True Fit
What kind of Texan are you? The answer is in your jeans.
(Page 3 of 3)
George Strait
Musician, Poteet
Wranglers
“I’ve been wearing Wranglers since I was a boy because they fit me just right and they’re the best damn blue jeans in the world.”
Mike Judge
Creator of Beavis and Butt-head, Dallas
Levi’s
“I like Levi’s because they shrink to fit . . . huh-huh huh-huh.”
Christie Crawford
High School Cheerleader, Jasper
Wranglers
“My red Wranglers are my favorite. I wear Wranglers when I ride my horse, Trigger, in the pasture.”
William Loden
Maintenance Man, Houston
Levi’s
“I don’t wear underwear and they feel better.”
Fred Whitfield
World Champion Calf Roper, Cypress
Wranglers
“I used to wear Levi’s in high school, but it’s just not the thing to wear. Besides, they don’t sponsor rodeos.”
Alex Villagomez
Spelunker, Austin
Levi’s
“I wear them because they’re tough. I take off the rear pockets because I can get caught on the formations in the cave.”
Alan Luther
Guard, Dallas Cowboys, Dallas
Levi’s
“Extra extra extra extra extra large, big-butted jeans.”
Emilio Navaira
Singing Idol, San Antonio
Wranglers
“When I’m flying by the seat of my pants, I feel really safe in Wrangler jeans. Besides, a lot of female tejano fans think that the right pair of jeans is the bottom line, if you know what I mean.”
Brenda Chappell
Manager, Keller’s Drive-In, Dallas
Levi’s
“I wore Levi’s when I was a carhop, and now I’m a manager and I’m still wearing them. My whole family wears Levi’s. I hate Lees.”
Rick Perry
Texas Agriculture Commissioner, Haskell
Wranglers
“Next to my wife, there’s nothing that feels better than the feeling of Texas cotton in my Wranglers.”
Chris Crago
Horse Trainer, Cattle Rancher, Mother of Four, Graham
Rocky Mountains
“I wear Rocky Mountains because I like the fit, and I think they’re more flattering to ladies. Plus, I ride horses, and they’re more comfortable for riding.”
Hakeem Olajuwon
Center, Houston Rockets, Houston
LA Gear
“I don’t like blue jeans, I wear white jeans. I went to the department store, but they didn’t have any sized 36-49. So LA Gear made me about twenty pairs of pants and made me about twenty pairs of white jeans shorts. Most people are afraid of white. But you just throw them in the washing machine, push ‘bleach,’ and they’re white again.”
Peter Withers
Ostrich and Emu Rancher, Travis County
Levi’s
“Sometimes I wrestle birds that weigh four hundred pounds. You don’t want to wear something flimsy if you’ve got to take down an ostrich.”
Bill Mack
WBAP Midnight Disk Jockey, Fort Worth
Wranglers
“They set a mood. They look like Texas.”
Alan Peppard
Dallas Morning News Columnist, Dallas
Levi’s
“I have a problem. I am compulsive about which jeans I wear from day to day depending on whether or not I wear boots or tennis shoes. For cowboy boots I wear a 33-34 inseam, and for tennis shoes I wear a 31-32 inseam, and keeping track of them drives me nuts.”
Ann Richards
Governor, Austin
“I wear any that will fit.”
Garland Buske
Fifth Grader, Friona
Wranglers
“I wear Bugle Boy and Levi’s, but I like Wranglers best because they don’t let those sticker burrs stick you.”
Chuck Norris
Actor, Navasota
Wranglers
“They fit the best for when I need to kick butt.”
John Runnells
Rancher, Runnells-Pierce Ranch, Matagorda County
Levi’s
“I like the 501 button fly. Wranglers just aren’t made for me. If I had the physique of a bean pole, they’d fit me, but I don’t. I’m kind of stocky.”
Pete Laney
Speaker, Texas House of Representatives, Hale Center
Wranglers
“I was born and raised in blue jeans. Until I went to college, I didn’t know there was anything else—except for a Sunday suit.”
