The most American thing in your closet carries the name of an Italian port.
Gênes, then jeans
The French called Genoa Gênes, and its sturdy twilled cotton jean fustian. English had shortened it to “Geayne” by the mid-1400s.
Denim is French
Denim comes from serge de Nîmes, a serge from the south of France. One pair of trousers, two cities.
Indigo, around 1538
Genoa’s Museo Diocesano keeps fourteen Passion cloths dyed with indigo, called among the oldest ancestors of Genoese jeans. Levi’s patent came in 1873.
Worn like trousers
Dark indigo, no rips, full length to the shoe. Then she dresses the top half as if the jeans were good wool pants.
Dark, long, dressed
Give your jeans the respect Genoa gave its cloth. A fine knit on top does the rest.