When putting on a pair of jeans, you might have spotted a tiny inner pocket, usually on one side, that appears too small to fit anything in.
As pointless as it seems, they did once have a purpose - and the answer lies in history.
All the way back in 1890, denim jean pioneers Levi's began stitching the tiny pockets into its 'waist overall' jeans, the Star reports. The company was founded in in 1853 in San Francisco by German-American businessman Levi Strauss.
And the small pockets in these jeans were used for people to hold their pocket watches in - a common accessory back in those days.
Strauss and J.W. Davis patented 'Improvement in Fastening Pocket Openings,' on May 20, 1873.
Tacey Panek, Levi Strauss & Co's historian, told Insider : "The oldest pair of waist overalls in the Levi Strauss & Co. Archives (from 1879) includes the watch pocket.
"Our 19th century overalls had a single back pocket on right side of the pant beneath the leather patch."
This small feature was never historically included in more formal wear such as suit trousers, because a pocket watch would be part of the inside of the jacket.
Given that pocket watches aren't a common sight to see anymore, it may seem strange that jeans still feature the pocket - but there's a reason for that, and it dates back to the Second World War.
Panek explained: "One interesting fact about the watch pocket is that during WWII the two corner rivets were removed as a way to conserve metal for the war effort."
"The rivets returned to the watch pocket after the war.
"It was riveted in the top two corners and included our recognisable arch design, called the Arcuate, stitched with a single needle sewing machine.
"The watch pocket was an original element of our blue jeans, like the rivets on our pockets, button fly, arched back pocket stitching and leather patch.
"To preserve the integrity of the early design, Levi Strauss & Co. maintains the watch pocket."
On the Levi's website, she wrote: "This cinch-free blue jean with the uniform look of the Arcuate, a contrast to previous years when the single-needle application made each Arcuate design unique, was the blue jean of the future and you can still see it in our 501 jeans more than 70 years later.
"Levi’s emerged from World War II as fresh, modern and uniformly manufactured.
"And with a distribution that now spanned oceans, it was well on its way to becoming the world’s ubiquitous global garment that it is today."
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