Frandaly Cabrera ID:1014-2763.

Read ‘The story of denim’ below and answer the questions.

The story of denim
In 1853, an ambitious 24-year-old German called Levi Strauss left New
York for California with the intention of setting up a dry goods business there.
Everyday goods were in short supply, and people struggled to find clothing and
pots and pans in the Wild West. He carried with him huge bales of cotton canvas
that he thought would be useful for tents and wagon covers. When Levi got there,
he found that what people really needed was tough clothing that could survive the
harsh life of the mines and factories.

Levi cleverly turned the canvas he had brought into overalls for the miners
and sold them at a profit. But the miners complained that the fabric was too rough
and scratched their skin. Levi quickly substituted the canvass for a thick, cotton
twill from France called ‘serge de Nîmes’. Not only was it durable and strong, but
it also felt soft on the skin on the underside.

The fabric was later called ‘denim’ and the trousers and overalls made were
called ‘jeans’. Miners then complained that their pockets tore off easily. In 1872,
Levi joined up with a enterprising tailor called Jacob Davis to add metal rivets to
all the key pressure points on the jeans and doublestitched pockets in thick cotton
yarn. They received a patent on 20 May 1873 and the ‘Two-Horse’ brand of jeans
was launched. The advertisement showed horses unable to pull the fabric apart.
 1. In which year did Levi Strauss come to California? In 1853.
2. What was his intention? the intention of setting up a dry goods business
there.
3. What was in short supply in the Wild West? Everyday goods were in short
supply.
4. What did Levi do with the canvass he had brought with him? turned the
canvas he had brought into overalls for the miners and sold them at a
profit.
5. What was the problem that miners faced with this fabric? that the fabric
was too rough and scratched their skin.
6. What fabric did Levi substitute for the canvas? substituted the canvass for
a thick, cotton twill from France called ‘serge de Nîmes’.
7. How did it acquire its new name or short form? The fabric was later called
‘denim’ and the trousers and overalls made were called ‘jeans’.
8. What innovation did Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss invent together? launch
the jeans brand "Two-Horse".

Extended questions:
9. Why did the advert show two horses trying to pull the fabric apart? SO, THEY HAD TO
MAKE CONSUMERS UNDERSTAND QUICKLY HOW GOOD AND STRONG THE COMPANY'S
JEANS WERE.
10.Write three words that would sum up three aspects of Levi Strauss’s character.
original, commitment and holistic.
 11. Give an example in each case of the ‘clue’ you used to decide this:

a) Creative person.
b) For his intelligence.
c) Cared for the miners, for a comfortable clothing style for them.

THIS EXERCISE GOES ON THE PORTFOLIO