On This Day in American History |
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On May 20, 1873, a patent for denim work pants reinforced with rivets is issued to businessman Levi Strauss and tailor Jacob Davis. The pants have become what is perhaps the world’s most popular trousers: blue jeans. Davis invented the “waist overalls,” but lacked the funding to start a business, so he reached out to Strauss who’d become wealthy running a dry goods store in a booming California. By the 1880s, the demand for the work pants was so high that Strauss opened a factory to mass produce the product. The iconic 501 brand, known as XX until 1890, soon became a bestseller, and by 1920 “Levis” were the most popular work pants in the U.S. |
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