The history of blue jeans begins — and ends, brand loyalists would argue — with Levi’s. In 1873, the U.S. government granted a patent to San Francisco shop owner Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis, a tailor from Reno, Nevada, to make denim work pants strengthened with copper rivets. The two men named their enterprise Levi Strauss & Co., after Strauss’ bustling dry goods store, and launched what became one of the world’s most enduring and widely recognized clothing companies. Created in the 1890s, Levi’s classic button-fly 501s — the top-selling clothing item in history — are available in a range of colors and shapes, from moulded green stonewash. Same goes for Levi’s many other styles, which include skinny and super-skinny 510s, 511s, and 524s; slim, straight-leg 514s; and flattering 512s and Curve ID jeans for women (available in straight, boot cut, and plus sizes). In addition to its basic jeans line, Levi’s owns the brands Dockers and Levi Strauss Signature, and also produces outerwear and footwear; in 2010, it collaborated with the outdoor goods company Filson on an outerwear line. You can always identify Levi’s by their back pocket design — a double-arc stitching pattern trademarked by the company.