A Part Of The History Of Levi Jeans
In 1853 Levi Strauss arrived in San Francisco and opened a wholesale dry goods business selling items to small stores all through the West. Then in 1872 Jacob Davis writes to Levi Strauss, telling him about the process he invented to rivet the pocket corners on mens pants to make them stronger. He suggests the two men take out a patent.
Three years later Levi Strauss & Jacob Davis are granted a patent on the process of riveting pants and this is the invention of the blue jean. The pants – called “waist overalls” – have one back pocket, a watch pocket, a cinch, suspender buttons and a rivet in the crotch. There may have been a tradition of pocket stitching on mens work clothes but this has not been proved for certain. The cinch and suspender buttons were standard on mens pants. Levi did not invent the cut or fit of the waist overalls; what they did was take ordinary mens work pants and rivet them, creating the new category of workwear which we today call blue jeans.
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