First pair of Denims.

[John Arton]

We had own brand of jeans in shields some years ago, Geordie Jeans, a local outfit that had outlets in a couple of towns in the north east and manufactured locally. Good quality and hard wearing.. they went out of business in the nineties if I remember correctly.
Rgds
J.A

[Doc Vernon]

Well for me, i recall my very First pair of Jeans was actually in Cape Town, before i went to Sea.
It was 1955 when James Dean came into the spotlight in his then Famous Film, Rebel without a Cause, with Sal Mineo and Natalia Wood.
That time there were literally Thousands upon thousands of his Fans, that started Buying the Jeans and Red Jacket he wore.
Me included, as it was the in thing to be dressed like that then.

James Dean.JPG

Later in 1958 when i joined the Merchant Navy, i had bought another Pair of Levis, and took them with me on my first trip.
After meeting a nice Lad on board , he told me about the thing of faded Jeans, so i managed to get mine done , with Dave (That was his name ) hanging my Jeans over the Ship tied with a piece of strong Fishing Line , he actually had a Hook as well , through the Top part of the Jeans, as it was the toughest part.
We left it dragging for only about an hour, and Boy when it came up, it sure was faded had a great look!
Now days though one can just Buy faded and torn Jeans as a norm ! LOL
Yep them were the days !

[Des Jenkins]

#1.,Thats the way you buy them today and pay extra for the holes in them. Some wealthy person calling himself a designer had to stick a spike through various parts to make them look authentic. Being careful not to be wearing them,when he did so . JS

Hi John
We were signing in at an RSL in Penrith when this woman came in the foyer, she had on the latest jeans with the knees all torn , the doorman said you can't come in here dressed like that Lady, she said it's the latest fashion, he said well you where duded, you still can't come in here dressed like a ragbag
Des

[happy daze john in oz]

I have a pair of denim shorts, long pair cut down.
Full of holes and warn bits.
Could wash them and sell for about $50 and they would still be better than the ones on offer in the shops.

[Michael Sheehan]

I was young and just wanted to be one of the boys and I quickly worked out that I needed to wear the unofficial uniform, a pair of Levis ,wranglers or a pair of Lee jeans.The deck crew wore them for work and going ashore they even had them cut down to shorts !! the galley boy wore them and the stewards wore them when going ashore. I had to get a pair !! Managed to get a pair of Lee jeans in Rotterdam I was over the moon the only problem was that they were hard and stiff and could stand on their own. I asked some of the old hands how can I get them to look like there's , worn and faded , you can imagine some of the suggestions, scrub with caustic soda, with diesel, and vinegar etc, etc.The option I went for was to tie a line through the belt loops and secure to the railing then over the side and leave overnight !!!Next morning ,no jeans !! heartbroken !! Anyway couple days later joined some of the boys for smoko and tab-nabs out on deck became aware that they were smirking and looking at me couldn't work out what was going on until I looked up and there were my Lee jeans attached to a samson post, more ribbing but it never did me any harm.
PS.
It took a lot of scrubbing to make me look like an old hand.

We used to give blood in hawai and the payment for giving blood was just enough to buy a pair of Levi jeans and then to fade them we used to go to the beach wear them in the water and then keep rubbing them with sand workedwell

[George Rix]

I remember my first jean alright, they took so much getting at all. I was eight years old and had to pester to kingdom come to get a pair like my friends. My very germanic mother ( a forces fraulien ) thought they were too scruffy and she wanted me to be different. But in the end I got a black pair, my dad seemed to think blue ones were too american, he was very conservative like that even if there must have been lots of other soldiers around him who wore them ( maybe that was part of the problem?) he told me about the dragging them through the sea a few hours ritual ( there were a lot of merchant navy in his family) because they didn't look right new.
My solution? Spin around on the pavement a while wearing them. Mum hid them until I was grown out of them. I never got another pair until I was about 15 and soon to leave home. After that jeans featured all the time in my life.

[happy daze john in oz]

WE see all the jeans in the shops with ready made holes and well worn.
We are told all made in China, but are they.
Could it be that some people rummage in the local tip, find these jeans all worn out and sell them to China to sell to us?