Back to the roots.

Real Levi's 501XX – 1947-style! Levi's were originally made of an honest twill called "Blue Denim". The precipitous descent to the 'commonplace jeans' we know today shocked everybody. Someone at Levi's head office in San Francisco must have felt the same way – he had the idea a couple of years ago of going back in time and producing Levi's once again in the style and quality they were always meant to have. The original 'Rough-Ring' thread is now made at Cone Mills, denim weavers that Levi Strauss & Co. worked with a hundred years ago. The old, narrow shuttle looms, which had once produced the best denim of all time and had not been used for forty years, were still standing there. All that remained was for Levi Strauss to find the old production manuals in the Cone Mills archives, which then gave them the key to all the details, material, technical and otherwise, used in the original 501XX from 1947.

… as it used to be in those days. Ring Denim. Indigo. Studs.
This step back into the past, as you can see, was not a dream. The narrow shuttle looms started working again and today produce the original 12½ oz ring denim. You can recognize this by the white and red end stitching on the inner seam (ordinary jeans where the open-ended inner seams are merely looped upwards can serve as a reference point here). Pure indigo dye without chemical additives is used. Original tin buttons are used for the fly. The back pockets are reinforced with hidden studs, and the right-hand back pocket sports the original 'pocket flag' that was used in those days with the characteristic large 'E' in the firm's name and the classic Levi's logo. This is a patch showing a pair of Levi's being pulled apart by horses from both sides and passing the 'tear test' intact. It is of course made of leather and not of today's cheap cardboard imitation.

A word on the special Levi's cut and the little ceremony that goes with it.
The cut made a virtue of necessity – the post-war shortage of cloth. It became famous for its narrowness, which made it seem almost like a second skin and which gave it its special appeal to younger generations. But be careful – this original denim is not stone-washed or shrunk in any other way. Before you wear these trousers you have to go through a short, figure-enhancing ceremony. This ceremony could take a variety of forms, but by far the best way to get our 501XX to fit is just to sit in the bath for 10 minutes – we mean of course a bath filled with warm water and with you wearing the trousers. They then shrink on you – skin-tight.

A note on size:

501XX trousers are not pre-washed. They shrink. You must definitely order them two sizes larger in width and at least three sizes larger in length than usual, if you want them to fit properly after the first couple of washes. Example: If your usual jeans size is W 30 / L 31 you must order the 501XX in W32 / L 34. Please state length in inches when ordering, as under:
Width 33 / Length 34 or 36;
Width 34 / Length 34 or 36;
Width 36 / Length 34 or 36;
Width 38 / Length 36 or 38;
Width 40 / Length 36.

Note on care:

Instructions for washing are included with your Levi's 501XX. Be prepared for the fact that the colour will run heavily during the first few washes.