Buying guides
Read one of these before you buy. They cover dating a Levi’s 501 by its tab and rivets, measuring old jeans so they fit, selvedge, telling reissues and repros from the real thing, the Lee Storm Rider, the Wrangler Cowboy Cut and what survives from before the war. If you’re new to all this, start with the measuring guide.
How to Date Vintage Levi's 501 Jeans
Big E or small e tab, hidden rivets or bar tacks, redline selvedge, care tags and button-back numbers. How to date a Levi's 501 from listing photos.
Read the guide →Selvedge vs Non-Selvedge Vintage Jeans
Shuttle looms, Cone's redline and when Levi's moved to wide looms. What a selvedge outseam tells you about vintage jeans, and what it doesn't.
Read the guide →How to Date a Lee Storm Rider and Spot a Reissue
Lining, labels, trademark marks and pockets. How to date a vintage Lee Storm Rider and tell it from Lee's own reissues and Japanese reproductions.
Read the guide →Wrangler 13MWZ Cowboy Cut: How the Fit Changed
Rodeo Ben, the 1947 11MWZ, broken twill and today's Original, Slim and Relaxed Cowboy Cut fits. How to read a used Wrangler 13MWZ listing.
Read the guide →Pre-WWII Vintage Denim: What Survives and How to Spot It
Cinch backs, suspender buttons, exposed rivets and the WWII simplifications. How to recognise pre-war jeans and the reproductions made to look like them.
Read the guide →How to Measure Vintage Jeans Before You Buy
Why the tag size on vintage jeans is off, and how to read waist, inseam, rise, thigh, knee and leg opening, plus jackets, before you buy online.
Read the guide →Levi's Vintage Clothing and Repros: Reissue or Original?
Levi's Japan and US Big E reissues, Levi's Vintage Clothing and Japanese repro brands. How to tell a reissue from an original in listing photos.
Read the guide →