Gold Mining used to be an incredibly big business and La Grange Mine in California was one the biggest commercial operations in the entire world at the beginning of the 20th Century. On the site hundreds of workers would be undertaking tasks in the operation of the mine, the mining of gold, the management and creation of the intricate water infrastructure that was needed for gold mining to be successful and lots of other labour intensive jobs. The water structures allow the gold to be found more easily as it is heavier than the other rocks and minerals that were found in the mines and so would sink to the bottom of the water channels.
The hours the men worked were incredibly long and the conditions weren’t great. It was important that the men wore clothing that would help to keep them warm, dry and that was durable and allowed them to work safely. It wasn’t long before their trousers of choice became the jeans that were designed and manufactured by Levi’s. That’s right the world famous fashion house where you can find incredible mens levi jeans, like the ones from EJ Menswear, once made clothing for labourers.
Of course nowadays the fashion house makes all sorts of clothing from the traditional jeans throught o tshirts and shirts that complement their staple outfit. But in the early days the durability of the denim fabric that was used was what attracted labourers and even army workers to move to these trousers.
