Levi Strauss had a knack for marketing. He found a need, satisfied it with a quality product, continued to listen to the consumer, adapted where necessary and made sure everyone knew who had made the product. In 1853, he started by having a tailor make ten pairs of pants out of canvas fabric that he had brought west with him for the purpose of making tents. Always adaptable, Levi realized that tents were not in demand but that the miners of the gold rush could not find durable pants. He found and satisfied a need. Everyone called them ‘those pants of Levi’s’ and a legend was born.
Once the canvas was gone, Strauss sought out an even more durable fabric from France called ‘serge de Nimes” which became known as denim. They were dyed the distinctive blue because indigo dye was the cheapest and most permanent die available. They were stitched with a distinctive pattern and the seams were reinforced for durability. In 1872 Strauss funded the patent application for an innovation from one of his subcontracted tailors. Jacob Davis realized that reinforcing certain seams and fabric joints with copper rivets would enable the pants to wear longer and hold up to abuse. Soon this innovation became a selling feature and a method of differentiation. By 1877, Levi Strauss became a charter member of the San Francisco board of Trade. This man knew the value of networking and soon he also took four fatherless nephews into the business.
Levis Strauss gave the jeans the lot number 501 and a less expensive version was dubbed 201 to keep track of the products in the inventory of his dry goods business. In 1886, Levi had his tailors attach a leather patch to the back waste of the jeans which featured the now famous two horses pulling a pair of jeans from either direction to demonstrate their durability. This patch was America’s first apparel trademark and it was done to reinforce the brand because the original patent was set to expire in 1890. Levis continued in business until he died in 1902 at which time he willed his company to four sibling nephews who, like Levi, had lost their own father. I suspect that this infusion of four owners prevented the company from declining as companies often do. It remains a family owned business to this day.
The jeans continued to sell past the turn of the century and in 1910 the new owners of Levi Strauss and Company (LS&Co.) improved the jeans again. The inner seams were felled. This made them even more durable and rip resistant. The new owners had a knack for marketing too and entered the jeans into the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco in 1915 where they won a “Highest Award”. That same year they switched to denim made in America in North Carolina paving the way for the ‘all American’ reputation which helped to build the brand. The style remained virtually the same since Levi Strauss’ initial design but in 1922 they listened to the customer again and to evolving fashion trends and added belt loops. By 1927 they started using an even heavier weight of fabric. In 1928 Levi’s (the name) was registered as a trademark.
Sales continued to be excellent into the 1930s. At that time there was a new marketing miracle. Western movies became the rage and Levi’s jeans were prominently featured as the apparel of the rugged frontier life.
Movie appearances which featured characters who wore Levi’s jeans would influence more than one generation of Americans. To ward off competitors who were imitating the jeans, Levis began to stitch in a small red tab with the Levis name in capital letters into the side seam of the back pocket on 501 jeans in 1936. Creative marketing was never far from the company’s mind and this proved to be an excellent method for defending sales and the brand. To address complaints about the scratching of furniture and of saddles, the rivets on the back pockets are installed and then covered over by the seams.
The next big event for America and for Levi’s jeans came with WW2. America was building for war and the government declared that Levis jeans were an essential commodity. They were available primarily to defence workers. Rules set by the War Production Board led to the removal of the crotch rivet, the watch pocket rivets and the back cinch in order to save fabric and metal. Decorative stitching was also removed but factory workers actually painted the design onto the pants to continue the distinctive branding. In 1943, the pattern of ‘Arcuate’ stitching was actually registered as a trademark by the company. After the war the features of the jeans were restored and soon a zippered version was added to meet ‘eastern’ demand and the red tab was now stitched with Levis on both the exposed and the interior facing side.
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