Can I Wear Jeans and a White T

Nov 01, 2023

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(2 min)

Pinning down the outfit's genesis is near-impossible, said Chloe Chapin, who's writing a dissertation on fashion history at Harvard. Late-19th-century coal miners sported early versions of denim dungarees—the progenitors to jeans—noted Ms. Chapin, while white T-shirts rose to prominence when the U.S. Navy began issuing them to sailors around 1913. One thing's indisputable, said Ms. Chapin: The look began as workwear. "Bluejeans and white T-shirts are…very cheap, accessible to everyone—they were worn by dockworkers and mechanics."

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