THE BIRTH OF AN ORIGINAL In 1873, workers who’d flocked to the American West in search of fortune needed pants that could endure, so Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis combined quality denim and rivet reinforcements to design the first pair of blue jeans: Levi’s® 501® Originals.
In this post
What were the original Levi jeans?
Levi’s logo 1967
Producer: Levi Strauss & Co. Features: The pants – called “waist overalls” – had one back pocket with the Arcuate stitching design, a watch pocket, a cinch, suspender buttons and a rivet in the crotch. The pants were made of 9 oz.
Why did Levi make jeans blue?
The oxidised form (indigo blue) is insoluble in water, which helps the colour stick to the jeans despite being washed hundreds of times.
What was Levi’s first pair of jeans?
The oldest pair of Levi Strauss blue jeans known to exist are from the 1890s and in pristine condition. They are believed to have never been worn. The Levis are expected to go for $80,000, according to auctioneer Daniel Soules. The jeans also come with a Levi’s guarantee referencing a dark chapter in American history.
What Colour is denim natural?
Denim is usually colored with indigo dye, resulting in its characteristic blue-cotton color. After denim is colored, manufacturers can wash, rinse, or distress the fabric to produce a wide array of denim, from dark-wash to light. Manufacturers use a different dyeing process to create black or white cotton denim.
What is considered vintage Levis?
Old School tags: Authentic vintage Levi’s jeans are those manufactured before 1970. You can easily verify the true vintage of the jeans with this easy trick: find the red tab and check for a capital “E” in LEVi’s. Styles from the 80s and 90s are great too, so don’t limit yourself to the big “E”.
Are old Levi jeans worth anything?
Customers can expect to receive between $15 and $35 for their used denim. Even if your denim is too worn to be resold, Levi’s will still buy it for $5.
What was the first blue jeans?
May 20, 1873 marked an historic day: the birth of the blue jean. It was on that day that Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis obtained a U.S. patent on the process of putting rivets in men’s work pants for the very first time.
Who were blue jeans originally made for?
JeansInventors
What does undyed denim look like?
Ecru refers to the color of undyed denim and is the natural hue of cotton. Jeans that have not been dyed with indigo are called ecru jeans; however, they are more difficult to find.
How much did the first pair of Levi jeans cost?
about $1.25
The pair dates from 1886 to 1902, when the jeans cost about $1.25, Downey said. The person who found the jeans sold them for $10,000. Another investor paid $15,000, and the owners of What Comes Around Goes Around, a vintage apparel store in Manhattan, paid $20,000.
What is the oldest pair of Levis?
What are the rarest and oldest Levi’s items in the archive? We keep the oldest pair of blue jeans in the world in a fireproof safe in our archive. They date to about 1879. We call them XX, a reference to the top-of-the-line denim we used.
When did Levis stop making jeans in us?
2003
By the end of 2003, the closure of Levi’s last US factory in San Antonio ended 150 years of jeans made in the United States. Production of a few higher-end, more expensive styles of jeans resumed in the US several years later.
What shade of blue is denim?
Denim is a medium-dark shade of blue with the hex code #6F8FAF, popularized as one of the Crayola shades of blue.
Why is denim traditionally blue?
People have been wearing blue jeans for centuries. Originally, the blue color came from a natural indigo dye. The dye was chosen for the way it interacted with cotton. When heated, most dyes penetrate the cotton fibers but indigo dye attaches to the fiber’s surface, instead.
What is difference between denim and jeans?
All jeans are denims but not all denims are jeans. In a nutshell, jeans are made of denims whereas denims are raw fabric materials made of 100% cotton twill and can be used to make jeans in addition to a plethora of accessories which include bags, shirts, skirts and jackets.
How do you tell what color my Levis are?
At Levi’s®, we use a Product Code (which we call a PC9) to identify the Style and Finish of our products. The Product Code can be found in two places. You can see it on the small, white ‘wash & care’ labels sewn into each of our products.
How do I know if my Levis are vintage?
3 Ways to Identify Vintage Levi’s® Jeans
- Check the Red Tab: Take a look at the right back pocket.
- Look for Care Tags: Care tags began being added to Levi’s garments in the 1970s.
What are the most valuable Levi’s jeans?
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the most valuable jeans are a 155-year-old pair of Levis 501, bought by an anonymous bidder on eBay for $60,000 in 2005. While vintage jeans may be in high demand and come with large price tags, newer pairs embellished with rivets and rhinestones are just as coveted.
Are vintage Levi’s better?
The primary difference between vintage and new pairs is the quality of the denim — noticeable in the weight, thickness and shape. Sure, vintage pairs have probably been broken in quite a bit, but they should feel more significant than new jeans.
Which Levi’s are worth the most money?
501s®
501s® – “The 501 is naturally the most collectible Levi’s® garment,” said Levi Strauss & Co. Historian Tracey Panek.