We were there in the beginning, growing this industry’s roots and have since continued to evolve denim—the world’s most beloved fashion statement. Today, the marks of our heritage and innovation hold true, and you’ll find them in these seven signature details that are distinctly Lee.
A wide variety of top-stitch pocket patterns—including the wide V—could be found on many denim brands through the mid-1940s. In 1946, Lee debuted the S-curve, which has been storied to either resemble the longhorns of a steer or the shape “of the back of an occupied saddle.”
Officially introduced on Lee Rider Cowboy Pants in 1946, our spade pocket works wonders to give shape and definition to the posterior. The natural contours of the spade taper to give shape in the right place.
Trademarked in 1946, the Lee “twitch” logo has longbeen an iconic emblem in American jeanswear. By 1949 the Lee Cowboy waistband button hardware was replaced with the Lee Riders insignia, the same waistband button that proudly displays the stand-alone Lee logo today.
After experimenting with different patch labels, Lee first introduced the branded leather patch with the “twitch” logo that we know today upon Lee Riders in 1945. The look quickly became synonymous with cowboy traditions of The West.
Initially, copper rivets were used to reinforce denim at key points of fabric strain. However, early rivets scratched highly-prized saddles. The solution?Our “X” stitched tacks replaced copper rivets on our back pockets by 1938.
No detail is too small, and that is certainly true with the addition of our brand name to copper rivets in the ‘30s.
The year 1948 brought about a tiny-but-mighty addition to our on-garment branding: the hip pocket label, a small logo woven with goldenrod-colored thread that appeared after World War II on our Lee 101 jackets and jeans.