Everything changed during World War II: American media, the workforce and even the jeans Americans wore. In order to conserve raw materials for the war effort, the United States government mandated all clothing manufacturers to remove a certain amount of metal, fabric and thread from their garments. And so off came the watch pocket rivets, the crotch rivet and the cinch, along with its two rivets and on came standard issue laurel leaf buttons.

But one rationing mandate was more difficult to bear: the order to remove the arcuate stitching that set Levi’s® jeans apart from the rest. Rather than lose the signature arcuate, Levi’s® worked out a system to print the arcuate design on every pair of 501® Jeans that came out of the factory. While the paint eventually washed off, the important part was that the stitching was visible at the time of purchase. Today, we recreate this historical garment — our 1944 501® Jeansin — in rigid selvedge denim.

• An archival reproduction of 1944 501® Jeans
• Made without the watch pocket rivets, crotch rivet, and the back waist cinch to conserve raw materials for the war effort
• Features the iconic arcuate painted on the back pocket as a solution to rationing
• True to the original, it features varied pocket bag material, unbranded rivets and unbranded standard-issue buttons with a laurel leaf design
• Constructed with two back pockets and concealed rivets
• We made this garment with organically grown cotton
• Made in Japan by expert artisans using traditional techniques
• These jeans were crafted from premium selvedge denim and woven on a traditional narrow-width shuttle loom—making them highly covetable. Roll up the cuff to show off the woven fabric strip.