What was Levi Strauss's original product line before jeans?

Levi Strauss’s original product line before jeans was dry goods.

When Strauss arrived in San Francisco in 1853, he opened a West Coast branch of his family’s wholesale dry-goods business. The merchandise included clothing, bedding, combs, purses, handkerchiefs, blankets, and sewing supplies—not just trousers.

The company’s later fame came from a partnership with tailor Jacob W. Davis. Davis developed copper-riveted work pants, and Levi Strauss & Co. helped patent and manufacture them beginning in 1873. The jeans became the company’s signature product, but they were not its starting point.

A common mix-up is assuming Strauss began as a jeans manufacturer because the Levi’s name is now almost synonymous with denim. Historically, the business first operated as an importer and wholesaler of many practical household and clothing goods.