Levi's reclaims oldest pair of women's denim for company archives

By

Cassidy Mantor

Published
Aug 30, 2017

Levi Strauss & Co. has found and purchased one of the first pairs of women's blue jeans that it made back in the 1930s for its archives. The jeans are believed to be an early market prototype.

The original owner, Viola Longacre, was a college student in Fresno, CA during the Depression. She likely needed a more durable clothing option for going to class since her classes were held outside in the agricultural community.

With the help of Levi's resident historian Tracey Panek and Longacre's daughter Bette Duncan, the history of the jeans helps tell a larger story about the evolution of women's fashion.

According to Levi's, the idea of a women's jean was considered "progressive" at the time. Panek explains "women wearing pants - especially denim Levi's - was considered inappropriate and unacceptable in the 1930s and most of the 1940s with few exceptions." While Levi's patented the first men's jean in 1873, it did not officially begin making women's jeans until 1934.

The newly reclaimed jeans have been named the Viola after the original owner. Panek said that discovering Viola "provides invaluable information on the evolution of women’s clothing more broadly. It also helps us better understand the women who first wore our blue jeans — young, independent and fashion-forward."

The Viola is also known as the Lot 401 women's value jean. Panek believes this was a lower priced limited run prototype used to test the market for what ultimately became the Lady Levi's Lot 701. It would have met the market needs of an independent-minded college student on a limited budget, which is exactly who Viola Longacre was at the time.

The Viola is significant because women did not wear denim in public in the 1930s. It was reserved for laborers and men. Levi's explains Western women and other women who wore jeans at the time "might even be considered a bit edgy."

Viola Longacre never bought another pair of jeans as she became an educator and dressed in a manner in keeping with her profession. Her daughter was never allowed to try on the jeans either. They were found in the linen closet during preparations for an estate sale.

The Viola predates the Harriet which was previously the oldest pair of women's jeans that Levi's held in its archives.