Jams is a line of clothing produced by Jams World.

History

Company founder Dave Rochlen was a beach lifeguard and surfer, originally in Santa Monica, California, then in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

. After reading a ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

'' 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 pair of

pajamas Pajamas ( US) or pyjamas (Commonwealth) (), sometimes colloquially shortened to PJs, jammies, jam-jams, or in South Asia night suits, are several related types of clothing worn as nightwear or while lounging or performing remote work from hom ...

with a sewn-up fly and cut-off at the knee. They produced 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 product; its name, Jams, was a shortening of ''pajamas''. Rochlen explained the name as "I thought of it. It's part of the word 'pajamas,' of course, and it was what I wanted – short, quick, jargon, hip, young, one-syllable." Soon after his first commercial pairs of Jams were worn at

Mākaha, Hawaii Mākaha ( Hawaiian for "fierce",Gabbard, Andrea (2000). ''Girl in the Curl: A Century of Women in Surfing''. Seal Press. p. 23. .Chase, Linda (2008). ''Surfing: Women of the Waves''. Gibbs Smith. Page 39. . or "savage",Ward, Greg (2011). ''The Ro ...

, ''Life'' magazine ran a two-page spread on Rochlen and a group of his surfing friends in the June 1965 issue. After the article, the Jams line was sold in

Bloomingdales Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain; it was founded in New York City by Joseph B. and Lyman G. Bloomingdale in 1861. A third brother, Emanuel Watson Bloomingdale, was also involved in the business. It became a div ...

Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...

, and

Lord & Taylor Lord & Taylor was the oldest brick and mortar department store in the United States, in business from 1826 to 2020. The brand was purchased during former owner Le Tote's 2020 liquidation bankruptcy and relaunched by new owner, Saadia Group, as ...

. By 1991, Surf Line Hawaii's annual sales totaled about US$7 million. Its garments were all cut, sewn and manufactured in a Honolulu factory. The Jams look was baggy and

bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

, 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 are a type of swimwear and casual wear in the form of relatively long (approximately knee length) loose-fitting shorts that are designed to be quick-drying and are generally made from strong and smooth polyester or nylon material. Or ...

Notes

External links

Jams World company website

{{Surfing Surfwear brands Trousers and shorts Clothing brands of the United States