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Levi's® introduced Levi® Vintage Clothing to keep the history of their denim alive by creating exact reproductions of original jeanswear from their San Francisco archives. These authentic replicas are made with historic quality selvage denim from original narrow looms and non denim pieces are exact sourced reproductions.
LEVI STRAUSS
The fortunes of Levi's® are inextricably linked to travel and immigration.
In 1947, Levi Strauss left his hometown of Buttenheim in Bavaria, and travelled by boat to New York to join his brother Jonas who had established a small but thriving business. Like most young men of the time, his port of arrival into the U.S was probably Ellis Island.
At the end of January 1853, Levi became an American citizen, and in February he headed for the West Coast, travelling once more by boat via the Isthmus of Panama. He arrived in bustling San Francisco in early March and soon established a wholesale business on 90 Sacramento Street, very close to the Waterfront- handy for receiveing and selling the goods that arrived by ship.
Levi's new company imported 'dry goods'- clothing, underwear, umbrellas, handkerchiefs and bolts of fabric- and sold them to the small stores that were springing up all over California and the West. A few years later he met another European immigrant, Riga-born tailor Jacob Davis. Together they created and patented the first blue jeans on May 20th 1873.
LEVI STRAUSS
The fortunes of Levi's® are inextricably linked to travel and immigration.
In 1947, Levi Strauss left his hometown of Buttenheim in Bavaria, and travelled by boat to New York to join his brother Jonas who had established a small but thriving business. Like most young men of the time, his port of arrival into the U.S was probably Ellis Island.
At the end of January 1853, Levi became an American citizen, and in February he headed for the West Coast, travelling once more by boat via the Isthmus of Panama. He arrived in bustling San Francisco in early March and soon established a wholesale business on 90 Sacramento Street, very close to the Waterfront- handy for receiveing and selling the goods that arrived by ship.
Levi's new company imported 'dry goods'- clothing, underwear, umbrellas, handkerchiefs and bolts of fabric- and sold them to the small stores that were springing up all over California and the West. A few years later he met another European immigrant, Riga-born tailor Jacob Davis. Together they created and patented the first blue jeans on May 20th 1873.
Originally designed as work-wear and adopted by farmers and gold prospectors, Levi's jeans were built to last, showing their strength through testing time. The USA was already in the grip of The Great Depression during the mid 1930s, when severe drought caused thousands of people to migrate south from The Great Plains to California. The Dust Bowl catastrophe or the 'Dirty Thirties' turned the sky black as hundreds of acres of fertile land was blown to dust. With their lands and livelihoods ruined, farmers were forced to make the often arduous journey to the coast, abandoning their homes and taking with them the bare essentials.
With their lives in the balance, fashion was not high on the list of priorities. Dark or light shades of denim; worn-in or worn-out - it didn't matter. Adopting a make-do-and-mend attitude these true survivors dressed in the best they could; waste not, want not- the smallest item had value.
The Spring/Summer 2009 Levi's Vintage Clothing collection is called 'Wrath and Dust'. It is a celebration of the indomitable spirit of the Dust Bowl migrants. Hard-wearing products such as Levi's jeans were vital friends in a time when the smallest thing could make a difference.
With their lives in the balance, fashion was not high on the list of priorities. Dark or light shades of denim; worn-in or worn-out - it didn't matter. Adopting a make-do-and-mend attitude these true survivors dressed in the best they could; waste not, want not- the smallest item had value.
The Spring/Summer 2009 Levi's Vintage Clothing collection is called 'Wrath and Dust'. It is a celebration of the indomitable spirit of the Dust Bowl migrants. Hard-wearing products such as Levi's jeans were vital friends in a time when the smallest thing could make a difference.
