是来自美国西部最闻名的名字之一.它也是世界第一条牛仔裤的发明人Levi Strauss(利瓦伊.史特劳斯)的名字.
Levi Strauss于1847年十七岁时从德国移民至纽约.1853年加州淘金热的消息使年轻的史特劳斯相当入迷,于是搭船航行到旧金山.他带了数卷营帐及蓬车用的帆布准备卖给迅速增加的居民.但他发现帆布有更好的用途,因为有一名年老长的淘金人表示他应该卖的是能承受挖金工作的长裤.于是他把卖不完的帆布送到裁缝匠处订制了第一件LEVIS牛仔裤.就在那一天,LEVIS的传奇诞生了.
人们对这种强韧牛仔裤一传十,十传百.年轻的史特劳斯不久后便在旧金山开了第一间店.他生产许多齐腰的紧身裤.过后,他放弃帆布,改用斜纹粗棉布,那是一种在法国纺织以不变色靛蓝染料织成的强韧棉布.
史特劳斯从1860至1940年期间为原创设计了不少改良、包括铆钉、拱形的双马保证皮标以及后袋小旗标,如今这些都是世界著名的正宗LEVIS牛仔裤标志.
Levi Strauss公司的确已成美国传统,对全世界的人来说,它代表的是西部的拓荒力量和精神.
Mr.Blue jeans you could call him,but his real name is Lob Strauss.He was the founder of the great Levi jeans.Lob was born in 1829 in Butteheim,Germany.Lob's family was Jewish.Back in those days,if you were Jewish and you owned a house or a business in Germany,you had to pay special taxes.That was not happening in America.
After his father's death,Lob took up his father's trade selling dry goods and many different things to support the family.Also at this time,Lob's stepbrothers had sent him a letter telling him that in America Jews could vote .Now that was something.Lob convinced his mother to move the family to America.Lob and the family all moved over to America.
After Lob and his family had been sailing for forty eight days,the captain finally yelled,"Land ahoy." As soon as the family got off the boat,the captain gave Lob his American name,Levi.After that,Levi's family went in different directions.Levi went to live with his brother,and the family went to live with relatives.
One day Levi was out selling dry goods,and he looked all around and saw that there were more dry goods sellers than just him.So Levi figured out that he had a better opportunity to make more money somewhere where there was less dry good salespeople.His sister and her husband had just opened a store in San Francisco.So they wrote back to Levi asking him if he wanted to come and work in the store and also live with them.Levi went to San Francisco.
In the store Levi and his brother-in-law sold many different things such as cloth,shirts,pants,and other dry goods.His sister's husband died at an age of fifty one.Levi took over the business.As the business grew,Levi became richer and richer.
One day Levi got a letter from Jacob Davis.Jacob told Levi that he had made pants using the denim that Levi sold.Jacob used copper rivets,so the pockets wouldn't rip.People wanted Jacob's pants.Jacob and Levi became a team.The pants became famous.The store people that were making the pants added a patch.The patch was a picture of two horses trying to pull Levi's sturdy pants apart.It is still on the pants today.
After a while,Levi became a multimillionaire.In Levi's spare time,he gave money to the deaf and to the poor.On September 26,1902 Levi died in his sleep at an age of seventy three.Levi had many different challenges in his life.He moved from town to town and city to city before he was famous.People still wear his pants today.
