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From: warinner@typhoon.xnet.com (Robert Warinner)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Hot Crotches!
Date: 11 Dec 1996 20:41:02 GMT

You thought this was a spam for http://www.hot-babez.com, didn't you?

Consider the following entry from the AFU FAQ:

  T. Crotch seam rivet in original Levi's dropped due to pain from
     standing near fires.

This seems to be confirmed by the official explanation from Levi Strauss:

Before 1942 all Levi's 501 jeans had an extra rivet at the center of the crotch where the main seams come together. Trouble was, as cowboys squatted next to the campfire that little copper rivet tended to heat up making getting back in the saddle a bit painful!

http://www.levi.com/hanger/denim/c/

It makes a good story, so good that Levi used it in a commercial a year or two ago.

A interesting variation on the hot crotch story follows:

Remember the infamous crotch rivet? Two things happened to bring about its demise. First, World War II required companies to conserve metal, and then there were all those complaints from cowboys. But the complaints that fell on deaf ears until it happened to the chairman of the company. Guess that's one way to keep the boss' attention riveted.

http://www.cnnfn.com/news/9511/levis.auction/

So now we have at least three explanations of why the crotch rivet was discontinued:

• wartime rationing restrictions -or-
• inadvertent rivet heating as reported by customers -or-
• Levi Strauss exec suffered inadvertent rivet heating -or-
• some or all of the above

I'd put down the "Levi Strauss exec suffered inadvertent rivet heating" as legendary. Sometimes Levi Strauss's name is attached to the story but this seems unlikely. Strauss began the business in 1853 in California. I doubt he was around to get his crotch rivet heated by a campfire in 1942. Other times it is just an unnamed exec.

Wartime rationing seems a more plausible explanation for the removal of the crotch rivet. Levi Strauss received a patent for riveted clothing in 1873 and were making riveted clothing before that. It seems odd that they would wait 69 years to remedy an uncomfortable defect in their product. It also seems odd that that they fixed it 1942 in the midst of wartime conservation. In any case, overheating rivets makes better advertising copy than wartime rationing.

Andrew "IJLS crotch rivet" Warinner
warinner@xnet.com
warinner@ttd.teradyne.com
http://www.xnet.com/~warinner
Talk to Zippy the Pinhead: http://www.xnet.com/~warinner/zippy.html

From: warinner@typhoon.xnet.com (Robert Warinner)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Levi Strauss Bares All Re: Hot Crotches!
Date: 18 Dec 1996 19:48:33 GMT

The Phantom Photographer (cmraman@ucscb.UCSC.EDU) wrote: : 1942 wasn't really the "midst" of wartime conservation... rather, it was
: close to the start of austerity measures for USAns. However, copper was
: a strategic metal, and I'm sure its allotment for non-essential uses (such
: as rivets on blue jeans) was severely reduced.

To recap our story so far, the FAQ contains the following entry:

  T. Crotch seam rivet in original Levi's dropped due to pain from
     standing near fires.

This seems to be confirmed by the official explanation from Levi Strauss:

Before 1942 all Levi's 501 jeans had an extra rivet at the center of the crotch where the main seams come together. Trouble was, as cowboys squatted next to the campfire that little copper rivet tended to heat up making getting back in the saddle a bit painful!

http://www.levi.com/hanger/denim/c/

Levi's story seemed too pat, so I emailed Levi Strauss the following query:

While the campfire explanation makes a good story (as you should know since you used it in a television commercial), it seems somewhat implausible to me. First, why wait until 1942, after producing riveted garments for at least 69 years, to stop making the crotch rivet? Second, didn't wartime rationing restrictions have more to do with it?

I received the following reply:

There were a combination of reasons why we discontinued the crotch rivet. One of the main deciding factors was indeed, wartime rationing.

So it seems the FAQ doesn't tell tell the whole story of the disappearing crotch rivet.

Andrew "and now you know ... the rest of the story" Warinner warinner@xnet.com
warinner@ttd.teradyne.com
http://www.xnet.com/~warinner
Visit the Sphinx's Nose page://www.xnet.com/~warinner/sphinx.html