The Mystery of the Printed Red Tab

IMG 1453 e1335518003755 628x550 The Mystery of the Printed Red TabDespite numerous assertions that it wouldn’t be possible to find any vintage denim in Amsterdam I sniffed up this pair of Redline Levi’s 501 jeans in one of the Zipper vintage stores. They were made around 1983 and I got them for the reasonable price of €25 (less than $35 or around DKK 185).

IMG 14561 628x837 The Mystery of the Printed Red TabIMG 1460 628x837 The Mystery of the Printed Red TabRedline selvage tells you that the jeans were made before the mid-80s when Levi’s replaced selvage denim with open-end denim on the 501 jeans.

IMG 1463 628x837 The Mystery of the Printed Red TabThe previous owner of these jeans washed them a lot, but nevertheless they’ve gotten some nice train track running down the outerseam.

IMG 1464 628x471 The Mystery of the Printed Red TabIMG 1466 628x471 The Mystery of the Printed Red TabIMG 1467 628x837 The Mystery of the Printed Red TabThe top button is stamped ’524′ indicating that the jeans were made in the USA.

IMG 1471 628x471 The Mystery of the Printed Red TabEarly care tag that were phased out during the 80s. These jeans were originally size 33×40, but being shrink-to-fit they measurement around 31 inches in the waist and 36 inches in length. That actually makes them wearable for me if I cuff them 3 times.

IMG 1472 628x471 The Mystery of the Printed Red TabIMG 1444 628x837 The Mystery of the Printed Red TabIMG 1448 628x418 The Mystery of the Printed Red TabIMG 1454 628x418 The Mystery of the Printed Red TabVintage bartack.

IMG 1474 628x418 The Mystery of the Printed Red Tab

Chain stitched back pockets indicate that the jeans are post 1976.

IMG 1449 628x418 The Mystery of the Printed Red TabAnd then there’s the mystery of the printed red tab. I’ve never seen it before and once I got home from Amsterdam I immediately wrote Levi’s historian Lynn Downey to hear if she knew anything about the odd feature of the jeans, but no luck. However, I’ve spotted a similar pair of 501 jeans from the same factory (524) and era on Blue Gold Blues, so maybe it was something only done by that particular factory? If any of you out there has information about the mystery please help me solve it. Let’s denimhunt together.

Words by Thomas Bojer.

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Thomas Bojer

Founder and editor-in-chief at Denimhunters
Thomas got into denim through a keen interest in manufacturing and a love for the well-faded jean. He's based in Copenhagen, Denmark, but he travels as much as his job allows. Through Denimhunters he has found a way to share his passion with likeminded enthusiasts while learning more about the blue fabric. Thomas' favourite jean is the 1947 501XX and he has a soft spot for Red Wing Shoes.
734019 10152300210237195 839581040 n 2 The Mystery of the Printed Red Tab
Published on 29 April 2012 12 Comments
  • Anders

    Jeg synes desværre, at indlæggene på siden er begyndt at blive lige lovligt uinteressante :( Det var skide godt i begyndelsen.

    • Thomas Bojer

      Hej Anders,
      Jeg er glad for at du ytrer din utilfredshed med siden og indholdet, men som Mikkel skriver vil jeg meget gerne høre lidt mere om hvad det præcist er du ikke synes om. Jeg skal være den første til at indrømme, at det ikke har været let at forsøge at trække Denimhunters i en mere “kommerciel” og bredere favnende retning, så det er helt forventet, at ikke alle der har været med fra starten synes lige godt om det. Ikke desto mindre er I mine kernelæsere og det vil jeg aldrig glemme. Derfor, please fortæl mere om hvad vi kan gøre/ikke gøre fremover, det ville være en stor hjælp.
      /Thomas

  • Mikkel

    Hvad med lidt konstruktiv kritik så?
    Fremfor en negativ konstatering, så kom med input til, hvad du savner, hvad du gerne vil have etc. Helt sikker på at Thomas meget gerne lytter.

  • http://stillstile.com Riekele

    That’s an incredible find, in one of the bigger secondhand stores I guess? I always hope to find a shuttle loomed Levi’s when going through the racks but never got lucky. And I live here, so imagine my envy haha.. And I have two Levi’s 524 button-stamped at home, both have the printed tab too, guess it’s something they introduced in the 80′s?

    • Thomas Bojer

      Hi Riekele,
      Thank you, I’m also quite happy about them. I’ve been emailing with Chris from Blue Gold Blues, he owns a pair similar to mine and says that the printed red tab was something they used in the early 1980s. I found them in the Zipper vintage store on the Nieuwe Hoogstraat. Great site you’ve got yourself by the way.
      /Thomas

  • Anders

    Hej igen,
    Jeg vil hellere end gerne uddybe min kommentar, og undskylder for den lidt usaglige tone. Det skal først siges, at jeg er daglig (!) læser af magasinet, og har fulgt dig fra starten.
    Det min kommentar beror på er, som du selv nævner, at indholdet er blevet mere kommercielt og måske lidt “mainstream”. Altså ment på den måde, at det unikke forsvinder en gang imellem. Det jeg med andre ord savner, er indlæg i tråd med dem, hvor du fx personligt guider til rinse, “3 sider af samme sag”-artiklen, trend-reports og generelt hvor du på anden måde giver råd og beretter. Dét er der ingen andre som dig, der kan. Dine personlige fotos af flot slidte jeans er også klassestof, på samme måde som de førnævnte. Derfor er det engang imellem en skuffelse, at de daglige indlæg kan begrænse sig til et “gammelt” foto af folk i jeans (som er svært at hente inspiration fra) samt at man kan vinde en Utility-skjorte ved en konkurrence.
    Jeg håber, at min forklaring giver nogenlunde mening. Og det er på ingen måde en kritik af dit arbejde (som er fantastisk og inspirerende), men blot at jeg savner lidt af de originale ideer og stof, som har gjort magasinet til hvad det er.

