Levi Strauss Day

Jeans are a very familiar outfit to us. Jeans are for everyone, from all walks of life. And Jeans was born from the great creativity of the Jewish boy, Levi Strauss. To celebrate Levi Strauss and honor him with jeans, Levi Strauss Day is celebrated every year on February 26. Levi Strauss Day is also Levi Strauss' birthday.

Everyone knows that the fashion market depends and is tied to tastes. But people's preferences and tastes are constantly changing. Therefore, the world of fashion also changes frequently and very quickly.

However, there are very special exceptions. Those are jeans or jeans. Perhaps there is not a single piece of clothing that, even though it has not changed its design, is still fashionable, still a fashionable fashion item that has been popular for more than a hundred years like jeans. Thanks to Levi's jeans, Levi Strauss became a millionaire in the early 20th century.

And the person who is honored as the father of jeans is Levi Strauss. Levi's jeans brand of Levi Strauss is today considered one of the most expensive brands in the world, with nearly 4 billion USD.

Jeans and Levi's brand since its inception has rapidly developed and crept into all walks of life. Along with coca cola beverage, jeans fashion has become a symbol of American culture, American way of life.

It is difficult to explain fully and convincingly why the jeans invented by Levi Strauss are so popular. And especially why jeans fashion is not outdated even after nearly a dozen generations.

Even the jeans ancestor Levi Strauss could not have imagined it if he was alive. More specifically, when he was alive, the jeans that Levi Strauss invented were just workwear.

But the miracle happened in fact that jeans have become pants to wear, not only for the common people but also for the fashionistas. Levi Strauss jeans have crossed the US border, landed in Europe, conquered Europe and then the whole world.

It is not surprising that not only young people, young people but now children, even children who have just entered kindergarten also love to go to the street or go to school in blue jeans. Since the 50s of the 20th century, it has been confirmed that this is the century of jeans. Jeans have had periods of being considered an indispensable "uniform" pants for young people.

Currently, jeans continue to be the favorite pants of the 21st century. No matter what ethnicity, in cold or tropical countries, freezing winters or hot summers, jeans are still on display proudly present, especially to the young.

Biography of Levi Strauss

Levi Strauss was born on February 26, 1829, into an impoverished family in Buttenheim, Germany. Two years after Levi's father, Hirsch Strauss, passed away, his widow Rebecca, 18 years old with Levi, and their two daughters, Fanny and Mathilde, decided to immigrate to America in 1847.

The Strauss family's first settlement was New York City. In the early 50s of the 19th century, several gold mines in the western United States were discovered. And a whole wave of laborers flocked to California to dig for gold. In 1853, unable to bear living off of his two brothers, Levi Strauss also left home with gold diggers to San Fransisco. However, he did not go to gold mining but only intended to do services for them.

With no capital, Levi Strauss decided to open a small clothing and grocery store again on the basis of the goods his two brothers sent. Levi Strauss knew a little about sewing and took care of fixing and sewing clothes for gold diggers. Levi has a comment that the clothes of the customers are very easy to tear due to the nature of the work that has to be bumped a lot.

But everything will stop at thinking if not one day, a gold digger asked him to sew a pair of very durable and sturdy protective pants to wear to work every day. Just when the house ran out of clothes, Levi Strauss suddenly came up with the idea of ​​​​using some rolls of canvas, which were used as sleeping tents for gold diggers.

That's when the first "pre-jeans" pants were born and it was brown. The gold digger is too happy and satisfied by the simple but sturdy work pants, very suitable for the gold mining profession that always has to move, rub against cliffs, mines...

One person told the other, in the end Levi Strauss had to sew a lot of pants for gold diggers. When shopping for fabric, Levi Strauss chose thick, flat cotton fabric that was dyed blue. The jeans made and sold by Levi Strauss became more and more known and ordered.

An outstanding advantage of jeans is that they are very durable, requiring very strong seams. Levi Strauss had to use the best thread and mostly sew two parallel lines about 5mm apart. However, the most popular jeans today are still those with copper studs at the edges of the pockets. But Levi Strauss was not the first to invent it. The first person to come up with this was Jacob David, also a tailor and a regular customer of Levi Strauss.

Once, a customer asked David to sew workwear pants so that the seams on the edge of the bag are strong because it is very often torn or broken. He experimented with many ways, first changing the thread very well, then sewing two or three lines and finally the idea of ​​​​using cap rivets to nail the edges of the pockets and the bottom of the pants to hold the belt. And surprisingly, the work pants are not only more durable thanks to the studs, but also have a high aesthetic.

People order those pants a lot. Jacob David wanted to register this simple but valuable invention, but the poor tailor did not have enough money to pay the registration fee. A $68 fee today doesn't necessarily buy a good pair of Levi's, but more than 130 years ago it was a huge asset. A pair of jeans at that time was only sold for a few dozen cents, too cheap!

In 1872, Jacob David met Levi Strauss and offered to cooperate if Levi Strauss paid for a patent for the invention of riveting the edges of jeans pockets. In the face of an unexpected business opportunity, Levi Strauss immediately agreed and the history of the world-famous jeans officially began. Levi Strauss' blue jeans have remained largely unchanged so far.

From 1873 onwards, Levi Strauss began to be famous for his jeans. Not only gold digger workers but also working class, workers of all professions also buy themselves one or two pairs of jeans.

In 1873 alone, Levi Strauss produced a total of 72,000 pieces in thick blue cotton. Levi Strauss' garment factory operates at full capacity without being able to supply enough goods to such a market, and holds the patent for invention, Levi Strauss is determined to expand production scale with all the capital available in the market.

The old sewing facility Levi Strauss entrusted to Jacob David to manage, while he went to open new establishments. One, two, and three jeans factories were opened in San Francisco and the surrounding area, respectively.

Levi Strauss had a sense of branding very early on. To create a noticeable difference between Levi's jeans and other brands, Levi Strauss thought of giving the pants an impressive label. The leather Levi's label that is still found in every Levi's pants today dates back to 1886.

At that time, Levi Strauss used the image of two horses pulling a pair of jeans in the middle to demonstrate the certainty and durability of the jeans product. These famous labels printed in light red or orange are an integral part of Levi's jeans. The Levi's brand is so popular that a pair of pants that were sewn more than 120 years ago, then sold for $1, are now being auctioned for $46,532. This record in 2001 was recorded as the Guinness record for the price of a pair of jeans.

Levi died on September 26, 1902, and Levi's jeans are still warmly received by today's youth.

Observing Levi Strauss Day

On Levi Strauss Day, you can learn more about the biography of Levi Strauss. Besides, you can also wear yourself a pair of Levi's pants, showing your appreciation for them. Or, if you don't own any jeans yet, especially Levi's, go shopping and buy yourself the right pair of pants. Share them on social media with the hashtag #LeviStraussDay.