May 20 marks the birthday of jeans: on this day in 1873, the company “Levi Strauss & Co” received a license for the exclusive right to produce pants with riveted pockets. The document described the product as a “suspenderless work overall with pockets for a knife, money, and a watch.”
Levi Strauss had actually sewn the first canvas pants with numerous pockets and double-stitched seams 23 years earlier, selling them for a dollar and a half. These comfortable pants quickly won the hearts of gold miners, laborers, and other working-class folks, leading Strauss to establish “Levi Strauss & Co” in San Francisco for manufacturing workwear. By the mid-20th century, other brands began to emerge, offering jeans as well—Lee, Wrangler, and Cooper.
Do you love jeans? How many pairs do you have in your closet, and when did you get your first coveted pair?
