Rare Vintage Levi’s 501 Jeans Double Red Tab 1960’s
This vintage Levi’s jeans from my personal denim archive is an exceptionally rare pair. It’s the iconic 501 fit, produced in the late 1960s, with a #6 stamp on the back of the buttons, a detail unique to that era. What makes this pair truly special is its unusual feature: two Red Tab’s on both back pockets. The Red Tab was first introduced in 1936 on the right back pocket as a way to distinguish Levi’s jeans from competitors who also used dark denim and similar arcuate stitching on the back pockets. Levi’s officially registered their arcuate stitching design in 1943, securing a signature look that set them apart.
A Production Error Pair
This 501 pair features an unusual production error: two Red Tab’s instead of the usual single tab on the right back pocket. What makes it even more extraordinary is that both Red Tab’s are blank, showing only the registered “R” without the full Levi’s name. Approximately one in ten Levi’s jeans has a blank Red Tab, designed as a trademark protection for the Red Tab itself. This unique detail elevates this pair to a rare collector’s piece.
The Features Of The Levi’s Jeans
The jeans also feature the classic twisted legs, something you see a lot on vintage pairs of Levi’s. The fabric is right hand redline selvage from the American Cone Denim mill. The redline is completely washed out over the years. The coin pocket is stitched with yellow thread, the rest of the jeans with tobacco colour thread.
This Levi”s jeans is produced in the so called ‘Big E’ period, (Levi’s jeans which are produced before 1971), which you can see because after 1971 they added the carelabels on the inside of jeans. Before they added the carelabels they printed all the info on the innerpocket. The backpockets are single stitched, also common on true vintage Levi’s jeans.
Natural Fadings On The Jeans
The previous owner(s) used to carry round shaped tins or something in his backpockets. Both backpockets shows the same ageing silhouettes. The jeans has a beautiful worn-in indigo coloured look with different shades of blue. Both legs shows the iconic train tracks which you get when you wash your jeans a lot. All in all a perfect vintage pair of Levi’s jeans. 501 is the magic number!
Tip! Read also the previous article about a original vintage pair of Levi’s 501XX Jeans from the late 1930’s here.
One Response
This is pretty cool. I have a 90s pair of 550s that also have two Red Tabs.