Got good Genes?

Garfene Grandison • Assistant Lifestyle Coordinator

Jeans had humble beginnings as tough work clothes, but their evolution and popularisation over the years have made them as inseparable from our wardrobe as the genes in our DNA.

In 1853, the astute Bavarian merchant Levi Strauss responded to the gold-rush need for tough clothes for the miner. He had his stock of brown cotton tent canvas run up as trousers - no belt loops and no back pockets. A cinch belt in the back kept them up. Scrabbling among too many rocks and too little gold, crawling along shafts, wrestling timber supports and balky dray mules, Strauss' 'overalls' lasted. They were cheap and they did the work well.

Later on, Strauss switched to denim and had it dyed in reliable, uniform indigo. By the 1860s, Levi Strauss' blue pants were daily wear for miners and farmers and cattlemen throughout the West. They were nicknamed jeans after the city of Genoa, where sailors wore blue cotton canvas. By 1880, Levi was full-blown, with orange stitching, bar tacking, rivets, watch pocket and the 'two horse' leather patch. Since that day, the look and feel of jeans have evolved and have come a far way.

Dive into the 'deep blue' with our selection of the dreamiest denim around. While indigo is the hottest blue hue of the season, there are other shades that will sharpen any look.Then there is the acid-wash denim to give any woman that undone girlish edge, not to mention the ever-popular skinny jeans and the metallic or disco which are the latest addition to the jeans family - the perfect transitional piece to take you from casual to cocktail chic. Boyfriend jeans are also on trend and with its big fit, the androgynous look can be softened with a pair of barely there strappy heels and a clean-cut cami top and blazer.

When it comes to jeans of all types, the place that has it all is Kerrymanwomanhome with looks and style to suit all body types and tastes. Flair's fashion stylist, Fidge Fletcher, recently embarked on a photoshoot with Jamaica's very own Yendi Phillipps for a 'jeans' campaign for all those fashionistas out there that have "good genes in their jeans."

Credits: Store: Kerrymanwomanhome, 18 South Avenue, Kingston 10, 929-2096 • Stylist: Fidge Fletcher • Photos by: Wade Rhoden • Model: Yendi Phillipps