In 1920, Arizona miner Homer Campbell tested Levi’s® guarantee, “A New Pair Free if They Rip,” and returned his much-worn and patched 501® jeans. He never dreamed they’d become a symbol of Levi Strauss & Co.’s legacy—embodying a century of history and becoming one of the longest-preserved garments in our Archives.

Homer wore his jeans six days a week for three years, customizing them to suit his needs: stitching up the cuffs, padding the front legs, adding a tool pocket on the right back thigh, replacing lost buttons and threading rope through the top buttonhole. When he bought them, the jeans weighed about a pound and a half. When he returned them, they weighed close to six pounds. Our 1917 Homer Campbell 501® jeans are a stitch-for-stitch reproduction that sit high on the waist with a boxy, straight-leg fit. Homer’s unique fixes are all meticulously replicated. Packaged in an antique-style parcel postmarked from Arizona and dated 1920, they’re presented as if you’re receiving them from Homer himself, including a copy of his original letter to Levi Strauss & Co. This is a limited-edition piece: Only 250 pieces were made worldwide.

• A stitch-for-stitch reproduction of Homer Campbell’s 501® jeans
• Sits high on your waist with a boxy, straight-leg fit
• Features two back pockets with exposed rivets​ and a center-back cinch ​
• With pre-existing and replaced suspender buttons​
• Finished with single-needle arcuate stitching
• These durable selvedge jeans were woven on a traditional narrow-width shuttle loom—making them highly covetable. Roll up the cuff to show off the selvedge ID.
• This is a limited-edition piece: Only 250 pieces were made worldwide