Do I Have Denim in My Blood?
My neighbors sent me these flowers to celebrate my 22K followers on Instagram. Pretty great neighbors.
I think I have denim in my blood. It’s not because I am descended from some obscure weaver in the 17th century who produced the textile in the French city of Nîmes under the name “sergé de Nîmes”. No, my link to this sturdy cotton lies nearly 1800 miles to the east, to the Ukraine of Russia.
My mother and my father both escaped from Russia around 1917. They came to America through Galveston, Texas. At the time immigrants were generally not welcome in the U.S. and particularly not on the East Coast. So, if you wanted to come to America, and if you were smart, you went to the West Coast. But my parents’ odyssey is a story for another time.
This is about my uncles –– two brothers from my father’s family and one from my mother’s, who came to San Francisco, hoping to earn enough money to bring twenty-five members of their families to America. And why not, as, they had been assured that the streets were paved in gold.
Unfortunately, upon their arrival they discovered the streets were not precious metal but cobble stones and earning a living was very grueling, complicated by the brothers’ inability to speak English. But, they preserved, working at what ever menial jobs they could find:. selling fruit, newspapers, milk, anything that allowed these teenage boys to earn a few dollars. But , it was taking them a long time to accumulate any significant amount of money, certainly no where near enough to bring their families to the U.S.
Somehow, they heard that there were business opportunities in Hermosillo, Mexico. So, the young brothers adventurously packed up and traveled south of the border.
They soon opened a dry goods store, called, “Las Tres BBB” –– The Three Bs –– which stood for “Bueno, Benito, Barato” –– Good, Pretty, Cheap.
Becoming astute businessmen, it wasn’t long before they noticed that most of the local townsfolk wore overalls and jeans made of denim.
They also learned that the rebel general, Pancho Villa needed denim uniforms for his army. They immediately saw an opportunity to make and sell even more clothing.
But, first they needed to learn how to make patterns and then to select and buy the right machines to cut and sew them. One of my uncles heard about machines that could do this work faster and cheaper. They were made and sold by the Eastern Machine Company in San Francisco. After a discussion at the factory, he was taken to meet Levi Strauss of blue jeans fame.
Mr. Strauss took a liking to my uncle and trained him how to make patterns and to use the machines. A machine was purchased, shipped to Hermosillo and the three B’s was in the clothing manufacturing business. The store did well and soon there was enough money to bring all twenty-five family members from Russia to Mexico.
So, denim and chambray have a long and important history in my family and I have always been attracted to them, almost subconsciously. I even decorated my infant son’s room in denim, including denim comforters. Today, I love wearing denim and chambray with a high-low sensibility.
Here I am with that high low look. My fancy necklace with a beaded sarong skirt and Chambray shirt. An easy look for day or night.
Boyfriend Jeans with a Ruana from Chateau Bel Age in San Diego.. I love wearing them with old loafers.
My chambray shirt from Target at a great price $19.99, worn four ways with bold necklaces, velvet pants, tights, fancy track pants and checkered pants.
Here I am at the Selfing Museum. Wearing a grey chambray shirt dress by Tulip. it’s a few years old. Notice the smooth straight hair, that’s pre-Covid.
Same Target chambray shirt with my 15 year old batik pants.
Bryn Walker chambray top with tights in the garden.
Here’s that same Target chambray shirt in a lighter color. Works well with my patterned batik pant.
I even wore chambray when I was on the Food Network show, Clash of the Grandmas.
