FINALLY. THE 501® CURVE HAS ARRIVED.

We heard you. After years of countless requests from Levi’s® fans (including many of our own employees), our most iconic straight fit is now made for curves. With little to *no* waist gap. 

We’re sure you have some questions:

“How’s the 501® Curve different from the 501® Original?” 

“What took you so long?”

“Wait, seriously—no waist gap??”

For these answers and more, we chatted with the team behind the seams—real Levi’s® designers, fit models, merchants and marketers who helped bring this jean to life. Read below to learn about the process and passion behind the 501® Curve story. (And if you saw us crying, no you didn’t.

Jill: Our 501® is known as our most iconic fit, but what we heard from our fans is that we were missing a 501® fit that fit curvy bodies specifically.

Jessica: People have been asking for a curvy 501® online for years, but even within the office a lot of us can’t wear the regular 501®. It just doesn’t fit. 

Jill: Yes! We wanted as many different body shapes as possible, so we put out a casting call. They told us about their issues finding jeans in the past, and where to tweak and perfect this new fit.

Faith: Any curvy girl will tell you—it's the thighs and it's the gap. So if it fits in the thighs, there's a gap. And if there's no gap, then it doesn't fit in the thighs.

Natasia: A lot of slouchy butts.

Jessica: I had to choose jeans that fit my waist or fit my hips—to go for snatched or comfort.

Grayson: The waist gap. I could never wear the 501® before; I always had a waist gap.

Jill: The waist gap is one of the most common complaints we get about denim. And what we heard from our fans is that whenever they tried on the 501®, they’d get a gap in the waist or the thighs would be too tight and they couldn't pull it up all the way.

Jen: The 501® Original is pretty straight, but for the Curve, we wanted to build in more of a pitch because, oftentimes, curvy girls don't have enough coverage on the back. We’ve all had that issue if you wear something too small or not built for curves, the back center of the waist gaps when you sit.

The 501® Curve gets rid of that. It goes from fuller thighs all the way up and doesn’t dip in the back. It sits against their body even when they’re sitting. It’s going to hug their curves and show them off. 

Tara: There was some wizardry behind the scenes in the pattern making. Avoiding the dreaded waist gap, but still giving you that true authentic, vintage-y 501® butt? That’s magic.

Tara: All these little details that come together to create that perfect backside lift—that’s what gives it its attitude and makes it iconically Levi’s®.

Jill: It’s one of the most identifiable and covetable features of the 501®, so we definitely wanted to retain that when we were creating this fit for curvy women.

Tara: We've done curvy fits in the past, but we’ve never touched 501®. It’s been asked for forever, but we didn’t think a curve-friendly 501® was possible because of the secret sauce of what makes a 501® a 501®. We had to push ourselves.

Jen: Our 501® came from the men’s world, so it’s really tricky to create a 501® pattern that’s able to hug the side curve of someone's body without curving the pattern or looking frumpy. It's basically making something that's traditionally very square work for a curvier girl—and maintain that 501® attitude.

Jill: There are so many little intricacies that are specific to the 501®. There’s a reason it’s so iconic. So we had to spend a lot of time on it.

Jen: On that day we finally landed the fit, everyone in the room went ballistic.

Grayson: It was honestly so electric. It felt like being a part of history being made.

Jill: We had our merchants there, our designers, our fit models, our production partners, our technical team…

Grayson: They went and brought other people into the room. They were like, “You have to come see it right now!”

Jen: Every single woman we fit came out with the biggest smile on their face like I've never seen—cause they've never been able to wear Levi's® that way, and they were ecstatic.

Fabi: Everyone was really emotional. People cheered and clapped. They were like, “woohoo!” every time someone came out in a different size. We were literally jumping for joy. 

Jill: I've been doing denim fit for 20 years, and this was one of my proudest moments at Levi's®—seeing the expertise and collaboration between the teams, and watching people’s faces light up when they put this jean on for the first time.

Bre: I was shocked. There was no waist gap.

Natasia: Relieved! Looking in the mirror, I felt ready to take on the world.

Fabi: I remember it was super cinched on the waist and I really, really liked that. Sometimes I’m very shy to show my curves, but these made me feel super confident.

Jessica: I work with jeans all day every day. I try on a lot, and I've never put on a pair of pants that fit this well. I actually get to snatch in my waist and not flatten my butt or squeeze my thighs.

Faith: It was really cool being part of the fitting process—to give my opinion and actually feel heard. I can't wear the normal 501®, so it was awesome putting on something that was made for me and my body.

Grayson: Oh, yeah. I remember I walked out of the fitting room and the entire room exploded into applause and that felt just beyond amazing.

Jen [about Grayson]: I've never seen anyone so happy in a pair of jeans in my life.

Tara: The unprompted reaction from our fit models was, “Oh my God, I love these. I can’t believe these. Where have these been all my life?” 

Jill: We've been talking about how to create curvy fits for a long time. This is not a new topic. It's something that we are very passionate about. While we don’t have a dedicated line right now, we do very much take body shape into account when creating our fits. For example, our recently released Cinch jeans were also designed to help with the waist gap issue. 

Jen: It’s about body shape. On a curvy girl, her waist is going to be more nipped in and her hip is going to be fuller. So, if you always have a waist gap, you probably need a curvy jean.

Faith: If you've tried the 501® before and they didn't work for you, you have to try these. And If you already like the 501®, try these and they might fit even better. 

Tara: No. You can have the 501® fit intent be what it’s meant to be in your true size and still avoid the waist gap.

Jen: You don’t have to size down for the 501® Curve to look good. During development, we found that most curvy girls today are buying about two sizes smaller than their actual measured size in most jeans because they want the waist to fit. But we already made the waist smaller for the 501® C. You may not know your correct size because you’re not used to buying it, so measure your hips and waist and use the levi.com size chart. That way, you don’t order a size too small the first time. 

Faith: I'm excited to not have to pick up my pants every 5 seconds.

Jessica: Just have the freedom to bend over—if you drop something, if you tie your shoe, if you have small children like me. I no longer have to think about whether or not my shirt is long enough in the back when I bend down to pick up my kids!

Grayson: I went to cuff my 501® Curve jeans and started to back up against the wall so I could bend over. Then, I realized—wait, I can do this wherever I want! I don't need my safety wall anymore.

Fabi: I can stop worrying about altering my waist. I’d always have to buy an extra button to do it the budget-friendly way.

Natasia: I'm ready to bring crop tops back into my wardrobe.

Jill: We know this took a while and a lot of collaboration between our amazing experts, but we are so excited to get this fit into the world.

Natasia: I can’t wait for our fans to love this fit as much as we do—to try it on for the first time and have the same experience I did. We listened to you!

Jessica: And it was worth it.

Faith: These jeans are perfect!!

P.S. Want some styling inspiration for how to wear Levi’s® 501® Curve? Check out our lookbook.