Jeans come from Genoa, Italy — sailors there wore tough blue trousers more than 400 years ago.

By the 1500s, Genoa was a busy port city. Sailors needed strong clothes that could handle ropes, salt water, and hard work. The French called its blue cloth “bleu de Gênes,” meaning “blue of Genoa.” Around the same time, a tough fabric from Nîmes called “serge de Nîmes” led to the word “denim.” Both were strong fabrics used for work clothes. These fabrics were made with a twill weave, which creates diagonal lines and makes the cloth stronger. They were dyed with indigo, a plant-based dye. Indigo mostly colors the outside of the threads, leaving the inside lighter. That’s why jeans fade on the outside and look worn over time. In 1873, Jacob W. Davis and Levi Strauss received a U.S. patent for adding copper rivets to pants. The rivets made pockets and seams much stronger, which helped miners and other workers. By combining strong European fabrics, indigo dye, and rivets, they created the durable blue jeans we know today.