• March 28, 2024

Ever Wonder Why Jeans Have Rivets on the Back Pocket

When you look at the back pocket of your jeans and see that bright, shiny rivet it’s easy to mistake it for a cosmetic feature because of it’s sharp look.  The truth is that the rivet has been part of jeans since Levi Strauss made his first pair with his partner Jacob Davis, a tailor and it was not for their looks.  The original jeans which were actually brown rather than today’s blue were designed and made for farmers and miners for their toughness.  But they had complained about previous pants which would rip at the pocket.  Davis decided he could solve that problem by using rivets instead of thread.  And they have had rivets for the past 150 years.

 Denim is truly one of the most durable and wearable fabrics out there—that’s why companies like Levi Strauss still use it for their classic pants. When jeans were initially designed, no one could have guessed that they would become the epitome of all things hip. In fact, when the first companies started making these pants, they only had workers and laborers in mind.

Many jean-makers had the right idea when it came to the fabric, but, unfortunately, clothiers were running into quite a bit of trouble when it came to their commodity. You see, their customers would often end up complaining about rips and holes that would appear around the surrounding pocket area.

Luckily, the hero of our story—tailor, Jacob Davis—found an ingenious way to keep these pants intact, without sacrificing too much style. He decided to focus on the trouble area, and ended up reinforcing it by tacking on teeny-tiny buttons along the top of the vulnerable seam. This small addition helped to ensure that the pocket area would never come unhinged.

Once Davis realized just how lucrative his discovery could be, he contacted Levi Strauss, one of his customers, and the two went into business together. The denim-loving duo was then granted a patent for the very first pair of riveted trousers back in 1873.

Today, rivets are still being used because nothing better has been found over the last 150 years.

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