The Levi Strauss & Co. jeans model designed specifically for women in 1934 was Lady Levi’s.
Before this launch, women could wear men’s or unisex work trousers, but Levi Strauss & Co. created Lady Levi’s as a product shaped and marketed for female customers. The model reflected the company’s recognition that women were an important market for durable denim clothing, especially in the American West and among people engaged in outdoor work.
Lady Levi’s was not simply a women’s version of the later modern skinny-jeans category. Its design belonged to the workwear era and retained features associated with traditional riveted denim trousers, while using a cut intended for women.
The 1934 introduction is an important step in jeans history because it marks an early major brand effort to treat women’s jeans as a distinct commercial category.