Clothing designs often have extra adornments which have no use apart from being good to look at. But despite what some people think, that isn't the case with the little pocket on every pair of Levi Jeans.
For there is a good reason for the fifth pocket - and it is a historical one. YouTuber Zack D. Films has shared the reason on his video-sharing platform - and it isn't just because it adds to the look.
The tiny, or fifth, pocket sits inside the front right pocket of the jeans and is only big enough to fit a couple of fingers or a coin or two. It is on every pair of Levi jeans, along with the trademark copper rivets.
According to the Levi Strauss & Co website the pocket was highlighted in an 1996 advert where a boy at the side of a pool foiled a search for a key by hiding it in the tiny pocket. However the real use for it goes back much further, as told in the advert which ends with “The Fifth Pocket, Overlooked Since 1873".
But what is the reason for it? Zack D. Films says it has a very specific reason. He tells his followers: "You see, back in the day workers needed to be able to tell the time while on the job. So jean companies added this tiny little pocket for a safe place to keep a pocket watch."
And he is backed by the Levi historian Tracey Panek who wrote on the company website: "In reality, that little pocket in the front right pocket of your Levi’s jeans was part of the original design. Nearly 150 years ago, on May 20, 1873, Levi Strauss & Co. received a patent for, “An Improvement in Fastening Pocket Openings.”
"It was the birth of blue jeans. Those early pants were called “waist overalls” and included the same button fly of today, the same copper rivets, blue denim, Arcuate stitching and four pockets.
"The first blue jeans had two front pockets as well as a tiny pocket created for a pocket watch, a common accessory of the day. But there was also one — yes, just one — pocket on the back side of the overalls. This single back pocket design lasted for several decades until 1901, when we added a second back pocket to our riveted overalls."
And while the pocket has always been there it has not always been the case for the corner rivets. During the Second World War they were removed as part of a way of saving metal for the war effort. However they returned once the war was over.
