Blue Jeans

Initially blue jeans were simply sturdy trousers worn by manual workers. In the United States during the 1950s, wearing of blue jeans by teenagers and young adults became symbolic of mild protest against conformity. This was looked down upon by some adults as they believed blue jeans to be disruptive; for example, some cinemas and restaurants refused to admit customers who wore blue jeans.

During the 1960s the wearing of blue jeans became more acceptable and by the 1970s blue jeans had become a normal fashion in the United States and western Europe at least for informal wear everyday wear. Notably, in the mid-1960s the denim and textiles industry was revolutionized by the introduction of the pre wash craze. Entrepreneur Donald Freeland of Edmonton, Alberta developed the technique so denim and blue jeans could be brought to a larger and more varied market.

Denim suddenly became an attractive product for all age groups and Freeland became one of the most important innovators in the history of denim and denim products. Acceptance of blue jeans continued through the 1980s and 1990s to the point where blue jeans are now the most popular form of trouser in peoples wardrobes, with the average North American owning seven pairs of blue jeans.

Source: Wikipedia (with some amendments from yours truely)