Have you ever found yourself wondering what the tiny pocket-within-a-pocket is for on your jeans? You know the one I’m talking about; that small, seemingly useless space that doesn’t appear large enough to hold anything.
If you’ve ever tried to see what fits in there, you’ll know it’s far too small for a cellphone, while it’s awkward to jam cash – be it coins or notes – in there. The same goes for a ring of keys; there just isn’t room.
So what are those little pockets for? Well, fortunately for our curious readers, we have something of an answer… and it might not be at all what you were expecting.
Be they male or female models, chances are if you look at a pair of jeans, you’ll find two pockets on the front and two pockets on the back. What you might also find, however, is a strange little pocket inside one of the front pockets.
Go ahead and have a look. Almost all jeans have them, though their presence is enough to leave most of us scratching our heads.
As mentioned above, these pockets are far too small to hold anything of real significance (even getting two fingers into them is a challenge). So what purpose do they actually serve?
Interestingly, to find the origin we have to go back almost two hundred years. That little thumbnail-sized pocket isn’t a modern addition to jeans; instead, it was a practical solution for something that’s no longer a real problem today.
Behind the invention is none other than legendary jean manufacturer Levi’s.
According to UK newspaper The Independent, the first ‘extra’ pocket came into use in the 1800s. The reason? To assist the most common wearers of jeans at that point in time… cowboys.
Cowboys usually carried their pocket watches on chains or inside their waistcoats, but both of these methods put the watch at great risk of being broken during their owner’s day-to-day duties.
In order to combat this, Levi’s introduced a small pocket designed to carry a watch safely. By keeping their watches in these tiny pockets, cowboys could ride without fear of them being smashed on a ride.
How’s that for innovation?
If I’m honest, I had no idea. If you ask me, it’s incredible that the design has stuck with jeans all the way through to modern day. Cowboys might no longer be around, but their watch pockets certainly are!
Though cowboys no longer rely on these tiny pockets to store their precious pocket watches, the design has remained a staple of jeans for over a century. Over time, the pocket’s intended purpose has faded into history, but manufacturers have kept it as part of the traditional jean design – a nod to their rugged, Western roots.
Nowadays, the tiny pocket has found a variety of modern uses. Some people use it to stash small items like coins, USB drives, or even guitar picks. Others see it as a quirky and somewhat useless feature, existing purely for aesthetics. However, fashion enthusiasts and historians appreciate its presence as a reminder of jeans’ rich heritage.
Interestingly, despite the evolution of clothing styles and practical needs, Levi’s and other brands have preserved this feature, proving that some design choices never truly go out of style. It’s a little piece of history sewn into every pair of jeans, connecting us to a time when durability and function were paramount for hardworking cowboys on the frontier.
So, the next time you slide your fingers into that tiny pocket, remember that it’s more than just an odd design choice—it’s a tribute to the hardworking spirit of the Old West.
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