on greek shoes are pom-poms the japanese wear kimonos china wears mal suits the austrians have hats similar to chico marks but they wear deer for pins indians wear sour suits through the melting pot and westward expansion came the clothes that became part of the american image that is none other than a pair of jeans throughout history blue jeans have been a symbol of an egalitarian attitude toward fashion a working-class origin story and a story of entrepreneurship there is no chance you would be wearing a three-piece suit if an angel held your hand and took you back to your best day the day you felt most comfortable and fulfilled obviously not your wedding day you'd probably have been wearing jeans pieces of denim blue jeans and dungarees are all cotton work trousers that became more comfortable and characterful with age fashion trends come and go but iconic style stands the test of time maybe that's what's most important about levi strauss known for creating and popularizing blue jeans levi's a trademark brand of levi strauss and co headquartered in san francisco has been an integral part of america's wardrobe for decades each year the u. s alone produces up to 450 million pairs of genes however when did the humble genes come into being like all western traditions this tale begins at the end of a dusty road stretching from san francisco to arizona early life a dry goods peddler's son levi strauss was born to a jewish family in blutenheim bavaria germany in 1829 where he created the quintessential american garment jews had a difficult time in buttenheim their homes were restricted to a small area of town judaism had a limited marriage rate and the businesses and homes of jews were taxed differently many jewish families immigrated to the united states as a result of anti-semitism therefore levi moved to kentucky in 1848 and began learning the trade as the gold rush swept across california in 1853 he made his way to san francisco he opened his first store with his brother-in-law in a small building on california street he owned both 14 through 16 battery stream there were many items he sold including bedding and handkerchiefs he later partnered up with jacob davis who invented blue jeans and 20 years later in 1873 they patented their concept the invention of blue jeans jacob w davis was a latvian tailor born in riva who immigrated to the united states in 1854 ultimately he traveled west to san francisco in 1856 following a similar path to strauss davis then moved to canada to pan for gold nevada for sales and then back to reno to work as a tailor the railroad workers of the central pacific commissioned him to make specific durable products for them such as tents horse blankets wagon covers and jeans reinforced with copper rivets jacob davis could not meet the demand for his tough denim jeans with rivets and duck cloth first sowed in 1870 among woodcutters and railroad workers the inventor recognized the importance of his invention and that it should be protected by a patent but he did not have the funds to make a patent application then in 1872 he asked levi strauss if he could apply while receiving his assistance some 68 dollars davis and strauss were issued u. s patent 139121 on may 20th 1873.
their unique stitching on their back pocket was also registered as a trademark levi's introduced its logo in 1886 depicting two horses pulling apart overalls symbolizing levi's overall strength by this time strauss had become a millionaire and was well known for his businesses and philanthropic activities in san francisco strauss joined the california immigrant union in 1869 which promoted california products and encouraged immigrants from europe and the east coast to settle in california his charity organization helped the poor widows and orphans strauss made a gift to the california school for the deaf in 1897 by establishing 28 scholarships at the university of california aside from theater and concerts he enjoyed the city's cultural events such as social and literary clubs a reputation of fairness honest and unpretentiousness preceded strauss levi prefer to be called levi rather than mr strauss he remained close to his siblings and their children regardless of whether he never married or had children an entirely new direction in 1896 a new transcontinental railroad project was completed which forced the railroad companies to increase their prices which eventually made it very expensive to ship goods by train to solve this issue strauss and other business owners from san francisco to salt lake city utah tried to build a new railroad line in 1891 however due to some issues the project failed strauss once again sought to promote an alternate rail line levi along with klaus spreckels owner of the sugar magnate devised a scheme that invested almost 25 000 from their own pockets business owners from other major cities also supported the san francisco and san joaquin valley railroad project but a man named speckles one of the major stockholders in this project sold his share to the new managers who again charged high rates in comparison to other railroads as a result strauss decided he was not cut out for the railroad business and eventually abandoned it a lifelong worker strauss continued to attend meetings and attend daily office visits even after his nephews took over the company in 1890 as reported by the san francisco bulletin in an interview published on october 12 1895 strauss said quote i do not believe that making large fortunes leads to happiness for one becomes enslaved to wealth as soon as he owns it and then one must devote his life to caring for it i do not