage workwear and how he transformed Amsterdam into the jeans capital of Europe.
Have you been inspired by vintage workwear style done the denim way? The players in the global denim business, history of vintage workwear styles, fabrics and forms, and purveyors of denim street style offer up a ton of options, looks and stories to take your average workwear pieces to the next level.
Today’s denim options range from completely casual ripped and rugged raw denim street style looks, all the way to office-ready, tailored and sophisticated denim dresses, skirts, suits and pants.
And don’t forget denim accessories in all shapes, colours and twists, from hats to shoes and everything you need to add that touch of denim styling to your vintage workwear style, reimagined for today.
[i] https://www.heddels.com/2013/04/introducing-workers-denim/
[iii] https://www.sonofastag.com/collections/warehouse-co-japan
[iv] https://www.denimdudes.co/
[v] https://www.denhamthejeanmaker.com/about/jason-denham.html
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