Levi Strauss & Co. added its famous red Tab to jeans in 1936.
The small colored tab was sewn into the edge of a back pocket and helped distinguish Levi’s products from competing riveted denim garments. At the time, pocket stitching and rivets were important visual features, but they could be copied by other manufacturers, so a woven tab offered another recognizable brand marker.
The red Tab should not be confused with the company’s two-horse leather patch, which appeared on some products earlier. The Tab also changed in design over time, including variations in the wording and the presence of a registered-trademark symbol.
Although tiny, the tab became one of the most recognizable clothing trademarks. It linked the practical workwear origins of Levi’s jeans with the later fashion identity of the brand.