Literature overview and thematic analysis

Tattered Jeans as the Fashion of the Popular Culture

In the fashion of popular culture in today's American society, jeans are perhaps the most often used by people of all socio-economic classes and fashion tastes. The jeans made its debut as a form of clothing when Levi Strauss, maker of the jeans brand Levi's, made the first pairs of jeans during the year 1853. The cloth that was used to make the first jeans were made of canvas cloth, which was originally intended to be used for the construction of tents by the coal miners during the Gold Rush of the 19th century. When it became apparent that what the people, especially the miners, needed were not tents and shelter but clothing, Strauss made these canvas cloths into men's trousers. Thus, the first pairs of jeans were born, and the popular jeans brand of Levi's was introduced to the world of American fashion.

Because of the comfort and endurance of jeans as clothing, jeans can be used until they are worn out. The functional use of the jeans made it popular, even after its wearability had been exceeded, which become apparent if the jeans are already torn or tattered. Although torn and tattered jeans are signs of the jeans limited wearability, the tradition of wearing jeans even if they are already worn out was popularized during the 1990s, a period wherein the American people have adapted the functionalist and 'worn-out' fashion of popular culture. During this period, haggard looks, thinness, and ruggedness became the trendy fashion of the society, and one of the symbols used to illustrate this new form of fashion was by wearing the torn or tattered jeans. This fashion genre proliferated because it is not expensive, since tattered jeans can be made out of one's old pair of jeans, or simply by styling one's pair of jeans to 'torn' or 'tattered' ones. Because of its ruggedness and radical simplicity, tattered jeans became a hit among the people, and until today, many people wear tattered jeans not only to look fashionable, but to also illustrate an image of being a 'busy' and 'physically' active individual. Since tattered jeans are usually products of too much activity, tattered jeans have thus become a fashion for people who want to project a rugged, radical, yet no nonsense image.

In the office setting, people usually wear jeans which are straight in cut and have a clean look, and it is rare in the workplace environment to wear tattered jeans if the workplace is not on the field or the work requires physical activities. Tattered jeans project an image of coolness, but it can also be detrimental to one's image in an office if that person is holding a respectable job or position in the company or organization. However, revolutionary changes have been happening in the business environment whenever issues of dress code are being discussed. More and more companies are adapting the rugged, comfortable look of wearing jeans (tattered or not) so that the employees will work more efficiently since they are wearing clothes that make them feel 'themselves' and comfortable. Thus, tattered jeans are fast becoming an accepted dress code in most formal organizations in the American society today.