Jean-ius. Finally, the question answered: Why do jeans have that TINY pocket?

Virgin Radio

14 Dec 2021, 16:04

Coins? Sweets? People's numbers? Always wondered what on earth that small tab is for on your trusty denim trousers? Wonder no more. You won't believe it, but that little space dates back over two centuries and is still going strong today.

Before the days of smartphone or wrist watches, the tiny pocket was originally used to store good old fashioned pocket watches. So why does it still exist?

Levi & Strauss Co.’s in-house historian Tracy Paneck told Insider: "The oldest pair of waist overalls in the Levi Strauss & Co. Archives (from 1879) includes the watch pocket.

"The watch pocket was an original element of our blue jeans, like the rivets on our pockets, button fly, arched back pocket stitching and leather patch," Panek explained.

"To preserve the integrity of the early design, Levi Strauss & Co. maintains the watch pocket."

Panek explained: "One interesting fact about the watch pocket is that during WWII the two corner rivets were removed as a way to conserve metal for the war effort.

"The rivets returned to the watch pocket after the war. It was riveted in the top two corners and included our recognisable arch design, called the Arcuate, stitched with a single needle sewing machine."

On the Levi's website, she wrote: "This cinch-free blue jean with the uniform look of the Arcuate, a contrast to previous years when the single-needle application made each Arcuate design unique, was the blue jean of the future and you can still see it in our 501 jeans more than 70 years later.

"Levi’s emerged from World War II as fresh, modern and uniformly manufactured. And with a distribution that now spanned oceans, it was well on its way to becoming the world’s ubiquitous global garment that it is today."