The Summer of Love was just around the corner in Levis home town San Francisco when they delivered the 1966 501® . Reproduced here by Levis Vintage Clothing to the same fabrication and details as the original 1966 version..
A slightly rounded straight leg jean with a slight taper the 66' was considered a slim fit at it's release. Complete with a button fly and classic five pocket 501 details with bartacking replacing the popular concealed rivets.
*Made with USA White Oak denim until the recent closure of America's Cone Mills denim plant these denims have now been replicated by Japan's Kaihara Denim Mills. Our current stock holdings a are a mix of both products, so reach out if you have a preference
Details
- 100% Cotton
- 12 oz *Kaihara Selvedge Denim
- Button fly Closure
- Bartacked pockets
- Two-Horse leather patch, Big "E" red tab and twin needle arcuate stitch
Fit notes
- Shrink to Fit. 5 -10% shrinkage
- Button Fly closure
- Rounded top block and leg with taper
- Regular rise and seat area
- 16.5" leg opening on size 32"
Care
- Initially Hand or gentle machine wash inside out
- Preferably cold water to reduce shrinkage and preserve denim
- smooth jeans to reduce need for pressing
- line or air dry
- Liquid detergent or ensure powder detergent is dissolved
- Do not tumble dry. Do not wash in hot water
We recommended washing jeans inside out and wash in cold water and then line dry. The cold water wash can either be done by hand or in a front loading machine on a delicate cycle. It is worth noting that most top loading machines tend to spin the jeans too aggressively which can lead to streaks in the denim where the jeans rub against themselves.
Regardless of the washing method, air drying is essential. Air drying helps the jeans retain the custom fit you obtain through months of wear when starting with rigid denim.
Warm water washing once a jean has been worn in is perfectly acceptable but also avoid hot water or tumble drying with any denim products.
The 1966 501
When Levi Strauss & Co. covered the back pocket rivets in 1937, everyone thought that would solve the problem of rivets scratching their furniture when they sat down. But those copper rivets were tougher than they looked—after a few years of hard wear, they continued to break right through the denim, scratching things up again. By 1966, technology had caught up with history, and it was possible to bar tack the 501® Jean’s back pockets, replacing the back pocket rivets. The text on the pocket flasher indicates this change. This small change maintained the jean’s notorious durability, while finally solving that decades-long furniture-scratching issue. This particular style of 501® Jean—with bar tacks and a big “E” red Tab— only existed from 1966 to 1971. What does this mean for the 1966 501® Jean? It means someone who hitchhiked their way to San Francisco in 1967 and bought a pair of 501® Jeans was not only experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime event, but was wearing a unique pair of jeans—a pair which would change again when the Summer of Love was just a faded memory.
