Jams
Encyclopedia
Jams is a line of clothing produced by Jams World. Jams shorts, a popular clothing item in the 1960s and 1980s, were closely associated with the surf scenes in California and Hawaii.
. Inspired by his own desire to find more comfortable surfing attire, combined with a Life Magazine
article showing Russians looking comfortable attending the beach in bathrobes, Rochlen bought some brightly-colored floral fabric and asked his wife Keanuenue to make a short, baggy pajama with a sewn-up fly and cut-off at the knee. With this vision, they created the first pair of Jams on December 25, 1964.
Rochlen quit his job as a systems analyst and started his new company Surf Line Hawaii, Ltd. to make and sell his new creation. Soon after his first commercial pairs of Jams hit the Makaha Beach in Hawaii, Life magazine ran a two-page spread on Rochlen and a group of his surfing buddies in the June 1965 issue. After the article, the Jams line was sold in places like Bloomingdales, Macy's
, and Lord & Taylor
.
The Jams look was baggy and bohemian
, with wild prints and clashing pinks and greens. It was a clear departure from the more subtle color combinations and detailing of existing boardshorts
.
History
Company founder Dave Rochlen was a surfer, originally in Santa Monica, California, then in HawaiiHawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. Inspired by his own desire to find more comfortable surfing attire, combined with a Life Magazine
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
article showing Russians looking comfortable attending the beach in bathrobes, Rochlen bought some brightly-colored floral fabric and asked his wife Keanuenue to make a short, baggy pajama with a sewn-up fly and cut-off at the knee. With this vision, they created the first pair of Jams on December 25, 1964.
Rochlen quit his job as a systems analyst and started his new company Surf Line Hawaii, Ltd. to make and sell his new creation. Soon after his first commercial pairs of Jams hit the Makaha Beach in Hawaii, Life magazine ran a two-page spread on Rochlen and a group of his surfing buddies in the June 1965 issue. After the article, the Jams line was sold in places like Bloomingdales, Macy's
Macy's
Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
, and Lord & Taylor
Lord & Taylor
Lord & Taylor, colloquially known as L&T, or LT, based in New York City, is the oldest upscale, specialty-retail department store chain in the United States. Concentrated in the eastern U.S., the retailer operated independently for nearly a century prior to joining American Dry Goods...
.
The Jams look was baggy and bohemian
Bohemian
A Bohemian is a resident of the former Kingdom of Bohemia, either in a narrow sense as the region of Bohemia proper or in a wider meaning as the whole country, now known as the Czech Republic. The word "Bohemian" was used to denote the Czech people as well as the Czech language before the word...
, with wild prints and clashing pinks and greens. It was a clear departure from the more subtle color combinations and detailing of existing boardshorts
Boardshorts
Boardshorts are a style of men's and, recently, women's summerwear. They were originally developed for aquatic sports, specifically for surfing, but in more recent years they have grown in popularity outside of these sports, and have become a popular form of general beach and summerwear.The name...
.