One Month of Denim - Day 20

I'm sick and tired of thinking about writing a post on denim on a daily basis, but as I promised, I will keep doing so, so it's just my good fortune, that we only have 10 days left.

- I'm kidding. I love writing about denim, and I hope it has helped some people out there. But I hope it hasn't made people believe that this blog is all about denim because that is not the case.

In the question the other day, I mentioned something called "Big E" in regards to vintage Levi's jeans. The red tab was introduced in 1936 as mean of identifying a genuine pair of Levi's jeans. Until 1971 one the red tab had LEVI'S written in all capital letters, and after that it was spelled Levi's. This was the end of an era for the most part.

Levi's decided to put the red tab on their jeans because they hadn't trademarked the arcuate on the back pocket by 1936, which meant a lot of competing companies were adding arcuates to their jeans. Wrangler and Lee even had an arcuate that looked VERY similar to the Levi's V-arcuate before they more or less settled on their W- and Lazy-S arcuate.

Levis arcuate (hand sewn) - pre 1936 

Wrangler jeans - 1940's

Lee jeans - 1940s

The arcuate is now conceived as the oldest clothing trademark. It was used by Levi's from the beginning basically, however it has been speculated that they weren't the first to employ it on the back pocket. Although they hadn't trademarked the arcuate by 1936, they did so in 1943.

Fun fact about the arcuate around that time (during the Second World War) is that it was painted on the jeans instead of it being stitched. This was done in an attempt to save on materials including thread.

Levis - painted arcuates - which would wear off in time leaving blank back pockets

In recent times Levi's sued a lot of Japanese denim brands because they used arcuates and red tabs that resembled the ones Levi's use. Read more about the lawsuit here and here on the great Swedish denim blog, Repeat to Fade, which unfortunately seems to be no more.

READ MORE - One Month of Denim - Day 20

One Month of Denim - Day 18

"Ok, here's a question for you: I go to thrift stores a lot but tend to avoid the jeans section, I have trouble determining the age of a pair of Levi's for example. Can you share a few pointers on what to look for? The patch? The brand of the zipper? The rivets?"

I received this question from an anonymous reader, and I figured that it could be answered in an entirely new post. I'm very grateful for this question, so thank you very much and if I didn't answer your question in full, let me know and I'll try to add more information.

First of all, do not avoid the jeans section.

Secondly there are some give aways. Here are some in non particular order. 

1) Do the jeans have selvage? Turn the cuff - it's fast and effecient.

2) If they are Levi's jeans, does the red tab or orange tab on the back pocket spell LEVIS and not Levis. I'm refering to a thing known as "Big E", which was how LEVIS was spelled until 1971, when they changed the capital E to a small e.

3)Look for defunct jeans brands like Foremost (a JC Penney brand), Ranchcraft (Also a JC Penney brand), Key, Washington Dee Cee, Can't Bust 'em, Buckaroo by Big Smith, Roebucks - the list goes on and on.

4) If you are looking for zippers, the zippers you should be looking for are Talon (especially Talon 42), Scovill, Ideal, Gripper Zipper. 

This post may be of some help

5) Knowing this timeline from Levi's is good when you need to date jeans. Just look at the differences in arcuates (the iconic stitching on the back pockets) for instance.

This post may be of some help. And if you need some help, I'll gladly give some in depth explanations to understanding it. But please remember that there can be variations depending on the factory used even back then.

Finally I would recommend you look on the inside tags. If they are "made in USA", they are vintage and probably a lot more interesting than most new Levi's jeans. But try them on, so you don't end up in a pair of boot cut jeans - unless you are rocking a full "Freaks&Geeks" attire....

READ MORE - One Month of Denim - Day 18

One Month of Denim - Day 16

When it comes to talking about denim, it is pretty essential to know that denim is a twill. Twill is a kind of weave with a pattern of diagonal parallel lines or rib. Now that you have that established, then you must also know that there are generally three different kinds of twill weaves used and they are all represented by the big three. Levis used right hand twill, Lee used left hand twill and finally Wrangler used broken twill - I'm sure that either of them have issued jeans using a different twill than the one stated, but that is the general norm.

Right-hand twill

Right-hand twill is the most commonly used weave for denim. This weave creates a twill, which lines go from left to right in a upward fashion. It has a slightly more pronounced twill feeling compared to the other two.

Left-hand twill

In left-hand twill the lines run from left to right in a downward fashion. There is a distinctly different feel to this type of twill than right-hand twill. It will often also have a softer hand and it will fade differently. The fades will be softer and slightly more vertical.

 

Broken twill

Back in the days the leg twist that we covered some time ago was considered a fault, which is why the broken twill weave was created. The weave changes direction, which creates a very recognisible zig-zag pattern on the back. It has been speculated that it is hard creating good, clear fades on broken twill, but old Wrangler jeans can be found with magnificent fades, so it is probably not the case, however it can be hard creating the same radient, clear fades that you can achieve with right-hand twill.

READ MORE - One Month of Denim - Day 16

One Month of Denim - Day 15

Due to very limited time today you'll have to settle for three iconic denim related pictures - Enjoy. But do know that I'll be back with vengance soon.



READ MORE - One Month of Denim - Day 15

One Month of Denim - Day 14

Lee was the first company to use zippers in jeans in the 1920's and in the 50's it becomes quite common and all companies make a zippered version of their jeans. Levi's even made their iconic 501 with a zipper and named it 501z, as did Lee with their iconic 101, which they named 101z - the Z meaning Zipper.

This wasn't to everybody's satisfaction, as one Levi's customer noted that it was like peeing into the jaws of an alligator. This is quite understandable as zippers back then where all made of metal, not nylon and other softer materials that we see today. But it did catch on and became a huge succes for both men and women. Though to this day many of the hardcore denim fanatics would never wear jeans with zippers. The reason would most likely be the fact that a button fly can create some beautiful fades and if you are wearing shrink to fit denim, then the zipper might start bulging after shrinkage.

If you are into vintage jeans or reproduction jeans - basically premiuim jeans - then you should know the following makers.

Talon (Especially Talon 42)

Scovill

Gripper Zipper

Universal

Waldes

Ideal

Conmar/Conmatic (I'm not entirely sure that these have been used in jeans, but it is a great zipper no less)

Riri (only used in modern jeans, but a great quality zipper)

READ MORE - One Month of Denim - Day 14