Originally posted on July 26, 2025 @ 9:34 pm
The Mega Brands That Built America Recap for Pants on Fire
This week’s episode of The Mega Brands That Built America is titled Pants on Fire and delves into the business of jeans and how they became so popular.
Denim was often associated with the working class and manual labor since it could take a beating and keep on going.
Denim jeans used to be baggy pants with drawstrings and suspenders.
In Reno, Nevada, Jacob Davis had a lot of pairs of denim pants to tailor and fix.
A woman tells him that her husband’s pants keep ripping, so Jacob decides to make a more durable pair of pants, holding seams in place with rivets.
At first, people are confused, but before long, people love the idea and his business booms, thanks to people requesting riveted pants.
He would also add a button fly to his pants, making them even more unique.
Jacob knows he has to patent the idea, but cannot afford it, so he writes a letter to denim supplier Levi Strauss, asking for help.
The two men would meet and go into business together, gathering tailors and working on new and improved pairs of jeans with five pockets, rivets and button flies, selling them for a dollar and change.
However, they can only sell in a certain radius, so they need to find a way to make money. They decide to fan out around the West Coast and sell 21,000 pairs in the first year.
As they wait on the patent, they worry about copycats. They also come up with their famous horse logo, which guarantees that they are indestructible, It is also the first time the brand name is on clothing.
There is also a lot number on the product for batch identification purposes.
There was a mistake on one of the lots, with the number 501 on all the labels. They decide to keep it and it becomes one of their most popular lines of jeans.
HD Lee would also enter the jeans business after a massive fire ruined his dry good business.
He begins manufacturing denim workwear, including denim overalls. He prioritizes comfort and quality because he wants his employees to be comfortable.
The overalls are a hit and puts him in competition with Levi.
Back on the West Coast, the denim blouse, now known as the jean jacket, is invented, so people have a top to match their jeans. It is a success and allows them to expand their business.
At this point, cars are also becoming more popular. HD notices that maintaining cars is a dirty job, therefore, ruining clothes, so he comes out with the union-all for car owners.
It is the jeans and jacket together as a suit and it becomes a hit for workers and even people like Babe Ruth love them!
HD leaves dry goods behind and focuses strictly on his denim business.
Before long, both businesses want to expand and would butt heads.
Lee wants to expand into the cowboy business and even talks to real, live cowboys to see what kind of jeans they want. They want higher waists, a way for boots to fit into them and an easier way to go potty.
The new line of cowboy pants, now known as Riders, become a huge hit!
Walter A. Haas is now in charge of the Levi Strauss company. Levi and Jacob have since passed away. By now, women are wearing jeans, even though it was frowned upon. Walter decides to make jeans for women, the 701 Lady Levi.
It was inspired by his wife, who wanted to go on a dude ranch vacation and would soon become a hit. Abercrombie and Fitch, then a sporting goods store, got wind of the idea and neither business would be the same after they collaborated.
Blue jeans are everywhere now, with James Dean and Marlon Brando setting the stage for coolness in teenagers. However, schools would ban denim, even expelling kids from school for wearing jeans. Walter’s own child even got suspended.
Despite the ban, jeans became more and more popular and both businesses are worth billions.
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