In the following text I will try to give you a brief (or not so brief as the case may be) insight and overview of the history of this wonderful piece of attire (I found that word in the Oxford dictionary). I will also tell you all about the wonderful man who gave Levi`s to the world (Mr Strauss, I bow at your feet).

For anybody who is unfortunate enough to still be wearing substandard jeans by companies such as Falmer, Lee, wrangler etc, read on. If you have already discovered the most comfortable jeans ever manufactured (yes, I am talking about the one and only Levi brand (501`s in particular)) then you may as well just save your time, rate this op “very helpful” and give me a nice comment.

Levi`s Jeans, as you will be aware (unless you are a teacher in which case “cords” will be your norm), are manufactured from denim. Now, you probably think that denim is an uninteresting fabric…….WRONG !!!!! Denim is much more than just cotton, it is one of the worlds oldest fabrics (this does not mean that Jesus and his disciples sat down to the last supper and discussed who was wearing the trendiest Jeans), and it`s name is thought to have derived from the French “serge de nimes” , a serge fabric from the town of Nimes. Serge de nimes dates back as far as pre 17th century France, but, at the same time there was also a French fabric known as “nim”. “Serge de nim” means a fabric which resembles serge de nimes, so, it could be that the name “denim” was a mistranslation when it was introduced into Britain. Are you confused yet ???

What is even more confusing is that there was , at this time, a fabric called “Jean”. Jean was a fustian (a cotton, liner and/or wool blend) and fustian from Genoa, Italy was known as “Jean”. Fustian was very widely used in England in the 16th century.

The Modern Day Levi`s
Levi 501 jeans are quite simply the Rolls Royce of denims and are known as the “Original Shrink-To-Fit, Button Fly Jeans” (recognize that statement from anywhere ?). They have established themselves as, by far, the best selling product of the Levi Strauss range and they are also the oldest. Apparently, there are 37 individual sewing operations required to manufacture 1 pair of 501`s. Although they have been manufactured since the early 1800`s, they were given the number 501 in 1890 and they have never looked back since. They are very comfortable to wear as the denim is soft yet strong and are available in 108 sizes so, whether you are large or small, you should not have a problem finding a pair that look as though they were tailor made for you. They are also available in around 20 finishes/fabrics so you have no excuse for not wearing them as there are styles to suit everyone. As they are very popular, and regarded worldwide as a quality product, they are also very susceptible to pirated copies. Copies are very often badly stitched, the labels are misspelt and the colour runs. A genuine pair of 501`s is made up of around 1 ¾ yards of denim, over 210 yards of thread, 5 buttons and 6 rivets. In 1967 the back pocket rivets were replaced by reinforced stitching due to complaints that they scratched saddles and schoolchairs (I wasn`t even allowed to wear mine to school. Bah humbug). Their revolutionary “button fly” design captured the hearts of the most fashion conscious teenagers and as such Levi 501`s will always hold a place in the hearts of todays teenagers. No matter where you go nowadays you will see teenagers showing off their little red tab, whether it be on jeans or denim jackets, shoes, boots or shirts etc. The red tab (introduced in 1936) was originally conceived as a means of identifying 501`s from a distance, although I am not quite sure what purpose it would serve to know that someone 100 yards away was wearing 501`s. The back pockets proudly display the oldest trademark in use today. I am of course referring to the double stitching design known as Arcuate stitching. It was first used in 1873 but during the second world war, due to rationing of goods such as thread, the double stitching was painted on. Levi`s clothing range is as diverse as the age range of their customers. It is not unusual to see men in their 50`s or older wearing Levi`s, although I am not quite sure that the teenagers like the idea of wearing the same clothing as their Grandfather. As the teenagers will generally outlast the 50`s men I don`t think the teenagers will be the ones to dump Levi`s.

The Creator
Levi`s were created by a Bavarian called Levi Strauss (born Loeb Strauss in 1829). As a young man he worked for his 2 half brothers (Jonas and Louis) after leaving Germany in 1847 with his Mother (Rebecca Haas Strauss) and 2 Sisters (Fanny and Mathilde), and by 1850 he had changed his name to Levi. In 1872, after running the West Coast branch of his brothers wholesale dry-goods company for 20 years, during which time he made a name for himself as a supplier of quality goods, Levi received a letter from a man named Jacob Davis, a Nevada tailor, who wanted to patent an idea of using rivets to strengthen clothing. He could not afford the application for the patent and asked Levi to help him in return for a partnership deal making riveted clothing. Levi liked this idea and jumped at the opportunity. In 1873 the patent was granted. Initially they produced denims as “workwear” and marketed them as “waist overalls” due to the strength of the fabric.

Levi Strauss died in 1902 aged 73 and left his manufacturing and dry-goods businesses to his nephews (Jacob, Sigmund, Louis and Abraham). Jacob Davis sold back his share of the company in 1907. In the 20`s Levi`s waist overalls were the top selling workwear clothing in America. After the second world war, fashion conscious teenagers had adopted the “waist overalls” as the latest fashion item and started to call them “Jeans”. Well, I am not going to bore you with any more drivel on the history of the company, I think you get the general idea by now.

Suffice to say that I for one will be a loyal adorner of these, the most comfortable of Jeans, for a long long time to come. Don`t just take MY word for it, try them yourself