DENIMS AND CASUALS

From their lowly origins as a utilitarian staple of the American work-wear industry to their subsequent Hollywood glamorization and climb to the top of the international fashion totem pole, jeans continue to mean all things to all people. And few items in the canon of modern connoisseurship have generated so much attention, devotion and obsession. (Just as a linguist can spot a person’s origins by his or her accent and inflections, a denim enthusiast can usually place a person’s hometown by the cut, color, thread and details on a pair of jeans.)