believe that money brings friends to its owner in most cases quite the opposite strauss developed heart problems in the 70s his doctors recommended resting more often there was a property owned by the strauss family in a peaceful valley near san francisco on september 26 1902 strauss died in san francisco and was mourned by the city's citizens his death was marked by a special resolution from the san francisco board of trade which read quote the great causes of education and charity have also lost a significant benefactor in mr strauss whose magnificent endowments to the university of california will serve as an enduring tribute to his worth as a liberal and civic thinker and whose many unostentatious acts of charity without regard to race or creed exemplified his love for and sympathy with humanity on a wide scale the making of blue jeans the levi strauss company later opened up a large tailor shop in san francisco allowing davis to manufacture their new waste overalls in the city did you know until the 1950s genes were called overalls but the kids wanted a different name since their parents were already using this term as a result overalls became known as genes strauss's shop quickly outgrew its capacity causing him to build a manufacturing plant for his overalls also managed by davis despite levi's 501 genes being designed in the 1890s working men on the west coast enjoyed the most popular denim pants their popularity began to spread slowly nationwide vacationers brought them back east during the 1930s dude ranch craze their denim became a wardrobe necessity in the 30s thanks to john wayne and gary cooper wearing them in hollywood blockbusters with ginger rogers and carol lombard wearing it denim became world famous for women too during world war ii their durability made them an essential item for military personnel however levi's brand did not grow significantly until the 1960s and 70s when casual clothing became more popular at work and customers began to refer to them as genes it's estimated that production increased from 16 to 63 plants in the united states between 1964 and 1974 not including the additional 23 plants worldwide the company employed 15 salespeople in 1946 and 22 000 in 1976. levi strauss and company has undergone numerous changes since it surged in the 60s and 70s including factory closures and intense brand competition in the marketplace however it remains a business worth more than 5 billion with clothing contracts with walmart and other retailers more than fifteen thousand people were employed in 2018 levi straussenko remains the standard bearer in the denim world despite competition from gap tommy hilfiger and guest genes in its history levi straussenko became the maker of the iconic american garment and still is with roots settling in the west observing levi strauss day february 26th is celebrated as levi strauss day annually the company organizes community days to help charitable organizations in keeping with levi strauss's legacy they run community projects encouraging all employees to get involved the 21st century has brought positive changes that we buy strauss and co including reducing the amount of water used to manufacture their products by recycling 96 of the water they use they've been able to reduce water usage drastically mr levi strauss embodies the american dream in the truest way possible a german immigrant strauss became one of the most prominent figures in america as a result of his hard work his willingness to take risks and his good fortune levi strauss rented his name to one of the most recognizable and loved american products levi's blue jeans some levi strauss and colfax you might find interesting number one they named their first genes xx after the finest denim available back then in 1890 they were renamed 501 based on their lot number number two during the 1906 earthquake the company's two factories along with its original headquarters were destroyed number three the legendary singer bing crosby got a customized tuxedo made out of levi's favorite fabric 501 number four additionally the famous american actor carrie grant wrote levi's public relations staff a love letter to say thanks for sending him free shirts he wrote quote my temerity is at a low ebb today but i venture to ask that you let me know if levi strauss ever revolves a line of absolutely plain unchecked unmetal threaded absolutely solid colored shirts no matter what the colors i will rush to the nearest shop number five there's a long list of movies featuring actors wearing levi jeans such as star wars as mark hamill marlon brando's the wild one back to the future's michael j fox brokeback mountains heath ledger and jake gyllenhaal wayne's world's mike myers and dana carvey easy riders peter fonda and the whole sisterhood of the traveling pants cast number six as a means to maintain their image the company ran newspaper advertisements that illustrated a clean-cut kid wearing their jeans and included the phrase write for school this message did not resonate with mothers and made levi look outrageous number seven jeans were fitted with cinches and suspenders prior to belt loops being introduced in 1922 number eight levi made another type of genes called 201 during the late 1800s the two denoted a cheaper product and not as durable number nine when levi jeans were first manufactured they had rivets on the crotch that were later removed during world war ii when metal outfits were no longer allowed number 10 an 1879 pair of levi's is kept in a fireproof safe which is accessible by just two people at the company it is estimated the pair is worth almost 150 000.
