Levi’s Acquires the Oldest Recognized Pair of Girls’s Denims
The history of blue jeans is legendary: after buying denim pants from the San Francisco-based retailer Levi Strauss, a tailor named Jacob Davis was inspired to reinforce them with copper rivets in the most vulnerable areas. The two businessmen secured a patent for the blue jeans concept in 1873, and shortly afterwards the trousers were hugged by miners, cowboys, and other working-class men.
But their popularity with women didn’t come until decades later. Levi Strauss & Co. produced its first line of jeans for women in the 1930s, and now TIME reports that what may be the oldest surviving pair of jeans from that period has been repurchased by the company.
Get to know Viola: Our oldest pair of Levi’s® jeans for women https://t.co/Cl9iKRWs05 pic.twitter.com/2cgVenCx6c
– Essence Manzano (@jeanslifehq) August 29, 2017
The high-waisted jeans, which feature a fabric patch, and a belt instead of a belt, were first spotted at an estate sale by a vintage clothing collector. They originally belonged to a teacher named Viola Longacre, who died in 2014 at the age of 100. During her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Fresno State College (now California State University, Fresno), she wore the pants in the Sierra Mountains, where classes were held in the summer.
The pair were likely made before 1934, the year the Lady Levi’s collection was first released. The fact that the Levi Strauss & Co. patch on the back of the waist is made of fabric instead of leather leads company historian Tracey Panek to believe they were released as part of an experimental batch measuring women’s interest in the product should. Although they were a staple of men’s wardrobe at the time, it wasn’t until World War II that jeans became a familiar sight for women.
After purchasing the item of clothing from the clothing collector, Levi Strauss & Co. named it “Viola” after its original owner. They are next to the oldest known men’s jeans, a pair from 1879, in the company archive.
[h/t TIME]
