The Blue Jean

by Alice Harris

Thames & Hudson, 2002, colour photographs throughout, oversized hardcover, dustjacket, ISBN 0500511063

As New, Sealed

'This volume presents an appreciation of blue jeans, an iconic piece of clothing, from the early days when miners wore them for protection and durability to movie stars and musicians sporting the latest incarnation. Jeans are a canvas which reflect anything the wearer chooses to project on them. They are worn proudly by presidents and punks, cowboys and congressmen, actors and athletes, hippies and hard rockers. This collection of documentary, fashion and art photographs includes seminal images of 20th-century life, including John Wayne riding high on his horse, Gary Cooper and Ernest Hemingway in Sun Valley, Marilyn Monroe on the set of "The Misfits", Martin Luther King Jr and Ralph Abernathy walking towards their arrest in 1963, Jackie Kennedy playing with her dog, Steve McQueen on his motorcycle, hippie chicks in hip-huggers, Farrah Fawcett riding a skateboard, Madonna sucking an ice-lolly, Brad Pitt lounging on a beach, Prince William strolling about, and many others. Illustrating the history of a garment which has transcended class, race and gender boundaries, "The Blue Jean" details the history of jeans and our love affair with them.'