The very first pairs of Levi's^® 501s^® look much more similar to your own than you might expect. The oldest pair on view in the exhibition Levi Strauss: A History of American Style dates to 1890—and they still have the same pocket rivets, the same small side pocket (originally created to hold a pocket watch), and the same distinctive stitching pattern (a double arch, known as the arcuate) on the back pockets. Other than suspender buttons and a now-defunct rivet at the base of the zipper (the “crotch rivet,” rumored to have been removed because it frequently grew too hot as cowboys crouched by the fire), they’re essentially the same as your 501s^® today; just a little older. If you check the waistband of your own jeans, you’ll likely also see the same logo that has graced Levi's^® jeans since 1886—the two horse trademark, portraying two horses attempting (without success) to pull a pair of Levi's^® apart to show their strength and durability. 

To our knowledge, no one has ever put the two horse scenario to the test literally; but we have a feeling that it would hold up. In 1938, a man named J.H. Shram attempted to tow a car with none other than his Levi's^® 501s^®. After encountering a neighbor whose car had broken down, Shram determined the car needed to be towed; but he only had two short pieces of rope with him. Shram turned to the one other sturdy item he was able to find in his car: his six-year-old pair of Levi's^®. Recalling the two horse trademark, Shram tied the ropes to each leg of the jeans, and then to the two cars. Remarkably, he was able to tow the car four miles up a hill to the nearest mechanic. Shram then sent the jeans, still tied to their ropes, to Levi Strauss & Co. The jeans, on view in the Levi Strauss exhibition along with the letter, are indeed in remarkably good shape for having pulled a car!

Using your jeans to tow a car is one way to showcase their strength and truly create a one-of-a-kind pair of pants—but Levi's^® can become a personalized signature without going to such extreme lengths. Just ask Steve Jobs; the Apple founder was famous for wearing a black turtleneck and Levi's^® 501s^® every day. His own jeans were identifiable by the custom addition of buttons for suspenders, which Jobs famously wore in the 1984 reveal of the Apple II.

While many of us have customized our jeans simply by wearing them, others have taken a more intensive approach in making their jeans unique. In 1973, Richard Owens independently brought the idea of a Denim Art Contest to Levi Strauss & Co.'s then–Public Relations Director and later corporate Vice President Bud Johns. The contest, in honor of the company's 100th anniversary and inspired by the denim-decorating craze of the time, invited consumers to decorate their Levi's^® clothing and submit images of their work. Several entries are on view in the Levi Strauss exhibition, and highlight the individuality and creativity of Levi's^®-wearers across the country. From embroidery to studs to political statements, these entries drew on a wide range of materials and designs to prove the versatility of jeans as a canvas through which to express oneself.

Jeans have not only mapped where we are as individuals, but as a society. In an earlier blog post, we traced the history of 1934’s Lady Levi's^®, which marked a critical milestone in a decades-long movement to normalize jeans (or any kind of pants) for women. For many women, jeans became symbolic of liberation and equality throughout the 1960s and 70s. Other social and cultural movements were no exception; from the bell bottoms of the hippies to the adoption of Levi's^® jeans by East German youth as a protest against the repressive government in 1978, jeans have acted as a roadmap and a reminder of where we are and where we’re going.