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1890 501 Jean
In 1890 the lot number 501 was first allocated to a jean previously known as XX. That same year the patent ran out on the riveting process, so the patent date did not appear on the first 501’s to hit the market. These rivets were applied by hand and considered to be of such importance that one Sacramento retailer who carried the jean in both his store and catalog, sold them as “Riveted Overalls.” They were further described as being of “the best 9-oz blue denim made” and sewn with “Saddler’s linen thread.” A pair could be bought for 75 cents.
design details
Two Horse Leather Patch
Copper Rivets
Four Pockets (only one back pocket)
Cinchback
Suspender Buttons
Plain Selvage
1915 501 Jean
By 1915 the price list was describing the 501 as “Waist Overalls, 2 hip pockets.” They were sold at $17.50 per dozen wholesale, and the detail stated that they were “XX No.1 Indigo Dyed” - indicating that this was the first time that Pure Indigo from Cone Mills famous White Oak Plant was used by Levis. These jeans were issued with a label hanging from one of the suspender buttons, bearing a facsimile of the award we received for riveted waist overalls at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition.
design details
2 back pockets with exposed rivets
Cinch
Suspender buttons
Two Horse leather patch
Crotch rivet
Plain selvage
Single needle Arcuate
Red selvage Cone Mills Fabric
1933 501 Jean
Although a pair of jeans from 1933 had belt loops, it still carried the cinch and suspender buttons - offering the maximum variety of ways the pants could be kept aloft. Up-to-date cowboys of the 1930’s preferred their jeans with the clean line of a leather belt, so the owners of these models would often cut off the cinch at the rivet and snip off the suspender buttons too. So prevalent was this practice that some Levi’s brand retailers kept a special pair of scissors at the cash desk for the purpose.
Another interesting thing about this pair of jeans is that hidden under the leather patch is a tiny, white cloth label printed with a blue eagle and the letters “NRA”. This was the National Recovery Act logo, which Levi Strauss & Co. was allowed to use because the company abided by the labor rules of President Franklin Roosevelt’s National Recovery Administration during the Depression.
Levi’s® Vintage Clothing is reproducing the 1933 jeans as a rigid garment.
design details
2 back pockets
Exposed back pocket rivets
Belt loops
Cinch
Suspender buttons
Two Horse leather patch
Crotch rivet
NRA (National Recovery Act) label
Red selvage
Single needle Arcuate
Red selvage Cone Mills Fabric
1944 501 Jean
Among the great changes during World War II the United States government told all clothing manufacturers that they had to cut down on the amount of metal, fabric and thread in their garments to conserve raw materials for the war effort. Levi Strauss & Co. did what they could to help. Off came the watch pocket rivets, the crotch rivet and the cinch and its two rivets, eliminating both fabric and metal. A little harder to bear was the order to remove the Arcuate stitching which, being considered “false stitching” or decorative, wasn’t deemed to have a function on the garment.
However, LS&CO. thought it did have a function as one of the prime identifiers of the classic 501® jeans. Rather than lose this important piece of branding, LS&CO. worked out a system to paint the Arcuate design on every pair of 501® jeans that came out of the factory. While the paint would only stand a certain amount of washing before it came off, having the mark visible when customers went into their local general mercantile was the important thing.
design details
2 back pockets with covered rivets
“E” red Tab
Two Horse leather patch
Painted Arcuate
Red selvage
Pocket bag material varies during wartime –this
one comes in green herringbone
Red selvage Cone Mills Fabric
1947 501 Jean
The 1947-501® jean is regarded as the definitive five-pocket jean and the quintessential 501® model. Levi’s® jeans had been in short supply during the years of World War II, when several key features were removed to save vital metal and fabric. By 1947, the newly restored 501® jean was in huge demand. The stitched Arcuate returned to the two back pockets: stitched with a double-needle machine, it now formed a diamond shape at the point where the two lines meet.
Original Levi’s® zinc buttons also enjoyed a comeback. But the crotch rivet, cinch-back and suspender buttons had been put out to pasture – permanently. Instead, belt loops and concealed copper rivets became standard. Made with Red XX Selvage using Cone Mills’ deep tone indigo, the color blossoms with age in the purest red cast indigo. The 1947-501® jeans continued the tradition of the Two Horse leather patch and a big “E” on the single-stitche) red Tab.
design details
Two back pockets
“E” red Tab
Two Horse leather patch
Zinc buttons
Double-stitched Arcuate
Red Selvage Cone Mills Fabric
1955 501 Jean
The rebellious youth culture of the 1950’s brought to the foreground icons such as Marlon Brando, and gave denim, and in particular the 501® jeans, an iconic status. The 1955-501® jean had a true1950’s shape. With more “anti-fit” in the seat area and a slightly fuller cut around the leg, they had a boxier silhouette. That, combined with a tough and flexible fabric, made for a rough moody look that urban youth had begun to adopt. They were the first 501® jeans to bear a leather-like Two Horse label, but the Levi’s® big ‘E’ red Tab, copper rivets remained standard issue. Like its predecessor from 1947, the 1955-501 had belt loops as the only method of waist adjustment, hidden rivets on the back pockets and zinc buttons on the fly. The Levi's embroidery on the red Tab became two-sided. While the zinc button fly was still the norm, retailers carried both the 501® and its zippered brother, the 501Z®.
design details
Button Fly
2 back pockets with covered rivets
Two Horse leather- like patch
“E” red Tab
Double needle Arcuate
Red selvage Cone Mills Fabric
1966 501 Jean
The 1966 501® jean represents a snapshot in time. This style – bar tacks instead of rivets, big “E” red Tab – only existed from 1966 to 1971. When the back pocket rivets were covered in 1937 everyone thought that would solve the furniture-scratching problem. But rivets were tougher than they looked, and after a few years they wore right through the denim. This model is slimmer than its immediate predecessors and straighter in the leg. It has volume in the top block, with rectangular back pockets. The legs taper from the knee down.
design details
2 back pockets with bar tacks instead of rivets
Two Horse leather-like patch
“E” red Tab (double sided)
Red selvage Cone Mills Fabric
1967-505® Jean
Rigid
Made from pre-shrunk denim, the 505 made its debut in 1967 when a very slim-fit tapered look was in demand. Big spade pockets are kept low and the waistband button is copper. This is a zippered jean, using zips from Scovill, who still provide zips to Levi to the present day.
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