STRONG JEANS
May 20, 1873, was the day Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis received their patent for riveted pants. The patent was submitted 150 years ago and resulted in huge success for the California clothing company.
Buttoned up
Riveting history
The inventor of blue jeans was Jacob Davis. Davis was a tailor living in Reno, Nevada, who began using rivets to make miners’ clothing more sturdy.
Davis wrote to his supplier, San Franciscobased Levi Strauss & Co., in 1872 asking for help getting a patent for his invention. Strauss paid the $68 patenting fee. They were awarded the patent in 1873 and blue jeans were born. Originally called “waist overalls,” they sold for $3 a pair in 1873 (About $88 today). Sales soared to miners in the California gold rush.
The original jeans had buttons for suspenders, and a button fly. This was nothing new in the 1870s. The Levi’s button changed over the years, from a silver style in the 1870s to a darker bronze color in the early 1900s and a hollowed-out version to save materials in World War II. 1954: 501Z is introduced, the version with a zipper.
The name 501 is first used. Little is known as to why this name was chosen after the factory records were destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire. The company’s patent protection was about to expire and it needed a more marketable name.
Getting loopy 1922:
Levi’s adds belt loops to keep up with the times. The cinch on the back is still manufactured, but many remove it to use a belt. Levi’s ceases using the cinch during World War II to conserve metal for the war effort.
1937: Suspender buttons are removed, but snap-on buttons are available for those who opt for suspenders.
Jeans have been made for more than 100 years but haven’t been easily accepted in the workplace, until now. Casual Fridays are slowly becoming every day of the week. The following chart is from the Society for Human Resource Management. During the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, 17% of workers said pajamas were their typical daily work attire.
Horsing around 1886: The ”two horse” leather patch is first used on overalls.
Date patent was issued
Pocketing the look
1873: The first jeans have one back pocket with arcuate stitching (shaped like a bow) and a watch pocket.
1901: The pants get a second back pocket.
1936: The red tab is placed onto the right back pocket. “Levi’s” is stitched in all caps to one side of the tab.
L E V I’ S
1947: New machines for the stitching add a diamond shape to the arcuate shape on back pockets.
1971: The red tab on the back pocket is stitched in upper and lower case. This becomes significant for collectors looking for “Big E” jeans.
Something for her 1934: Lady Levi’s, the first blue jeans for women, are introduced. 1981: 501s for women are introduced. “My invention relates to a fastening for pocket openings, whereby the sewed seams are prevented from ripping or starting from frequent pressure or strain thereon; and it consists in the employment of a metal rivet, or eyelet at each edge of the pocket-opening, to prevent the ripping of the seam at those points.”
From Jacob Davis’ 1872 patent request
Until the 1970s, all denim was made in America. There are several types of denim, but the original blue jeans used a cotton-based fabric made from warp yarn and white cotton filling yarn. The yarns are interlaced at a 90-degree angle, creating a “righthand twill” weave.
Fewer workers are needing separate wardrobes for the office. This has led to a decline in the need for dry cleaning as well. IBIS World, an industry research company, found the U.S. dry cleaning market has declined 15% since 2010. But a formal dress code can increase productivity among workers. Scientific American reported in 2016 that wearing formal attire has been linked with increases in abstract thinking and higher rates of success in business negotiations.