You see it every time you put on a pair of jeans. A small, discreet pocket tucked inside the larger one on the front. Too narrow for a smartphone, too innocuous to attract attention… and yet, it’s present on almost every model. What is it for? Why is it still there when so many other elements have disappeared from our clothes? The story behind this pocket is more interesting than it seems…
A Wild West invention to keep an eye on the time
It all began in 1873. Levi Strauss, the inventor of jeans as we know them, added a small pocket to his work pants designed specifically for… pocket watches ! At the time, cowboys, miners, and laborers carried their watches attached to a chain, and this narrow pocket, located on the front right of the pants, provided a convenient and secure location .
Placed inside a larger pocket, it protected the watch from bumps and theft while keeping it within easy reach. It was, in a way, the 19th-century equivalent of the cell phone pocket.
An evolution at the pace of fashion
Over time, the pocket watch disappeared in favor of the wristwatch, but the small pocket remained. Why? Because instead of being abandoned, it adapted . It became a coin pocket, perfect for storing a few coins. Then a space to slip in a lighter, a key, or even a subway ticket . A sort of mini catch-all pocket , always useful in its own way.
Over the decades, designers have embraced it as a vintage nod. It has become a visual landmark, an iconic detail . It serves as a reminder that jeans were not born in a fashion show but in the dusty mines of the American West.
Today, this little pocket may no longer hold a watch, but it has lost none of its relevance. It is an integral part of the denim style . Some people slip a USB drive into it, others a guitar pick or a lucky coin. Children hide a little treasure in it, while creative people see it as a design detail .
She’s like a Proust madeleine in the locker room : a small element of the past that persists in the present, without us really paying attention to it.
Why does this little detail go unnoticed?
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