What year were riveted blue jeans patented?

Riveted blue jeans were patented in 1873. On May 20 of that year, tailor Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss & Co. received U.S. Patent No. 139,121 for an improvement using metal rivets to reinforce pocket openings and other stress points in work trousers.

The invention addressed a straightforward problem: miners, railroad workers, and other laborers often put heavy strain on their clothing. Davis strengthened weak areas with copper rivets, particularly the corners of pockets and the lower end of the button fly. Strauss helped finance the patent and provided the commercial network needed to manufacture the garments.

The patent date is sometimes confused with 1853, when Levi Strauss established his San Francisco dry-goods business, or 1890, when Levi Strauss & Co. assigned the lot number 501 to its famous waist overalls. The patent made the riveted design official; denim jeans themselves developed into a global fashion staple much later.