Denimology

Levi's Vintage Spring/Summer 2008

Here are some photos of the Levi's Vintage Spring/Summer 2008 collection which features reproduction 501 jeans from 1944 and a selvedge denim shirt.



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World's Oldest Levi's

The San Francisco Chronicle has an interesting article about Lynn Downey the historian for Levi Strauss & Co. in San Francisco who is responsible for Levi's extensive archives of clothing, photographs, posters and artifacts. The jewel in this amazing archive is the world's oldest pair of Levi's (see above) - a pair "XX," one-pocket jeans, which date back to 1879 and are valued at $125,000. Unfortunately the archive is not open to members of the public, however there is a permanent display of choice pieces from the collection in the lobby of the Levi's Heaquarters in San Francisco.

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The Denim Design Lab

The Denim Design Lab is a unique set of tools and instructions to enable you to age and customize your jeans exactly how you want them. The kit comes in a selvage denim carry case and contains tools such as the DDL Grinder which are similar to those used by professionals denim finishers.

$2,000 Vintage Levi's 501 On eBay

Collecting Vintage Levis can be an expensive business these days as can be seen from this auction for a rare pair of 1950s Levi's 501s. The price has already been bid up to $1,999 with 4 days left to go. With measurements of waist 40, length 32 it's unlikely that they will even fit the person buying them. Imagine how much more they would go for if they were a more wearable size.

Who Is Putting The Vintage In Your Jeans?

Have you ever wondered how denim companies get their jeans to have that perfect faded vintage look? Well brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch, Habitual, Yanuk, Tag and Taverniti use the services of International Garment Finishing who have a factory full people in LA sanding, stapling, grinding and stabbing just the right amount of fades and frays into your jeans. IFC have recently been profiled in The LA Times and Time Magazine and demand for their services is growing so fast that they are building a second factory in Mexico.

eBay Watch - Vintage Levis Big E 501XX Jeans

"These 501 5 button blue jeans have been worn very little. They were my grandfather's and he died in 1962 so I know they were purchased prior to that date. They actually measure 34x 29. There are no holes. Single stitching, redline in the inseam and the Big E is visable in the back pocket tag. There is no inside tag and the ouside tag reads "Levi Strauss & Co., San Francisco, Ca, Original Rivited, Quality Clothing XX, Patented May .....,Every Garment Guaranteed, Lot 501XX W36 L31. The 4 lower buttons have an "S" on the back and the rivits have imprinted on the back "L.S. & Co., S.F."