Now we are giving you a chance to be a part of Levis history with an ultra rare pair of 501s from 1947 discovered by our skilled hands at Beyond Retro. Let's start with the fabric, atightly woven denim made in the USA by White Oak Cone Denim in North Carolina, the exclusive manufacturers of Levi 501s back when these jeans were crafted. The denim was produced on vintage American Draper X3 fly shuttle looms. These looms give a completely unique weave to the fabric that modern day production can't compete with. The yarn is left uncut after each layer of weave, leaving a tightly bound edge that cannot unravel, meaning the jeans maintain their integrity throughout their life. You can see this with the white selvedge edge running down the outer side seams of legs and the inner seam of the watch pocket. There is a stain which is visible on the inside of the fabric and slightly on the back pocket, see the picture. Next we have the coveted red tab. Unlike modern Levis this red tab only has Levis written on one side all in upper case, showcasing the holy grail that is the 'Big E' This was introduced to Levis in 1936, to differentiate from the many competitors that were copying Levis dark denim and Arcuate back pocket stitching. The 'Big E' ran until 1971 but the one sided logo disappeared in the 50s making these jeans a rarity. The pockets have the classic Levis Arcuate stitching. There are many rumours as to the origins of this design such as a reference to the Rocky Mountain Eagle but no one knows for certain as Levis loss all their records in the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. These pockets are from when the double-needle sewing machine was first launched in 1947 in creating the design. Making the Arcuate more precise and uniform. The stitching on the Arcuate and throughout the jeans is in a faded lemon thread, a stark contrast to the modern orange stitching we see today
