LEVI’S VINTAGE CLOTHING RECREATES THE LEGENDARY HOMER CAMPBELL 501 JEAN
In 1917, Arizona hard rock miner Homer Campbell purchased a pair of Levi’s 501 jeans knowing the pants could hold up to hard use. Homer wore his 501 overalls six days a week for three long years of work, changing out of them only on Sundays. After heavily patching them, replacing buttons on the fly and waistband, stitching the hem, and sewing a tool pocket to the right thigh, Homer decided the pants hadn’t lasted as well as he expected. He decided to test the Levi’s advertised guarantee of “A New Pair Free if They Rip.” So, he packaged up his riveted overalls and posted the parcel to Levi Strauss & Co. in San Francisco.
Homer’s 501 jeans are one of the founding garments of the Levi’s Archives. They have been displayed throughout the world from the opening of Disneyland in the 1950s to an exhibition at the Bundeskunsthalle, Germany’s national museum of art in Bonn, in 2019. To celebrate Homer’s backstory and the 150th anniversary of the 501 jean, Levi’s Vintage Clothing has recreated the Homer Campbell 501 jean.
Modeled after Levi’s 501 jeans circa 1917, the Homer Campbell 501 jean is the highest quality and most faithful re-creation yet of Homer’s famous garment. Made from plain selvedge denim, it sits high on the waist with a boxy, straight leg fit throughout. Homer’s unique denim patching additions, swapped buttons, and stitches are all meticulously replicated. Packaged in an antique style parcel postmarked from Arizona and dated 1920, the Homer Campbell 501 jean is presented as if you’re receiving it from Homer himself – it even includes a copy of the original letter sent by Homer to Levi Strauss & Co.
“We wanted to celebrate the anniversary of the 501 jean by reproducing Homer’s legendary pair, the first garment sent to our company by a consumer over 100 years ago, I like to think of Homer as the beginning of the Levi’s Archives,” said Paul O’Neill, Design Director, Levi’s Vintage Clothing. “Parceled up, including a copy of Homer’s original letter, we wanted to present the Homer Campbell 501 exactly as it was received in 1920.”
The limited-edition Homer Campbell 501 jean will be available for purchase beginning December 15 on Levi.com, the Levi’s App, and in select Levi’s Stores.