Levi's 501

Levi's 501XX, the post-war pattern of about 1947 The version that settled the 501's details, and the one where dating clues pile up. Back-pocket rivets had been hidden under the pockets since 1937 after complaints about scratched saddles and furniture, and wartime rules had stripped the cinch and some rivets. After the war the cinch was gone for good, the watch-pocket rivets came back and the Arcuate was sewn on a double-needle machine, giving it a uniform diamond where the lines meet. Later changes help place a pair: the zippered 501Z of 1954, bar tacks replacing the hidden rivets in 1966, and the "Big E" Tab giving way to a small e in 1971.