Blue jeans -- or, in fact, jeans in all colors and fabrics -- are now ubiquitous. But how did denim work pants go from fields and garages to schools, restaurants and high fashion?

The earliest form of today's jeans was invented by Levi Strauss & Co (which was really Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis) in the second half of the 19th century, but their true precursor was the 16th century cotton dungaree worn by sailors.

Jeans found their way into fashion consciousness and pop culture with the rise of the teenager in the 1950s. Considered a form of low-level rebellion, jeans-wearing teens emulating James Dean and other movie sex symbols of the times were often barred from restaurants and movie theaters. Certainly, jeans could never be worn at school.

But all of that changed quickly. With the advent of the 1960s pop culture, fashion got a lot more outrageous than jeans, and by the end of that turbulent decade jeans were a comfortable, uncontroversial part of most Americans' casual wardrobes. In the 1970s, jeans innovated to keep up with the styles of the times leading to versions of the pants made in different cuts, including bell-bottoms, and treated with different colors and washes.

As clean jeans in good condition became acceptable at schools, teens found other ways to rebel with the pants, leading to fashion fads where jeans were ripped in specific ways. Even so, the acceptance of jeans continued to march on, with most people of all ages owning several pairs.

With the advent of more casual dress codes in white collar workplaces during the Internet boom of the 1990s, jeans arrived at the office on casual Fridays or every day, even as they were often paired with a sport jacket, collared shirt and tie for men, and fashionable blouses for women.

Perhaps most startling in the rise of the jean was the shift from affordable work pant to high-priced status symbol. In the 1980s brands like Jordache and Guess dominated. Today it's names like True Religion, Lucky Brand and Ben Sherman.

But despite the ability to spend $200 or more on a pair of jeans, they're still not welcome anyway, with high-end restaurants, bars and even clubs. But with the persistence jeans have shown, these rules are unlikely to last for long.