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People are only just discovering what the tiny pocket on their jeans is for
And it isn’t for those loose pennies, believe it or not…
If you’ve ever worn a pair of jeans in your lifetime, I’m sure you’ll be all too familiar with the tiny pocket located within the main front pocket.
The purpose of this seemingly insignificant addition to our beloved denim trousers has always been debated, with some insisting it’s there to hold loose change and others thinking it’s there simply for the aesthetic.
But, low and behold, the actual reason has finally been revealed by Levi Strauss & Co’s very own historian, Tracey Panek, who says the tiny pocket was created back in the day to hold small pocket watches (which were apparently all the range back in those days).
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Panek told Insider: “The oldest pair of waist overalls in the Levi Strauss & Co. Archives (from 1879) includes the watch pocket. Our 19th century overalls had a single back pocket on right side of the pant beneath the leather patch.”
Panek also pointed out that these tiny pockets will never be found within the pocket of a suit because a pocket watch would be stored on the inside of a jacket for formal wear (who else is getting sick of hearing the word pocket?)
But why are these pockets still in existence? Well, it turns out WWII played a role in that.
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.”
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“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.
“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. To preserve the integrity of the early design, Levi Strauss & Co. maintains the watch pocket.”
The Levi’s website adds: “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.”
Mind. Blown.