New essay from Susie, guest blogging for Roland Windsor Vincent and his Armory of the Revolution - excerpt: "During a span of 44 years, my dad manufactured indigo blue denim jeans for men, women, children, prisoners, farmers, catalog models, country-western artists, week-end hunters, and rodeo superstars — denim, yes, a durable fabric which could withstand a rigorous level of activity; somewhere along the line folks flocked in droves to these pants as the uniform of choice and then got to swaggering around a bit — too big for their breeches? Roping steers, excavating coal, delivering campaign speeches, appearing in films about the great American West, attending sock hops, interior decorating, creating pottery, gliding along runways, snowmobiling, ripping fashionable holes into their peg-legged trousers — Americans in their official casual attire, their leggings…rugged yet preening cowboys and cowgirls in their ever cutesier costumes." Read the rest ...