Blair Corning
San Antonio’s Express-News Columnist, San Antonio
“I’ll wear anything I can get this ass in. In France I wear designer jeans, because I know it’s not okay to wear blue jeans, but it is okay if they’re designer.”
Gail Gilchriest
Author, The Cowgirl Companion, Houston
Levi’s
“My favorite is an old pair of hand-me-down 501’s. They’re great because they look good when I’m skinny and still fit when I’m fat.”
1993 Jean Trivia
In the printed version of True Fit, the following trivia were captions to graphics throughout the article.
Wrangle’s snug-fitting 14MZW’s are the best-selling women’s jeans along the Texas-Mexico border because they look painted one.
Texans bought 32.7 million pairs of jeans in 1992, or 2 pairs for every man, woman, and child. Wrangler sold almost 16 million pairs of jeans here last year. We buy more Wranglers than any other state in the union.
In 1960 Levi’s decided to change the name of its denim pants from overalls to jeans.
Women’s 501’s, made exclusively in McAllen, do not have waist and length sizes printed on the outside leather label. For the sake of privacy, they are on an inside label.
In the “e” in the word “Levi’s” on the red tag on the back pocket of your jeans is capitalized, they are antiques. Vintage clothiers will pay upwards of $150 for them.
Before Rodeo Ben designed the 13MWZ, all ladies’ jeans had side zippers. He is credited with developing the first women’s jeans with a front opening.
The “Levi’s 501 Blues” campaign launched during the 1984 Summer Olympics cost $32 million, making it the largest single-product ad campaign in apparel history.
Recycled jeans are a hot commodity. Trailers parked at intersections in may Texas cities pay up to $13 for used 501’s, which are resold overseas for as much as $150. According to Michele Morris book Cowboy Life, a store in New York call Montana Broke sells Wranglers worn by real Montana cowboys. The jeans come with a certificate of authenticity that details the cause of each rip, tear,and faded area. In Japan, replicas of vintage 501’s sell for $133.
The biggest jeans in the world are worn by Big Tex, the official greeter at the State Fair of Texas. His size: 276W-192L. Tex was a Lee Riders man when de debuted in 1952, but he switched to Levi’s in 1989 when that company offered sponsorship money. It is uncertain whether he wears 501’s or 505’s, since his fly is permanently shut.
Levi’s button-fly jeans once had a mystique similar to Coors beer, since they weren’t widely marketed east of the Mississippi. Your average Yankee had to make do with 505’s, which are 501’s with a zipper fly instead of a button fly.
Nineteen fifty-four was a very good year for blue jeans. Levi’s Lighter Blues, the first pre-faded jeans, were introduced; James Dean, in East of Eden, and Marlon Brando, in The Wild Ones, wore jeans; and Bing Crosby was denied access to a restaurant for wearing a pair of blue jeans.
El Paso has some two hundred jeans manufacturers. Including Lee, which dominates the women’s jeans market these days. Other brands made in El Paso: Calvin Klein, Gap, Opal, Pepe, Rocky Mountain, Roper, Traffic, Banana Republic, Guess?, JouJou, Jordache, Action West is El Paso’s largest locally owned jeans company; it makes Sierra West and Cyclone and private-label jeans for the Limited, K mart, and J.C. Penney.
Dickies—Teenagers who wear these Fort Worth-made work clothes define their looks as “haute couture handyman.”
Shrink Rap
How to break in your jeans correctly
How to break in a new pair of 501’s
1. Fill up the tub with warm water.
2. Put on jeans and jump in.
3. Sit awhile and let jeans mold themselves to your shape. (Watch out! The pants will bleed and turn the water and anything that gets wet a deep indigo blue.)
4. Get out of the tub and walk around.
5. Hang jeans up to dry.
6. Wear at your leisure. Jeans will feel new for several washings, until white fibrous hairs disappear. If you feel
self-conscious, repeat process.
How to break in a new pair of 13MWZ’s
1. Buy them long enough—at least two inches longer than normal length. For stacked look, keep in mind that jeans should bunch from the boot to just below the knee.
2. Turn them inside out before washing (keeps them bluer).
3. Wash once with cold water.
4. Take to professional cleaners and have them pressed. Request heavy starch.
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