Why your jeans have tiny buttons: The surprising history

Jeans have been the most commonly chosen pants worldwide for decades. Although they are now considered a versatile wardrobe staple, their origins are tied to typical work attire. Hence, many distinctive features were developed with workers' comfort in mind. For instance, the buttons. Do you know what they were used for?

The history of jeans dates back to the 18th century when Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis obtained a patent for their production. In the early years, jeans were intended for workers due to the durability of the material on one hand and its relatively low weight on the other.

Over time, however, people began to appreciate these pants for their comfort and eagerly wore them daily. Nowadays, jeans are worn by both younger and older generations. Their immense popularity has made them one of the symbols of 20th-century pop culture, and there is little indication that they will soon disappear from our wardrobes.

Today, many variations of classic jeans are available, but their basic elements remain unchanged. These are the front and back pockets, one small pocket, and the characteristic small buttons.

These details used to hold great significance. Workers who used the small pockets to store watches complained that they could lose them because the pockets were poorly sewn and quickly torn. Nowadays, these details are less important, but sturdy pockets were significant in the past.

Tailor Jacob W. Davis had the idea to reinforce the pockets with metal elements. Levi Strauss eagerly supported this idea and began the production of jeans with small metal rivets on the pockets. This idea was quickly adopted by pants manufacturers, which is why classic jeans still have small buttons sewn in them today.

The small pocket was useful not only for workers who stored watches in it. It also worked great for small coins, chewing gum, or bus tickets.