What is the small pocket on jeans for?

There are certain things that, because we see them so much on a daily basis, go unnoticed. And they happen, and they happen, until they end up becoming details that were always there (right?), and no one notices their own origin anymore.

One of these things is the small pocket of jeans , that square space of just a few centimeters that, when it emerged, was not for aesthetics, but for a matter of utility.

The origin of the small pocket on jeans

We owe the invention of the legendary jeans to a certain world-famous brand. Its founder, a German who emigrated to the United States in the mid-19th century, decided to make work clothes for miners using denim fabric , a highly resistant fabric ideal for the harsh conditions of that work.

The first jeans that this brand marketed had four pockets: one in the back, two in the front and the small pocket we are referring to . The function of the latter, far from aesthetic, was to be able to store the classic pocket watch and chain , a popular and delicate object that, until then, there was no choice but to keep in a much more unprotected pocket.

The times of the clock have passed, but not of your pocket

With the arrival of the 20th century, the wristwatch put an end to the times of the pocket watch, which ended up falling into disuse. However, the new denim brands kept the small pocket on their pants, perhaps as a detail that distinguished the construction of the jeans from other pants.

Although the pocket watch was practically no longer used, in the 1930s another object appeared that, intentionally or not, fit perfectly in the small pocket of the cowboy: the Zippo , a lighter that had to remain in a vertical position to prevent the gasoline it contained spilled.

Continuing through the decades to the present day, the small pocket of jeans serves to store practically anything that fits in it: coins, wrappers, chewing gum, lighters that don't spill...

And the rivets on the pants pockets?

Without leaving the jeans, another of those small details that already fulfill an aesthetic function are the metal rivets on the pockets of the jeans .

These metal pieces were put on the first jeans also for an essentially practical reason, as in the case of the small pocket.

As we said before, jeans emerged as work clothes for miners, who carried a lot of weight in their pockets during long days. To prevent this excess weight from ripping and tearing the miners' pockets , the corners were reinforced with metal rivets, thus increasing the resistance and durability of the garment.

The color of the thread was perhaps the only element with an aesthetic connotation of the first jeans, and the color called boiler is the one that combined best with the metallic color of the rivets. Hence the majority of current regular jeans are still sewn by default with this rather tan colored thread.

It is still curious that a garment originally for work has become a fashion icon. In fact, from the first brand that invented jeans to the present day, hundreds of companies have emerged that market this legendary garment, both women's jeans and men's jeans .

As always happens, high levels of demand lead brands to lower costs and reduce times through mass production, all at the expense of workers and the planet.

We put the slow fashion model into practice, creating artisanal denim clothing , with sustainable materials and a timeless catalog.

Slow fashion is not a fashion, but the solution to problems that increasingly go unnoticed and have a clear origin: fast fashion from big fashion brands.

Don't be part of the problem: be part of the solution with sustainable denim fashion from Bustins Jeans .