Corporate history highlights. The company Levi Strauss&Co was founded in the USA as a wholesale dry goods business in 1853 by Levi Strauss, an entrepreneur of German origin who together with a tailor Jacob Davis patented riveted denim pants in 1873 and started mass production of blue jeans. The fabric they sourced from a cotton mill in New Hampshire originally came from Nimes, France, a city that gave its name to denimwear ("denim" originates from the French "serge de Nîmes", which literally means "serge from Nimes") and the word soon became very common. To this day Levi’s remain not only a leader of denimwear industry but also is of the most successful and recognizable American brands of all times. However, the company also knew really hard times in the past. In the mid-1990s, for example, Levi's lost more than a half of its denimwear market share. The key reason was its failure to catch up with the baggy jeans hype back then popular with teenagers no longer interested in classic slim fit styles.
Levi’s 501. Initially, at Levi’s they assigned a number to every style of jeans. The number corresponded to that of the fabric used. The destined to become iconic style was assigned number 501.
Product range. Long past are the days when Levi’s product range was thought of as unique. Pretty much the same T-shirts, jeans jackets, windbreakers, and jeans proper are most likely to be found just next door, say at Pull&Bear. Yet it's the name «Levi’s» that has magic to it. Somewhat dubious make quality (Levi’s haven't been manufacturing jeans stateside for years, with the Turkish production quality being a far cry from the erstwhile Levi's) and high price (€50 on average) notwithstanding, most of the people stick to their guns and keep buying denimwear at Levi’s. As for the manufacturing site, Mexico and Pakistan, not Turkey, should be your preferred choice.
Levi's Vintage Clothing (LVC). That said, everybody loves Levi's Vintage Clothing, a premium vintage line. It includes the reissues of the 19th and 20th century styles. They are reconstructed based on archive materials. Furnishings, cuts, and fabrics of Levi's Vintage Clothing is a way higher make quality than that of plain vanilla Levi's. The prices differ accordingly. The line is available at FOTT, End Clothing, Mr Porter, and ASOS.
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