Everything You Need to Know About Vintage Clothing
Style /
October 2022
Everything You Need to Know About Vintage Clothing
Trends are constantly being recycled as the years go by, and vintage clothing often takes centre stage in the fashion limelight – some clothes are just icons in the making. Read on to discover everything you’ve ever wanted to know about vintage clothing, including what makes an item vintage and what to look for in vintage jeans.
What is vintage clothing?
Not to be confused with retro or vintage-style pieces which are made by current manufacturers, vintage clothing refers to old styles of clothing made in a previous era. Some of the most sought-after vintage finds include Trucker jackets, shirts and of course, jeans.
How old is vintage?
There’s lots of debate surrounding what qualifies as vintage clothing, but generally speaking, for an item to be counted as vintage, it has to have been made between 20 years ago and 100 years ago. Old items of clothing can usually be found in thrift stores and charity shops, or can even be passed down through generations of families.
Vintage jeans
You can’t go wrong with a pair of vintage jeans. Not only are jeans a timeless fashion statement but they’re also made to last, meaning that even an old pair of jeans can still be of a fantastic quality. Buying vintage clothing can also be a more sustainable way of shopping, because it saves you buying new or relying on fast fashion to fill your wardrobe. Vintage jeans are even better than new jeans, and finding yourself a great vintage pair just proves how long-wearing high-quality denim is.
How to identify vintage Levi’s® jeans
Levi’s® jeans have been defining style for decades. So when scanning the racks at a thrift store, spotting an orange, silver, black or white tab can only mean one thing: you’ve come across a pair of vintage Levi’s® jeans. You can figure out if the jeans are legit, and when they were manufactured, by following these pointers:
- Check if the word LEVI’S® is in all capital letters, or whether it has a small letter “e” instead. The Tab with LEVI’S (also known as “Big E”) means the jeans are from before 1971.
- Look for care tabs, which were introduced to Levi’s garments in the 1970s.
- Examine the inseams to check for a single stich running down the inner thigh. This is an indication that the jeans were made before the mid-1980s.
Levi’s® Tabs
Small, bright and contrasting against the denim of your favourite wardrobe piece, the Levi’s® Tab is one of the key identifying features of our brand. You’ve probably spotted this piece of fabric in red, since this is the colour we use most often-- but did you know that the different colours can actually help you to identify different clothing lines and even production times?
Levi’s® Red Tabs
The classic red Tab Device first became a thing back in the 1940s, when Levi’s® wanted to trademark our signature blue jeans. Since then, the red tab has changed in subtle ways, switching from lowercase to uppercase, and one-sided to double-sided. The tab’s evolution can serve as a timestamp to help you determine how old your vintage pieces are.
Levi’s® orange Tabs
In the 1950s and 1960s, Levi’s® began to add different-coloured Tabs to other Levi’s® clothing. The orange Tab was added in the 1960s as a way of differentiating other, more experimental kinds of Levi’s® clothing — such as bell-bottoms and boot cuts. Today, the Levi’s® clothing with orange Tabs are considered collectibles!
Levi’s® white Tabs
The Levi’s® white tab was reserved for corduroy jackets and jeans, and in the 1960s and ‘70s Levi’s® first women’s collection, Levi’s® for Gals, carried a white tab.
Levi’s® black Tabs
The black tab with gold lettering means you’ve found a piece from the Sta-Prest collection. The Levi’s® Sta-Prest treatment was first used on products in the 1960s, and guarded denim from wrinkles.
Levi’s® silver Tabs
The silver tab was introduced in 1988 and is a definitive mark to look for on any grunge-inspired jeans from the late ‘80s and early ‘90s.
What to look for in vintage denim jackets
To determine the age of the denim jacket, follow the same steps as you would for vintage jeans, taking the time to check out the tag, the logo and any information on the logo.
In terms of sizing, jackets tend to be more versatile than jeans, and both women’s denim jackets and men’s denim jackets can look good on any gender. Even if you’d normally fit in a size small, a men’s XL jacket can make for a great oversized wardrobe piece. Check out our guide to styling oversized clothing here.
Finally, consider what type of wash you’d prefer. A faded light blue wash really pronounces the vintage feel, as well as noticeable high to lows (where the denim has faded more in parts than others).
What is Levi’s® Vintage Clothing?
Unlike vintage clothing, Levi’s’® Vintage Clothing has been crafted using vintage patterns and designs from the Levi’s Archives. This is ideal for those who love the vintage aesthetic and want to own a piece of Levi’s history. Every collection has a story behind it straight from the Levi’s® archives.
With Levi’s® Vintage Clothing, you’ll be assured that while the designs are vintage, you will be getting a brand new, quality piece of clothing that doesn’t have any signs of wear and tear.
Whether you’re opting for true vintage pieces or a retro style, vintage clothing is an essential staple in any wardrobe. For more denim-related content, take a look at our complete guide to denim, or for style inspiration, read all about how to style our new 70s high fits.
