The 1937 Jean
The five-pocket jean may be the most iconic pair of pants ever made, worn in the mines, on the ranch, in uniform, and nearly everywhere since. Its basic form has hardly changed in a century, which is exactly why the differences between one pair and the next come down to the particulars: the cloth, the cut, and the way it’s put together. Ahead of the release of our 1937 Jean in Indigo and Black, those particulars are worth a closer look.
Both versions are cut and sewn in the USA from Japanese selvedge denim, spun, rope dyed, and woven on traditional shuttle looms. Slower and narrower than modern looms, they produce a cloth with a clean selvedge edge, along with the small irregularities in the weave that determine how a pair of jeans looks when new and how it fades, softens, and wears over years of use. The Indigo is a mid-weight denim woven to bring out nep, the small white flecks of undyed cotton weft that push through the surface of the fabric, giving it texture up close and depth from a distance that only becomes more pronounced as the indigo wears back. The Black is a 16oz black-over-black denim, dyed through both warp and weft and woven from denser, heavier yarns, resulting in sharply defined twill lines, a stiffer body, and a substantial hand that takes time to break in and rewards the wearer for it.
The fit pairs a high rise with a full leg, cut slightly wider than a classic 501 while staying close to the traditional straight leg, so it sits as naturally over a work boot as it does with a loafer.
The name and much of the design comes from the 1937 model of the Levi’s 501, regarded as one of the finest versions of the most iconic jean ever made. The construction follows the benchmarks of how a five-pocket jean has traditionally been, and should be, built: a chainstitched hem that ropes as the denim wears, copper punch-through rivets at points of strain, and a five-button fly fitted with traditional donut buttons from a maker that has been producing denim hardware since 1802. The inseam is flat-felled for durability and sewn with one contrasting and one color-matched line of stitching, keeping the classic look intact. On the black pair, color-matched tape lines the inside of the pocket openings to keep the edge of the pocketing hidden, and on both, the slightly asymmetrical back pockets carry our custom arcuate stitching.
Several details from the 1937 model 501 that disappeared in later years return here. The back pocket rivets are concealed beneath the denim, a change made in 1937 after customers complained that exposed rivets scratched saddles, furniture, and car seats. A crotch rivet, dropped from most jeans in the early 1940s, sits at the base of the fly, and a riveted pin-tooth cinch back recalls the way trousers were adjusted before belts became standard, a feature that stayed on jeans for two decades after belt loops first appeared. Inside, three hand-applied stamps reminiscent of early Levi’s carry the wash instructions, and a cloth waistband label and back pocket flasher finish the jean.
A classic pair of jeans made thoughtfully with close attention to material, proportion, and the details that made the originals worth recreating.
