Old blue jeans gather value

Across the country, decades-old jeans from older, classic American brands such as Levi's, Lee and Wrangler are worth holding on to, according to Dennis Little in his new softcover book "Vintage Denim," (Gibbs Smith, $21.95).

Signs that read "Will buy Levi's" above shops are testimony to the growing interest in American vintage denim, Little writes.

He devotes the first half to the history of denim jeans, a subject briefly explored in 1990 in "Denim: An American Legend" by Iain Finlayson (Fireside, $17.95). Little concentrates on the early decades, especially the 1920s-1950s, when denim was a working man's fabric, not a symbol of chic.

"It was the farmers and factory workers in their working blues who were . . . represented to the rest of the country and the world in the pages of Life, Look and the Saturday Evening Post," Little writes.

He gives trivia for denim buffs: Before Levi's became collectible, Blue Bell was the first brand to gain cachet as "railroad buffs and collectors in this country were seeking out denim clothing worn by engineers and brakemen during the glory days of railroading in America."

Pub Date: 5/25/96