Levi Strauss & Co. got its start as a manufacturer in 1873, when the company created the first blue jeans. These jeans were made specifically for the working man. Though some young girls on Western ranches wore children’s versions of the bib overalls the company made, the line offered no products specifically for adult women. (more ...)

Russia–the former Soviet Union–opened up to new markets when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, but Levi Strauss & Co. actually visited that country nearly fifty-five years ago. In 1958 the United States and the Soviet Union signed an agreement to increase cultural contact between the two countries in order to ease tensions between the (more ...)

Denim was first made in the United States in the 18th century, and from the day the first bolt came off the first loom, it was one of the toughest fabrics around. It was used for awnings, upholstery and men’s workwear. Then, in 1873, Levi Strauss & Co. released the first blue jean: denim work (more ...)

I buy a lot of vintage magazines for the Levi Strauss & Co. Archives. Some feature the company’s advertising, or showcase the denim clothing. I bought one magazine on Ebay a few years ago simply because of one of the letters to the editor. It was the May 1967 issue of a magazine called Ramparts, (more ...)

One hundred years ago this fall, Levi Strauss & Co. introduced a children’s playsuit featuring its most famous fabric: denim. Given the name “Koveralls,” the one-piece denim playsuit, made with a drop seat, was trimmed with a red fabric called “Galatea”, a tough cotton traditionally used for children’s sailor suits. Koveralls were launched quietly but (more ...)

The Archives are always on the hunt for vintage clothing, advertising and photographs to add to our collection. Earlier this year the Archives bought a small collection of vintage paper, and lurking among the pages was the answer to a question lost in the San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906. We knew that the (more ...)

The boot cut is back, and flares of all styles seem to always be part of our wardrobes. Of course, the flare was huge (literally) in the 1970s, and in that decade Levi Strauss & Co. made this silhouette for both men and women in everything from denim to corduroy to American-flag woven stripe. But (more ...)

I can’t think of a better way to kick off this new series then with a story about the oldest pair of jeans in our archive–the Levi’s “XX”. Nearly 140 years ago two European immigrants created one of the most American of products, and pants have never been the same. On May 20, 1873 Levi (more ...)