logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2018
26m 5s

5. Blue Jeans

Avery Trufelman
About this episode

For the most part, we tend to keep our clothes relatively clean and avoid spills and rips and tears. But denim is so hard-wearing and hard-working that it just kind of amasses more and more signs of wear. So you can learn a lot from observing an old pair of blue jeans.

Articles of Interest is a show about what we wear, created by Avery Trufelman; a six-part series within* 99% Invisible*, looking at clothing.

Up next
Jun 18
School Uniforms
How uniforms shaped the American school system. Images and a very special animation at articlesofinterest.substack.com Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices 
45m 30s
Dec 2024
The Memory Palace
Nate Dimeo is a longtime radio hero of mine. And praises be, now he has a book out of his stories, called The Memory Palace: True Short Stories of The Past. Enjoy this sampler of his audiobook and a favorite episode of mine. And consider supporting both Articles of Interest and T ... Show More
21m 35s
May 2024
Clergy
What Catholic priests wear, and the insight it provides into what we laypeople wear. For images of what vestments look like and more, go to articlesofinterest.substack.com Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices 
50m 48s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2021
À quoi sert la petite poche du jean ? Et d'où vient le mot "blue-jean" ?
Si pendant longtemps, on pensait que le jean était réservé aux travailleurs et autres cowboys, il y a bien longtemps que ce produit s'est démocratisé. Aujourd'hui, le jean est devenu un indispensable que tout le monde possède dans sa garde-robe. Ce vêtement emblématique comporte ... Show More
3m 16s
May 2020
Suits: Articles of Interest #10
Menswear can seem boring. If you look at any award show, most of the men are dressed in black pants and black jackets. This uniform design can be traced back to American Revolution, classical statuary, and one particular bloke bopping around downtown London way back in the 1770s. ... Show More
32m 30s
Jun 2022
The Debrief: The Decline of the Skinny Jean
After years of analyst anticipation that the leg-squeezing silhouette would soon go out of style, market research firm NPD Group found sales for the skinny jeans fell behind straight leg jeans in 2021. Skinny jeans are far from dead though — still accounting for 30 percent of sal ... Show More
17m 2s
Nov 2022
Articles of Interest: American Ivy
Articles of Interest is a show about what we wear. Host and producer Avery Trufelman investigates our collectively held beliefs about fashion and explores topics like the intellectual property law behind knockoffs, creation of tartan and the history of plaid, and how a dolls in a ... Show More
37m 6s
Apr 2013
Why should you wash new clothes before wearing them?
Some clothes have tags that say "wash before wearing" or "wash separately." Find out why it's sometimes a good idea to wash new clothes before you wear them in this episode. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for pr ... Show More
2m 47s
Mar 2024
Avery Trufelman on the Meaning Behind the Clothes We Wear
On her award-winning podcast “Articles of Interest,” host and producer Avery Trufelman dives deep into the stories behind the clothes we wear. From the evolution of prep to the origins of wedding dresses, Avery guides her listeners through the multi-faceted layers behind the aest ... Show More
41m 21s
Nov 2020
Denim Wars | The Unravelling | 6
It's 1999 and Levi's is a company in trouble. It's drowning in debt, out of fashion, and hobbled by sub-par distribution.But while Levi's searches for a way to make a comeback, a new, fast-growing enemy is out to convince people to abandon jeans altogether.Listen ad-free on Wonde ... Show More
26m 4s
Jul 2021
Why Do We Wear Clothes?
Have you ever been threading one leg through a pair of pants in the morning and wondered…why do we wear pants anyway? Or wondered why pockets in clothing designed for girls are sometimes smaller than the pockets in clothing designed for boys? In this episode we’ll tackle your que ... Show More
24m 26s
Feb 2018
Dressed: Episode Zero
Fashion history is about more than pretty clothes. Dressed explores the incredibly rich and complex history behind the clothes we wear. Tune in on February 27th for the first episode. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com 
4m 48s