The 1870s Nevada Jean walked so the Levi’s 501 could run.
This week Levi’s Vintage Clothing released a limited-edition reproduction of one of the oldest pairs of blue jeans in the Levi Strauss & Co. Archives.
Made five to six years into Levi’s production, the waist overalls represent the U.S. brand at its most elemental. The jean has a similar construction to what would eventually evolve into the 501with one defining detail that sets it apart: a tool pocket placed at the wearer’s left thigh. Levi’s said early models bearing this distinctive pocket have since become known among archivists as “the Nevada,” named for the region where original pairs were discovered.
“From the very first years of our production, this is one of the oldest jeans in our archive,” said Paul O’Neill, Levi’s Vintage Clothing design director. “The tool pocket is what makes the Nevada so distinct—it’s something we only did for a very short period of time.”
The Levi’s Vintage Clothing reproduction are produced in limited quantities entirely in the U.S., using deadstock Cone White Oak loomstate denim. The denim is a lightweight, rigid fabric developed specifically for Levi’s Vintage Clothing. Each pair is finished unwashed and rigid, arriving in the same raw state it would have in the 1870s.
“Producing it in the USA using American fabric felt like the right way to bring this special garment back,” O’Neill added.
Additional period-accurate details include a center back leather patch, a single back pocket, 1873 patent rivets, sew-on buttons, a watch pocket sewn on top of the waistband, denim pocket bags, and leather washers behind the rivets.
The LVC 1870s Nevada Jeans is available now on Levis.com and select Levi’s stores. The jean retails for $595.
