In 1951, the famous singer and actor Bing Crosby was famously denied a hotel room in Vancouver, Canada, for wearing denim. The incident, which made headlines, highlighted the social stigma associated with denim at the time, which was still considered workwear. Crosby's experience reflected the class and social tensions surrounding the garment, which was not yet accepted as appropriate attire for all occasions.

The incident involving Bing Crosby and his denim-clad exclusion from a hotel became a symbol of the class divisions that denim would later help to break down, a theme that poets have explored in their critiques of social hierarchy. The event also highlighted the power of clothing as a marker of status and identity, a subject that has been central to poetry from the Romantic era to the present. Crosby's experience, and the subsequent outrage, contributed to the gradual acceptance of denim as everyday wear.