Denim

[cmalbrecht]

I've got a quesiton I really hope some of you technical wizards will be able to answer. Back in late '40s, through the 50', jeans and baseball jackets in a very pale blue denim became quite popular. What was this color and/or apparel called? I know it had a distinctive name, and I'm not going to get much sleep until I find out. It wasn't just pale, or faded, or light; something more definitive. Waiting by the computer.

 

[Corky]

Maybe you could find a digital representation of the shade of denim blue you seek

Maybe you could find a digital representation of the shade of denim blue you seek. This might give us a clue as to the name.

Interactive Color Wheel
http://r0k.us/graphics/SIHwheel.html

 

[RP McMurphy]

Well, there are different fabrics with denim properties... Ahem.. *puts on his tweed jacket and spectacles*

The pale blue denim that you're referring to could possibly be one of many indigo-dyed workwear fabrics popular at the time. These included CHAMBRAY (often used in workshirts and the like), and HICKORY STRIPE (an alternating stripe fabric of dark blue and white).

Chambray has a lighter weight and more of a basketweave to my understanding... This might have given it a paler look?

Hickory stripe can actually look like regular pale denim from a distance, as the narrow stripes blend together in vintage photographs...

Typical hickory stripe: http://elitistforthemasses.blogspot.com/2009/02/stronghold-denim.html

Chambray: http://www.individualsole.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/buzz-rickson-usn-chambray-shirt-1.jpg

I'm not sure if these are the "pale denim" that you're reffering to, however they are the type of indigo workwear seen during the 30's-50's...

Hope that helps!


RP

 

[cmalbrecht]

The denim I'm talking about was popular in the late forties, early fifties, somewhere in there. Like faded blue denim, but it was a very light evenly dyed pale blue and was popular and commonly worn as jeans and a jacket. The jacket was like a starter jacket, with a knit collar and cuff of a darker blue.
What bugs me is that they had a name for this particular color. Seems it had something perhaps to do with boating. People on boats often wore this with a captain's cap and sneakers. Non-boaters liked the outfit just as much; they just couldn't afford to buy a boat. Had to settle for the "look".
Chambray sounds a little light in weight for this denim. I'm not at all sure the name I'm thinking of was official, or just the popular name.