Introduced in the United States in the late 19th century, it has been a popular type of casual apparel with both men and women and has been described as an iconic element of American fashion.

The first recorded denim jacket is part of the collection of the German Historical Commission of the Rhineland (Stiftung Historische Kommission für die Rheinlande 1789–1815) [1] and dates back to 1805 or 1810.

In the United States the first recorded denim jacket is from about 1880 which was from the German businessman Levi Strauss, approximately ten years after he had begun selling jeans with copper rivets as a new type of work apparel intended for use by cowboys, miners, and railroad workers.

[6] The underlying technology, named "Jacquard," encompassed a processor, a built-in battery, and a special yarn that gave the bottom of the arm a pseudo-touchscreen functionality.

[13] Notable wearers of jean jackets have included western entertainers James Dean and John Lennon,[2] as well as Polish anti-Communist dissident Jacek Kuroń.

[15] According to Levi Strauss & Co., the jean jacket has traditionally appealed to nonconformists as "a knock to the 'suits' of the world, its informal yet edgy heritage making it the ideal item to stick it to the man".

The Canadian tuxedo achieved a "pop cultural peak" in 2001 when Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake wore the combination to that year's American Music Awards.