The Denim Yarns. Some are true, some are blue...

Technically, it simply means that denim's warp (vertical) yarns go on the loom already dyed. The fill (horizontal) yarns, on the other hand, are left in their natural state. Or often times, bleached.

This is the way it's been done since at least as far back as the 1800's. And it's what gives authentic denim a special look that people recognize the world over. We wouldn't offer it any other way.

A brief look at Indigo, and how Nature gave us the blues.
You likely know indigo as the dye that turns blue jeans blue. But indigo's real place in history began thousands of years ago. That's when folks discovered certain tropical plants produced a deep blue dye that was rich with color and, best of all, was the first ever that wouldn't wash out. This was mighty big news.

Indigo-dyed cloth became a highly-prized possession. And from early on, the color blue signified power. The daughters of the pharaoh are said to have painted their bodies blue and gold. (We know three year olds who do that too, but that's another story.)

Although Marco Polo reported seeing indigo pressed into small shipping cubes in Baghdad in the 1300's, it wasn't a world-traded commodity until the 17th and 18th centuries. When the 19th century rolled around, Britain had become the dominant supplier, operating huge plantations in India. Then, in 1880, the course of indigo changed forever.

After many years of trying, German chemist Adolph von Baeyer became the first to create a synthetic indigo dye. Because of its higher cost, the call for natural indigo finally fell silent.

Today, the demand for synthetic indigo is as great as natural indigo ever was. Blue is still the world's favorite jean color. And it looks good in shirts too.

True indigo this day and age? Indeed.
From primitive times until 1856, the only source of colorfast blue dye was the far-flung family of indigo dye plants. As late as 1890, a standard method for indigo dyeing involved a urine vat, using the ammonia and potassium carbonate as a reducing agent.

Naturally, dyers searched for simpler methods. In 1856, Sir William Perkin compounded a commercially useful precursor synthetic indigo, and rang a death knell for indigo plantations worldwide.

Natural and synthetic indigo share the same chemical formula. They work exactly the same way, but we no longer have to dig up plants or donate body fluids.

If we still grew plants to dye all of today's blue fabric, indigo plantations would occupy much of the world's cropland.

Instead, our indigo, still rare and expensive, comes from a lab; and a computer-controlled dyeing machine monitors all substances to make the process admirably eco-friendly.

A short but riveting tale of jean evolution.
When blue jeans first came on the scene almost 150 years ago, they didn't much resemble what we wear today. In fact, they weren't even blue.

Instead of indigo-dyed denim, they were cut from brown cotton canvas. Men had to wear suspenders, because there were no belt loops. The watch pocket had yet to be added. And rivets didn't become a standard feature until 20 years later.

When California gold miners claimed their pockets popped loose, copper rivets were fastened at the corners and stress points. Eureka! No more ripped pockets flapping in the breeze.

Rivets have been on jeans ever since. And as far as we're concerned, they wouldn't be authentic without them.