When did the Levi's 501 come out?

In honor of July 4th, what could be more fitting than a rundown on the most influential years of America’s favourite denim. Following our previous histories of the Levi’s 501, we’ll pick up the story in 1947 and move through to 1966. The 1947 edition was a major changing point in the history of the 501.

Is a Levi's 501 a 501?

In other words, the 501 remained the blueprint and North Star for Levi's. From the 1970s onward, denim was a fashion item, with brands like Yves Saint Laurent, Calvin Klein, Gloria Vanderbilt, Maurice Sasson and many others now populating the "designer jeans" category.

Where did Levi's 501 jeans come from?

In 1927, Levi's began sourcing its red selvedge shrink-to-fit denim for the 501 from Cone Mills in Greensboro, North Carolina. (It would continue to do so until the mid-'80s, when it switched to more economical "wide loom" denim.) Denim pants were becoming more and more popular outside of specific industries.