The poodle skirt. Bellbottomed pants. Neon spandex (double trouble). For reasons unknown, fashion trends come and go as each decade goes by. One trend that's always remained lurking in the background, however, is the beloved denim. Born in Nines, France and raised in America, jeans have hugged the frames of icons for years. It hasn't always been this way - at one point, denim was simply a faux pas, rather uncool, if you will (seriously)!

Created in the 18th century for miners due to the durable nature of the fabric, denim didn't become popular until the 1930s. It acted kind of like a souvenir for Americans who visited "dude ranches" (obviously they hadn't heard of postcards), and they brought home waist overalls. Then came the 1950s, teenage rebellion, and a young stunner named James Dean. Denim was the quintessential item for revolt, and some schools even banned them.

The popularity of denim grew during the next few decades, finally becoming "high fashion" in the 1980s (along with puffy pants, puffy shoulder pads, and puffy hair...). Remember the Calvin Klein ads? Nothing really did come between Brooke Shields and her Calvin's, and sales for the brand and others soared. The economic recession of the early 90s slowed down sales, but it struck back with a vengeance: the new millennium finds denim in just about every home worldwide.