〜Today's topic: zipper fly〜

 

 

Zipper fly pants are common now,

and I'm sure most of you wear them.

But do you know when zippers were first adopted for pants?

 

 

The first company in the world to incorporate a zipper fly was not LEVI'S, but Lee.

 

 

The "Lee 101Z" released in 1926

became a masterpiece after James Dean wore it in the movie "Rebel Without a Cause."

 

 

However, the year before, in 1925, Lee introduced overalls with hookless fasteners in a contest to name their new overalls.

Those who love vintage clothing might have heard of it, right?

 

It was called Lee WHIZIT.

As far as I know, the WHIZIT, which used hookless fasteners, was the first model to feature a zipper.

 

 

 

So, what about LEVI'S?

 

 

 

They released the 503ZXX (Boys) in 1951

and the 501ZXX in 1954.

The "Z" in 501 "Z" XX stands for zipper.

 

 

Until then, 501 meant button-fly,

so it attracted attention, but to give you the conclusion first,

it became something that could be called a failure.

 

 

Let me explain a bit about the 501ZXX.

Around the time the 501ZXX was sold,

something else was becoming widely popular in America:

the clothes dryer.

 

As you probably know,

LEVI'S used shrink-to-fit denim at the time, which would shrink when washed to fit the wearer.

 

But what happens when you dry denim that has been washed in the clothes dryers that were widely popular in America back then?

 

 

As you might imagine, it shrinks too much.

And what happens to the zipper? Yes... it breaks.

This is why the 501ZXX was called a failure.

 

 

The 501ZXX was removed from the price list in 1966.

And its successor, the 502, was introduced.

 

 

( 60s LEVI'S 502 )

 

 

 

 

 

V-stitch, cam lock Gripper zipper

 

 

 

 

Gripper zipper (cam lock)

 

 

 

 

 

Top button back: K, V-stitch.

Waistband: single stitch above, chain stitch below.

 

 

 

Coin pocket lining: single stitch

 

 

 

 

Paper patch

 

 

 

 

Center offset

 

 

 

 

Arcuate stitching

 

 

Unlike the 501ZXX, the 502 uses a different fabric;

it changed from shrink-to-fit to pre-shrunk.

Pre-shrunk fabric is used for models with zippers,

such as the 505 and 606.

 

Pre-shrunk refers to denim that has been treated for shrinkage.

 

By switching to a fabric that is less prone to shrinking,

Levi's was able to create other masterpieces besides the 501.

Perhaps they gained a lot from that failure?

 

And that concludes our story about the zipper fly.

 

 

 

JELADO is a brand that produces items based on vintage designs,

and we also carry denim.

 

To analyze the XX fabric of the 50s,

we cut into a deadstock 503BXX from the 50s,

scientifically analyzed it, and created our original LAST RESORT denim from scratch,

which is as close as possible to the XX fabric.

 

Here are some products made with this denim fabric.

 

JELADO Age of Longing 301XX【JP94301】

JELADO Universal Slim 312ZXX【JP94312】

JELADO 55Denim(55デニム) 313XX【JP94313】

 

And in early October, denim...

And in late October, we released the LAST RESORT black tag series.

 

JELADO Age of Longing Black tag 301EXX【JP94301E】

JELADO Age of Longing Black Tag 407EXX Size34(XS)~38(M)【JP94407E】

JELADO Age of Longing Black Tag 407EXX Size40(L)~44(XXL)【JP94407ED】

JELADO Age of Longing Black Tag 407EXX Big Size(50)【JP94407EDD】

Please come and try them on at the store!! 

 

 

 

One more thing...

We have opened a "VINTAGE JEANS Glossary" on JELADO's online store, which is JELADO's interpretation.

Please take a look!!

You can go to the page from here, so please check it out!!