Levi’s used exposed rivets on their back pockets until 1937 but covered them when complaints about scratched saddles and seats. A few years later the rivet on the crotch was removed.
Denim history is fascinating. The real appreciation of natural indigo and cotton twill, the way it twists and fades, and the subtle variegated landscape. Often all it takes is a friend to point out an element of composition or technique, and you see it in a new light. You begin to recognize and enjoy different qualities.
With denim, this could be the way shades of blue range across a fade. It’s never a stark change – there’s a wave that begins with the deepest indigo, goes through many hues of blue, and peaks in a pale line where the yarn almost loses color completely.
When jeans are artificially aged, you lose some of this subtlety. They’re often heavily washed, which removes the deepest indigo and therefore one end of the scale. And no one has the ability (by machine) or time (by hand) to shade each twisting gradation differently.
Charmingly, models often break the rules, just to keep everyone on their toes. The pair below, for example, have one back pocket chain stitched, the other not. Sometimes people get lazy or just lose track halfway through production.
Consumers appreciate the explosion of fraying you get at the edges of front pockets as if the denim has finally given up the ghost, losing its integrity in an eruption of yarn.
The beauty of denim
