The first memory I have of denim has a small red Levi’s tag stitched to it. Even though my brother and I fought a lot in our youth, I listened when he told me that Levi’s button-fly 501 blue jeans weren’t a blue jean, they were the blue jeans.
We went through all of the styles, from stone-washed, to painted, to ripped, to boot-cut…it really didn’t matter, as long as they were Levi’s 501′s. I wore blue jeans through my hippie days, and even wore them when it seemed the only place that you could buy them was an Anchor Blue store. Levi’s were the only blue jeans company for guys basically through all of the 80′s and 90′s.
Later, True Religion, Se7en For All Mankind, Diesel, and a wide swath of other jean companies have taken over the market. And while I might prefer the fit of Diesel jeans, or the distinct washes and options available on brands like True Religion, Levi’s 501′s are the only jeans that actually have emotional significance and permanence for me.
It’s hard to remove that little red tag from my memories. Levi’s is truly a blue jeans company we all can love.
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