All things considered, this pair of ‘New Nevada’ jeans from Levi Strauss & Co looks impeccable for being 130-years-old. May 20, 1873 is considered the official birthday of blue jeans, as it was the day in which the patent for jeans was given to Levi Strauss. To mark that birthday the LS&Co. company tracked down this pair of ‘New Nevada’ jeans that date back to some time in the 1880’s.
The newest addition to the @LeviStraussCo Archives is 125+ yrs old. Meet – the New Nevada Jean http://t.co/UREQBs97DV pic.twitter.com/drt5OJzzq7
— Levi's® (@LEVIS) May 21, 2015
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Seriously though, you get me on Bourbon Street for a night drinking whisky, or a night down in Playa del Carmen drinking Tequila, and my jeans are going to look considerably more roughed up than those. I cannot tell you the amount of times I’ve woken up from a night out and had no clue where that hole in my pants came from, or what those stains are.
Just think of the amount of events those jeans have lived through: Marilyn Monroe serenading JFK, Kanye jumping on stage and dissing Taylor, and me interviewing Arnold Schwarzenegger this week. What a lifetime!
LS&Co. historian announced their acquisition of these ancient jeans in a blog post on Wednesday:
LS&Co. historian Tracey Panek is a bit unflappable when it comes to denim-related artifacts. It’s understandable, given that she oversees a collection of tens of thousands of them that includes everything from the world’s oldest pair to jeans worn by Bing Crosby, Beyoncé and a host of others.
It’s a rare pair of old jeans that can stop Tracey in her tracks, but that’s exactly what the New Nevada jeans did.
“For a historian, this was a once-in-a-career kind of find,” Tracey said.
Today, on the birthday of the blue jean, we’re excited to announce that we’ll be adding the pants to the Levi Strauss & Co. Archives.
So what makes them such a unique and important addition to our Archives?
“Despite being one of the oldest pairs of jeans in existence, the New Nevada jeans are in near-perfect condition,” Tracey said.
Except for wear marks and a few minor holes and tears, the pants, which date to around the 1880s, are pristine.
We’re able to estimate the age of the New Nevada jeans, which were found near a Nevada mining town, because the patent date — May 20, 1873 — is on the copper rivets. The patent date was removed from the rivets once the patent had expired in 1890.
In terms of style, the pants are very simple — a basic men’s work garment. And while they bear some resemblance to our iconic Levi’s® 501® jeans, the cut of the New Nevada is a bit different. The yoke is narrower, and the leather patch is in the middle of the waistband, rather than on the right side.
For more on these ridiculously old jeans you can click on over and read the announcement in full on the LS&Co. blog.