I think it’s a feat that every woman suffers through … finding the
perfect pair of denim that hits all the right places, covers what you need to hide and feel comfortable and still look on-trend. Problem is, those are kind of hard to find. Luckily for me, I was headed to San Francisco, land of the perennial and first-ever blue jean,
Levi’s. Not only do you see loads of Levi’s shops about town, their head quarters is also in the city, and they invited me to not only test out their new
Curve ID fitting, but also a chance to snoop around their impressive vault of vintage denim.
First – the vintage denim. They have the oldest pair of blue jeans in the world here from 1879 (in remarkably good shape), a classic shade and worn in at the knees. The value? About $150,000 – and they’re so special that you don’t dare touch them with your bare fingers – you need a pair of special gloves. You can see the wear in the back pockets, the strap in the back to adjust, and the worn down rivets. It’s not that unlike
denim we see today – clearly the world loves the classic look and a vintage feel. The Levi’s archivist whips out more pairs for me to oogle over, including the oldest pair of women’s blue jeans (a very high waist) from the 1930s, with the original owner’s name – Harriet – stitched inside. Harriet was clearly a woman of class, she had the staple red Levi’s tab removed – it was considered tacky at the time to show labels, and according to the archivist, Harriet probably only wore them once. No wonder designers come in a poke around for inspiration. In total, the vault is home to nearly half a million dollars worth of vintage denim. Swoon!
(more…)