"1856. Eighteen-year-old chemistry student William Perkin's experiment has gone horribly wrong. But the deep brown sludge his botched project has produced has an unexpected power: the power to dye everything it touches a brilliant purple. Perkin has discovered mauve, the world's first synthetic dye ..."

Much recommended book on the serendipitous discovery of the first coal-tar based dye, which would lead to the discovery of synthetic indigo, hydron blue and numerous other synthetic colors, and also laid the basis for a new chemical industry and eventually the pharmaceutical industry, leading to important advances in medicine.

"Mauve -- How one man invented a colour that changed the world" by Simon Garfield

Thanks to @[email protected] for the hint!

#mauve #indigo #hydronblue #dye #dyestuffs #syntheticdye #coaltar #perkin

Vintage German hydron-blue denim work pants
Another detail that was new to me is the waistband that doubles as a yoke. Very clever idea!

#hydronblue #hydronblau #euroworkwear #europeanvintage #eurodenim #sorglos #monteurstolz #yoke #waistband #yokewaistband

Vintage German hydron-blue denim work pants
The rivets on these are quite unique. I've never seen this type before. Both the studs and the burrs are made of copper-plated iron.

#hydronblue #hydronblau #euroworkwear #europeanvintage #eurodenim #sorglos #monteurstolz #rivets

Vintage German hydron-blue denim work pants
One detail I particularly like on these is the cotton fabric used for the pocket bags and the inside of the waistband! The navy blue of the pocket bags and the grayish blue of the waistband are in perfect harmony with the hydron blue of the denim.

#hydronblue #hydronblau #euroworkwear #europeanvintage #eurodenim #sorglos #monteurstolz

Over the next several posts I'll go over some details of the new-old-stock European work pants I bought yesterday. First a full view of the front and back. These are the same brand as the jacket I posted two weeks ago; Sorglos -- meaning "worry free" in German. They are made of denim dyed not with indigo but instead with hydron blue, a synthetic blue dyestuff invented in 1908.
This model features just three riveted pockets (two front pockets and one tool pocket on the side of the right leg), a back cinch with two long straps attached to the outseams of the pants, a button fly with a reverse waistband button, and suspender buttons on the inside of the waistband.
I don't know enough about vintage European work wear to put a date on these. The criteria used for dating American vintage denim don't seem to work for European vintage. For example, a cinch with this type of buckle on a pair of jeans from the US would make them almost certainly pre-WWII, as cinches were abolished on pants in the early 1940s due to war rationing, but this doesn't seem to have been the case in Europe, and cinch buckles seem to have been used well into the 1950s or maybe even later.
If anyone has any idea of the age of these, please let me know.

#hydronblue #hydronblau #euroworkwear #europeanvintage #eurodenim #sorglos #monteurstolz

Found a pair of new-old-stock European work pants made of hydron-blue denim today! More details to follow ...

#hydronblue #hydronblau #euroworkwear #europeanvintage #eurodenim #sorglos #monteurstolz

The more I explore the topic of hydron blue, the more intrigued I become!!
A lot of small print in these sections of Briefs and Statements Filed with the Committee on Finance of the United States Senate in 1913, but fascinating reading!
As I mentioned in my previous posts, a number of synthetic blue dyes were discovered in the late 1890s to early 1900s as products of coal-tar, including, among others, synthetic indigo and hydron blue. According to the brief submitted by the Cassella Color Co., the patent holder of hydron blue, all of these blue dyes were subjected to a 30% tariff, except for indigo, which was free of tariffs. This made hydron blue prohibitively expensive, even though it was considered superior to indigo and manufacturers wanted to use it for denim garments, as illustrated by the dozens of letters attached to the brief.
Just imagine if indigo had had the same 30% tariff. Hydron blue might have become the dye of choice because of its superior non-fading quality, and jeans might have never become the fashion item that we all love, ironically, for its main flaw -- its tendency to fade!
Knowing this makes me want to find hydron blue denim even more!

#hydronblue #indigo #dyestuff

A few more detail pics of the deadstock vintage European work jacket in my previous post.
This jacket is the European equivalent of an American coverall jacket, but with some differences commonly seen in European workwear. The main difference is the dye used; hydron blue instead of indigo, which gives it its characteristic slightly purplish blue color.
The lower pockets are reinforced on the inside with a beautiful grayish khaki cotton fabric, and on the back with a strip of denim showing the selvedge, my favorite detail on this jacket.
The buttons are fairly large (2 cm in diameter) and made of a kind of plastic (probably bakelite). The rivets are made of steel plated with brass (or copper -- hard to tell due to the rust).
I don't know enough about European vintage to date this jacket. Maybe 50s?? If anyone knows, please enlighten me.
Someday I'd love to re-create pieces of European vintage workwear like this one, using denim dyed with hydron blue. I have no idea where to start looking for this kind of denim, though. There's got to be rolls of deadstock hydron blue denim lying around in an old warehouse somewhere. Any hints would be much appreciated!

#hydronblue #hydronblau #selvedgedenim #indigo #dyestuff #europeanvintage #eurodenim #euroworkwear #sorglos #monteurstolz

Blue denim? Yes!
Indigo? No, ... hydron blue!
Not all blue denim is dyed with indigo! This deadstock vintage European work jacket is made of denim dyed with hydron blue, one of a number of blue synthetic dyestuffs invented in the late 19th to early 20th century, along with synthetic indigo. Hydron blue was a serious competitor as a dye for denim because of its superior fastness properties, meaning that denim dyed with hydron blue doesn't easily fade. As we now all know, however, it was exactly this "disadvantage" of indigo --its tendency to fade-- that would make it the big winner and force all competing blue dyes into oblivion. Hydron blue continued to be used for workwear, though, particularly in Europe.

#hydronblue #hydronblau #selvedgedenim #indigo #dyestuff #eurodenim #euroworkwear #sorglos