Spoiler alert: It’s not because blue matches everything (though it kinda does). “Blue jeans are blue because of the unique dye used,” says textile scientist and denim expert Melanie DiSalvo.

With the explosion of the youth market in the 1950s, blue jeans went on to symbolize angst (smelling like teen spirit; they looked better unwashed) and cowboy grit—worn on the bods of teen idols ...

As you can tell, Levi, Wrangler and Lee represent the tip of an industrial iceberg that stretches as far back as 17th century India. (For context, Strauss and Davis are credited with creating jeans on ...

Because old blue jeans stay strong even as they get more comfortable, they were the favorite trousers of many laborers in the 19th century. Most jeans are made with synthetic indigo dye today, ...

Blue jeans through the years — To this day, blue jeans remain the uniform for cowboys young and old. Here, Bruce Beasley and his grandson load cattle on their farm in Patricia, Alberta, in May 2013.

Blue jeans celebrate 150th anniversary It's hard to imagine a piece of clothing that's more wrapped up in American history and mythology than blue jeans. They were invented 150 years ago.