Levi's 501 Jeans Celebrate 150 Years

“I already know what I feel good in and what I like, right? And if you’ve worn Levi’s since you were younger, you know you can go back to that,” says personal stylist and shopper Sonya

Benson, whose clients include Rihanna and other celebrities, professional athletes (and their stylish wives), and countless New York Upper East Siders and socialites. Benson credits the

brand’s staying power to two things: consistent fit and outstanding quality. Levi’s are consistently on Benson’s list of items to snatch up when thrifting, whether that be at her home base

in New York;in Los Angeles curating closets for clients; or in her hometown of Aurelia, Iowa, shopping with her mother. “I have clients who are still collecting vintage Levi’s,” she says,

admitting that she herself has a stack of at least 10 pairs in her closet. “I’ll never get rid of them, ever.” The Levi’s 501 origin story is one of youthful ingenuity, resourcefulness, and

partnership. Legend (and the company’s website) has it that in 1853, Levi Strauss, who at 44 was running a successful branch of the dry goods store he had opened in San Francisco 20 years

earlier, was approached by tailor Jacob Davis. Responding to a customer’s request to make his work pants more durable, Davis added metal rivets to pants he had made from fabric he had

purchased from Strauss’s store. The pants were a hit! Davis “quickly decided to take out a patent on the process but needed a business partner to help get the project rolling. He immediately

thought of Levi Strauss,” the website recounts. In 1934, after noting that Western womenhad been wearing their husband’s or brother’s 501s, Levi’s introduced a line of work pants

specifically for women, a groundbreaking move since it would take several more decades for women’s pants to go mainstream.  It is the company’s ability to respond to market needs that has

given the brand staying power for these 150 years, Benson says. The rise in popularity of “stretchy” jeans 25 years ago pushed the company to innovate with more complex fabrics. New designs

experimented with rises and varying leg widths. Bibbed overalls have come in and out of the product lineup.Levi’s added apparel such as hoodies to its collection, as well as extra wide legs

that appeal to Millennials.