Levi's Vintage Clothing (LVC) reproduction jeans
manufactured in April 2006.
The exact specifications decoded from the images break down into several distinct details:
1. The R-Stamped Top Button
The first photo shows a "Long-Tail R" stamped on the back of the waist button. On standard commercial Levi's, this button features numbers. However, for specialized Levi's Vintage Clothing (LVC) archival collections, Levi's explicitly used letter stamps like "R" to signify a premium, historically accurate reproduction line.
2. The Care Tag Breakdown
The information printed on the white satin interior tag perfectly matches your button and explicitly details the manufacturing background:
- Factory Code (643): Look at the first three digits on the second row of text. The code 643 indicates these were manufactured in the United States by Taylor Togs in North Carolina. Taylor Togs was a premium third-party contract factory that Levi's trusted to handle its high-end LVC line during the mid-2000s.
- Production Date (0406): Directly following the factory code is 0406. This stands for the month and year of production: April 2006.
- Model/Lot Number (501552372): The very last row displays the specific product SKU. The first five digits (50155) indicate the exact archival year design this pair replicates. This pair is a 1955 model 501 reproduction.
These jeans are 2006 USA-made
LVC 1955-reproduction 501s
crafted with authentic Cone Mills denim. Because this factory closed its LVC operations shortly after this pair was made, mid-2000s "643" stamped pairs carry a premium value among collectors on resale platforms
1. The Red Tab Details
- The "Big E": The capital "E" in LEVI'S is woven cleanly into the red tab. This matches the period before 1971 when Levi's transitioned to the lowercase "e".
Two-Sided Tab: The text is legible on both sides of the tab. This is historically accurate for a 1955 reproduction. Levi's added text to the back of the tab starting in 1953.
2. The Back Waistband Patch
- The "Every Garment Guaranteed" Text: The inclusion of this slogan is specific to the 1955 model. Levi's dropped this text from their patches later in the 1960s.
- The Leather-Like Paper: The patch is made of a heavy card stock designed to look like leather. Levi's originally transitioned from real leather to this durable paper patch in 1955 because automatic washing machines were becoming popular and ruining the real leather patches.
- The "XX" Stamp: The "Lot 501XX" text denotes that these were made using premium, heavy-weight raw indigo denim (traditionally supplied by Cone Mills in Greensboro, North Carolina for this era of LVC production).