    • Thomas Bojer

      Hej Anders,

      Beklager min sene respons, har haft en del om ørerne på det seneste.

      Først og fremmest er jeg virkelig glad for at have trofaste læsere som dig, også selvom I måske ikke synes lige godt om alt hvad jeg laver. Jeg eksperimenterer lidt med hvor mainstream/kommercielt Denimhunters kan tillade sig at være og samarbejdet med Samsøe & Samsøe var helt sikkert grænsen – måske også lidt over grænsen for nogle. Men som jeg vist også skrev tidligere var det en del af forsøget på at komme lidt bredere ud; jeg er sikker på, at der sidder en masse deniminteresserede derude, som endnu ikke har stiftet bekendtskab med det community vi (I læsere som vel som os skribenter) er i færd med at stable på benene her.

      Hvad angår indlæg som vores vaskeguides (og alt under A-Z) er det også noget af det jeg selv holder mest af at lave. Her kan vi virkelig nørde igennem. Og hvis du kan lide den side af Denimhunters, så er jeg sikker på du vil komme til at holde af vores Wear & Tear project med Levi’s Vintage Clothing, hvor vi følger 5 forskellige 501 “fits” over et år og dokumenterer hvordan de krymper og slides. Læs mere her.

      Hvad angår “Denim of the Day” så var det en kategori jeg startede for at skabe en smule mere aktivitet på siden og for at inspirere og underholde læserne. Jeg synes selv det er forfriskende og rart med sider, hvor der er et stabilt aktivitetsniveau og ikke alle artikler er alt for teksttunge. Et billede siger som bekendt mere end tusind ord og med “Denim of the Day” er det langt hen af vejen op til læserne at afkode billederne. At mine titler af og til bliver for klichefyldte og fjollede er en kritik jeg har taget til mig, men jeg agter ikke at kalde dem alle “Denim of the Day”, det er simpelthen for uinspirerende – og så synes jeg også det er lidt sjovt at give billederne en titel som en eller anden måde beskriver hvad der sker på billedet.

      Hvis du selv (eller andre læsere for den sags skyld) har lyst til at bidrage yderligere til Denimhunters modtager vi til enhver tid artikler, billeder, ideer og lignende. Send dem til [email protected].
      Tak den konstruktive kritik.

      /Thomas

  • http://www.facebook.com/LevisStoreBruunsGalleri Emil Sylvester

    Jeg har kun været fast læser i en kortere periode, men føler dog ikke at siden er kommerciel eller spiller fallit. Derimod bruger jeg ofte siden til inspiration, fakta og forståelse af denim (jeg arbejder i en Levi’s Store) som jeg videregiver til interessede kunder..

    .. og wow Zipper butikken ser ud til at gemme på lækre sager!

    /Emil Sylvester

  • Joe

    I wish my jeans had a printed tab, I got a pair of early 80′s deadstock unwashed 505′s without a tab at all! Anyone ever had a pair of levis with no tab? My 1st thought was that theyre fake but after checking the details and looking at pics of other 505′s from this period they seem just right except for the missing tab (they have the same sort of bartack and rear pocket chainstiching as your 501′s, among other correct details such as shallow arcuate, copper button with 552 on reverse and a levis zip).

    I’m trying not to let it bother me, in terms of fit they’re my favourite jeans. Dont think you can get jeans that fit like this anymore, its very 80′s, got them 1 size too small so theyre quite slim fitting with a high rise at 11.5 inches. More jeans companys these days should make jeans like this, I think warehouse come close but not quite, there may be some others ive not seen yet.

    Ive emailed levistrauss.com but have not received a reply as yet. I’d be very grateful if you could give me the email address of Lynn Downey, or any other person that may have the knowledge. Also any educated (or not) opinions are welcome and appreciated. And good luck with finding answers about your printed tab. Perhaps youve already found them I cant read the above posts.

    Cheers

  • Steve

    Hi Joe,
    I have had some Levis from the mid 90s missing the tab, I beleive sometimes that was done when they were sold from outlet stores in the US. I have seen this a few times. I wouldn’t say they are ‘seconds’, but possibly it was a way of discouting them. I actually was bothered that mine had that missing to start with, but in time I grew to like it as it being a bit different.

    • Joe

      Hi Steve thanks for your reply. Yeah rings true, I’d thought that ‘seconds’ was a possibility, considering the stitching is sketchy in places. Another theory was that the factory might have run out of red tabs and had to put them out anyway to keep up with demand. I think i’m going the same way that you did with them, I care less about their tablessness every day

  • Steve

    Hi Thomas, I realised that I have a old USA made Sherpa jacket with an orange tab, that also has a printed tab. It’s actually looking just like an adult version of he kids one in the picture from your visit to the shop you got the jeans. Happy to try and take some pictures if you’d like. It’s printed on both sides of the tab.