Before Denim: The Terrible Trousers That Rivets Killed

Before Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis filed their patent in 1873, working people had terrible options: wool that rotted when wet, canvas that unraveled from a single snag, linen that chafed like sandpaper, or leather that turned into a stiff, cracked mess. This episode traces the forgotten universe of pre-denim workwear, why every fabric before denim failed at the job, and how a tailor in Reno solved a mechanical problem with a copper rivet. We also explore why jeans stayed locked in the workwear ghetto for sixty years, and how they finally escaped through the unlikely gateway of rich Easterners vacationing at dude ranches. Episode #638464 — open it directly at myweirdprompts.com/638464