The world of fashion is often baffling to ordinary women. And every so often a trend comes along which seems utterly ridiculous, yet catches on. Take the current obsession with distressed denims. You can barely walk down and high street without being assailed by bare knees, calves and thighs – all protruding through swatches of tattered denim. Celebrities, it seems can’t get enough of it. In this article we will be discussing things both guys and ladies should know about distressed denim.

Below Are Things To Know About Distressed Denims

The first pair of denim were designed in the late 1870s by Leob Strauss, a  German businessman who changed his name to Levi and founded the denim brand. Using twilled cotton cloth, he created a  durable trouser that would suit the working man. Indigo – a dye extracted from Indian plant – was used to turn them to a dark blue, which was thought to be more practical for working environment. The “ripped” trend came later emerging in the cultural punk movement of the seventies. The rips signified rebellion; early punks tore apart consumer goods as an expression of their anger towards society, and denim became a key part of this political statement.

In 2010, distressed denim rebranded. It coincided with an eighties fashion revival, marked by the return of jumpsuits, high-waisted trousers and culottes. Today, distressed denim have become so ubiquitous that even M&S stocks them.

How Distressed Denims Are Ripped

Denim manufacturers rip jeans in one or two ways; by laser or by hand. The former tends to be used by cheaper brands which produce garments in bulk, while premium designers prefer the latter. Jeans are secured vertically against a metal backdrop and the laser is targeted at the denim, where it works by burning holes according to a pattern that’s programmed into the software. It’s so accurate that not only can it “distress” the fabric by burning into it just a little, but it can cut intricate patterns into it. Each pair takes just a minute to finish.

 Distressed Denims And Designs

It may look random, but those rips in your jeans are anything but. Firstly, there are  different types of rip: a hole, a shred, and a scrape. While the latter two tend to be small, holes can be much larger. However, the hole should be always horizontal, never wider than the leg of the jeans and never more  than an inch high when you’re standing up. Any more than that and you risk exposing too much.