Levi jeans were once called 'britches', 'pants' and finally, in 1960, 'jeans'. Guaranteed to shrink, wrinkle and fade, originally made from brow, canvas sailcloth intended to be used for covering wagons for those brave Frontiers adventurers.
Invented by a young 24yr old German immigrant in the 19th century, Levi Strauss produced the first 'blue' jean known to us as “501’s”. Levi saw the need for hardwearing overalls for the miners and frontier men in the Gold Rush back in 1853. However, the 'britches' kept splitting from the weight of storing gold ore. Levi and his colleague Davis patented the exclusive use of metal rivets, used for strengthening the pockets, making them even more popular amongst the workers. Lot numbers were assigned to all products, which is where the Lot “501” derived. It was the first jean to contain its own pocket watch.
Soon, the sailcloth ran out and so Levi imported a fabric called ‘serge’, which was made in Nimes, France. Originally called Serge de Nimes, the name was shortened to 'denim'. The colour blue was introduced at the time, as indigo dye was a relatively cheap dye.
In the early1950’s, Hollywood increased the 'Levi' blue jean status by dressing actors like James Dean, Marlon Brando and Marilyn Monroe in the iconic jean – and so creating an irresistible aura of romance, adventurer and the ultimate ‘Wild Child'.
