Interview With Lynn Downey, Levi's Historian

To celebrate the anniversary of 75 Years of Women's Levi's we have an interview with Lynn Downey, who is the Levi's Historian.

1) Boyfriend jeans have been phenomenally popular over the last 18 months, levi's were actually responsible for the first pair of boyfriend jeans back in the 1900s when women started wearing men's 501 as there was nothing else available. Can you tell us more about this?
In the early 1900s, women wore men's 501 jeans while working on ranches and farms, just like their men did. To these women, a sturdy pair of men's pants like the 501 meant that they could work side by side with their husbands, brothers and sons, and contribute to the success and prosperity of their families. Levi Strauss & Co. saw that this was happening and decided to create a jean just for women in 1934.

2) Which were the first pair of jeans specifically designed for women?
Lady Levi's, introduced in 1934. They were lot 701 (as opposed to the men's lot 501), and were cut with a more feminine flair. They were meant for women to wear for everything from ranch work, to dude ranch vacations. They were very versatile and started what has become the biggest category in jeanswear.

3) In the 60's, Levi's introduced the slimmer fitting women's jean which became the pre-cursor of the ever popular skinny jean. Which other women's styles from the levi's past do you think can still be seen in contemporary denim.
Many of today's styles are looks that have evolved from past trends (such as the boyfriend discussed above). For example, the boot cut jean was originally created for men in 1969, to fit over their cowboy and other boots. Women begin wearing this fit around 2000 and it remains one of our top sellers today.

4) Men's Levi's are often associated with non-conformity and rebellion would you say the same is true of women's Levi's.
It was certainly brave and fashion-forward for women to wear jeans in the 1930s, and even into the 1960s. Denim was so associated with masculinity, and even though lady Levi's were a more feminine cut, it was still a bit subversive for women to jump into a pair of jeans. Women like katharine hepburn were wearing trousers in the 1930s, scandalizing society, and denim on women got the same reaction. Women wore them at places like dude ranches and in western towns where it was a little more appropriate. Western women had worn denim for a long time, and it was when eastern women adopted lady Levi's that they took off. In the 1930s, stores like best & co. In new york, as well as kaufman's riding goods, carried the jeans, knowing that women wanted the denim look.

5) What has been the most important technological advancement in terms of women's denim over the last 100 year.
The most important technological advancement in denim was the addition of 'stretch' to jeans. In the 1960s, nylon was woven into denim fabric, which changed the wearing occasions and experience for women. This new 'stretch' made denim more functional, sexy and feminine.

6) Levi's are well known for their archive of vintage jeans, can you tell me about the oldest pair of women's jeans in the archive and where they came from and if you bought them - how much they cost.
The oldest pair of lady Levi's we have was made between 1937 and 1942. They belonged to a woman named Harriet Atwood, who bought them at best & co. In new york and wore them at the soda springs dude ranch in Rimrock, Arizona. We know all these details because the store sewed its label inside the waistband of the jeans, and Harriet sewed her name label over it. I bought the jeans from a vintage clothing dealer who had purchased some of the effects of the old dude ranch, which was no longer in business. Harriet wore and loved her lady Levi's - they are very worn in - but for some reason, left them behind.

7) Do you archive every style of jeans produced by Levi's or do you pick and choose, if so what decides whether something is added to the archive?
It would be impossible to archive everything the company has made - I'd run out of room! So I ask different departments to send me representative selections of their products and then I collect all of the product catalogs to fill in the gaps.

8) Are the vintage women's jeans in the archive used for inspiration when designing contemporary collections.
Absolutely! Designers are the biggest users of the company's archives, and that includes the women's designers from all of our brands.

9) Which is the most popular style of women's jeans ever produced by levi's
There's just too many to choose from! Right now, our most popular styles are definitely the skinny and the boyfriend jean.

10) There are many iconic photos featuring women's Levi's which is your favourite?
I like the shots of the anonymous women who wore our products at western rodeos and at the world's fair in San Francisco in 1939. There's an innocence and pure enjoyment of the product in these photos, as opposed to the generally posed photos of celebrities. These were the women who adopted and loved our clothes. They are truly a part of our history.