On May 20th, 1873, Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis secured a patent (No. 139,121) for “an Improvement in Fastening Pocket Openings.” The West Coast at that time was a loose patchwork of farms, ranches, railroads and gold mines. Jacob Davis—a tailor from Reno, Nevada—had the idea of placing rivets on work pants at points of strain, and joined forces with his denim supplier Levi Strauss in San Francisco. The riveted blue jean was born. Soon, Levi’s® became the clothing of choice for the rugged, hodgepodge band of workers, outcasts, entrepreneurs and outlaws building America’s future. For Spring/Summer 2023, in celebration of the 150th year anniversary of this patent, we pay tribute to their innovation and collaboration.

After World War I, belts made an appearance in clothing and eventually became important to younger working men. So in 1922, we added belt loops to our 501® jeans and kept the suspender buttons for the best of both worlds.

These 1922 501® jeans are a limited-edition, stitch-for-stitch reproduction of a pair of Levi’s® 501® jeans from 1922. Designed like overalls, they feature external suspender buttons, belt loops and feature a classic button fly with an iconic straight-leg fit.

• A stitch-for-stitch reproduction of a pair of archival 1922 501® jeans
• The first year we added belt loops
• Features a single-needle arcuate
• Made from 10 oz. plain Cone Mills white oak selvedge denim
• Iconic Two Horse leather patch
• This is a limited-edition piece