Levi's Men's 501 Shrink To Fit Jean

An all-American classic. The 501 Red Tab(tm) jean features five-pocket styling with signature stitching on back pockets. Button fly.

The original shrink to fit style of jeans can not be beat for durability. Once you find the size that shrinks to your comfort level, stick with it. Unfortunately Levi discontinues sizes and these were the last two in stock. Wash them in hot,hot water, dry completely in the dryer and they will remain the same size until worn out. If you are not hard on jeans they will last for years, if you use them for work daily, you can expect at least two years of service. They are the best value for your dollar. Too bad they are not made in USA anymore. The fabric may come from USA but the ones I purchased were cut and sewn in Mexico. At least it is a neighbor of the USA.

These levis are hard to find, size 33 length...product was great and service was quick

I've been frustrated for the last several years because it's gotten so hard to buy plain ordinary jeans for women. They're all full of fashionable features: superfluous zippers, patches, gussets, grommets, decorative stitching, little drifts of glued-on rhinestones. But at the same time, they're lacking some obvious things: belt loops, or a pocket big enough to actually hold your keys and some change. They don't come in regular blue or black; they all have weird faded patches which have been applied in special factories at enormous expense. And nearly all of them are unflatteringly, ankle-chillingly, hideously, four inches or so too short. I began to wonder if perhaps there might be some sort of vast international trouser conspiracy, run by sadistic clothing designers who sit in dimly-lit rooms waving swatches of fabric and cackling maniacally.

It finally occurred to me to try the obvious, and check out the men's department instead. I'm overjoyed to discover that men's standard Levi's 501s fit me just fine, and look the way I expect jeans to look. They have pockets, and belt loops big enough to fit a normal belt, and legs that reach all the way down to my shoes. Hooray.

I have found that these shrink a bit less than what Levi's says. In the waist, they shrink about an inch as opposed to the tho inches that Levi's says. The leg shrinks about 2 3/4 inches, rather than 4. So don't buy them too oversized, unless you are going to be washing many times in hot water and a hot drier. Since most people like these dark nowadays, that is unlikely. Also, these are very well made. While much negative commentary concerning Levi Strauss's move away from domestic manufacturing has focused on the button-fly 501s, the bigger problem I have seen is with the old 1970's standby, the 505, which has a zipper as opposed to button fly. The variability on sizing and sew quality with the 505s means you really have to try them on to see how they fit. The 501 are much easier to buy online or by mail order because the sizing is much less critical on the waist, which is the so-called "anti-fit" waist, meaning there is no curve to the rise (the distance between the crotch and the top of the waist), because the original 501s were merely cut down bib overalls which were made to hang, rather than be fitted to the waist. The biggest problem I have noted on the 505's is the variability in size in the thigh area, meaning that some fit baggy and some seem rather tight, even though they are theoretically the same size of a label. The 501s are pretty safe as far as sizing.

Levis 501 STF jeans are as reliably close to the ones I bought 30 years ago as possible given the changes in manufacturing, etc over the years. Nothing stays the same, but some things are similar enough. If you are looking for this type of jean, this product will suffice.