Levi's Shirt Dating/Legit Check?

In addition to having gathered more information about the label changes after 1997, I just recently learned another detail (something I had stated incorrectly above). Thanks to an ebay seller who suddenly listed a boatload of shirts, all with date stamps meticulously included and photographed, I learned that date stamping on the white inner side seam tags continued at least through 2004. Anyway, I also can now add images of the post-1997 labels. A black label with a "red tab" insert was used in 1998 and 1999; and both red and red&white rectangular labels were used from 2000 through (at least) 2004. I will be adding these images to the Label Resource here on the VFG.

 

And another (I'm always looking for more examples of these, even though they're getting harder to find)...

Levi Strauss - "The Original of California Born and Worn"

 

Thought I would share an image of the Levi's advertising shirts that I've collected. Happy Holidays to everyone here at the VFG.

 

This is such a cool collection! Thanks for sharing!

 

Great information, Jim!
I went down a LEVI's dating rabbit-hole a few months ago trying to pinpoint the age of a few pairs of more recent vintage Levi's women's jeans (not that my customers *really* care if they're 80s, 90s or Y2k... but dang it, *I DO!*) - and it's crazy all the little details that go into dating their stuff!
I guess that's true of vintage in general!
Nice to have more info - thanks!

 

Here's one more that I recently found. The color is a nice burgundy, slightly different from any other color I already owned. But what really made it a cool find was that it was the first one of these that I've come across (since the 1990's, that is) with intact tags and original packaging. It even had the inner tissue paper and the cardboard collar support! It was fun to see the "Authentic Jeanswear" card on the front, something I remember but had forgotten about.

 

I created an account just to share with the dude with all the multi coloured Levi’s shirts that I have found a new colour (light dusty peach? Orange) and a new version of the same basic tag (Canadian Bilingual + Canadian care label, most likely made at the former GWG plant)

 

That's really cool- thanks for registering and sharing! I may have come across that shirt, or something very similar (may have passed because it's a size S, which is usually too small for me). Any date code on the other side of that inner tag? Love the bilingual label... don't think I have that particular label in my collection. I also like that you called it "dusty peach". I do the same thing in terms of giving specific names to various more obscure colors.

Help me out here... what's the "GWG plant"?

Since I last posted here, I've found some more shirts (rivet buttons, marbled snaps, and a few more advertising shirts). Here's one that's very close in color (if not identical?) to yours, an advertising shirt dating to 1991 that I got from a seller in England. I listed the color in my inventory as "apricot".



An updated shot of the advertising shirt collection:



Of course, it's getting harder and harder for me to find designs that I don't already have. There's at least one more that I know exists, because I passed on it due to it being in ragged condition. Would love to track one down in decent condition:

 

The Great Western Garment company (or GWG) was a Canadian manufacturer of work clothes and jeans that was founded in 1911, by 1961 they had grown large enough that they gained the attention of Levi’s who purchased 75% ownership in the company and began to use their plants to manufacture some of their products as well, Levi’s eventually went on to purchase the remaining shares in 1981 acquiring the company outright. I believe all Levi’s products that are labeled as made in Canada were produced at the GWG facilities concurrently with the “real” GWG jeans at least until the closure of the plant in march 2004 which means that production of Canadian Levi’s continued for a few months longer than American ones (the last American Levi’s plant in San Antonio closed in late 2003)
As for the sizing I was a little worried too at first but it fits more like a size 40 chest size which is on the smaller end of medium but larger than a small
There’s no info at least that I can find in terms of date on the care tag, I think this is because of the Canada specific woven multicolour tag, there may have been a printed fabric ticket at some point with a date code but it appears to have long since disappeared

I also have a question about the snaps on yours, mine appear to be Scovill “Gripper” snaps which I believe somewhat helps date it but I’m not sure (I tried to get a picture but it’s difficult to make out)

 

One thing I forgot to note, this type of care label with the colour coded pictograms (the colours meaning wether a cleaning process is recommended (green), recommended against (red) or recommended with caution (yellow)) was used in Canada from around 1970 up until approximately the mid 1990s when the design was switched to simple monochrome.
I’m not sure on the specifics of what clothes were given this label and which ones weren’t, but from the absolute best that I can tell it was only ever used on clothes made in Canada, specifically intended for sale in the Canadian market which is why I’m fairly confident my shirt was made in Canada at the GWG plant

 

Also also, I noticed on mine that the left hand chest pocket has a quite prominent bartacked and reinforced pen slot at the top of the flap, not super huge but I noticed none of yours from the photos have this

 

Thanks for the info on the GWG, etc. There is still a lot for me to learn about the manufacturing history surrounding these shirts. I didn’t even know about the San Antonio plant you referred to.

Wow, your mention of the Scovill gripper snaps took me down a rabbit hole (in a pleasant way, for someone like me who is very detail oriented). I had only casually noticed the differences between the various types of snaps on the shirts in my collection, and had never gotten out a magnifying glass (I’m getting old) to inspect them more closely.

So, I have about a half dozen shirts with Scovill gripper snaps, and all but one were made in Thailand (the other was made in China). They all seem to date from 1989 to 1991. And btw, there is another version of the gripper that used a different lettering stamp design from the one in your photo. One of these has only the “gripper” stamp, and no “Scovill” stamp.

Then I have a couple of shirts with snaps marked “KLIKIT”. One was made in Tunisia, the other in Portugal, and both were purchased from eastern Europe. There are also a few oddball snaps marked “W H” (shirt made in Indonesia), “C.F.” (unknown manuf. location), and a couple of unmarked snaps. But the great majority of my shirts with marbled snaps (made in Hong Kong, Phillipines, Indonesia, Tunisia, and Portuagal) are marked with “L.S. & Co.”

I think you’re likely correct regarding your shirt being manufactured in Canada. And speaking of your shirt, and the pen slot at the left pocket, that is indeed pretty unusual on this general style of Levi’s denim shirt. In 1993, Levi’s produced (in India) a substantial run of shirts with pen slots (and an embroidered “Levi Strauss” above the pocket), but the slot was on the opposite side of the pocket, and those shirts were a lighter cotton fabric.

I do have one Levi’s denim shirt with a pen slot like yours, though. It’s one of my most unusual finds. It’s labeled as being made in Taiwan, but I bought it from a seller in Hamilton, Ontario. It has a neck label that I haven’t seen another example of (also bilingual w/french); squared off pocket flaps; unmarked marbled snaps; a unique color (I call it “marigold”); and perhaps most notably, some unique embroidery at the upper chest. Maybe the most unique shirt I have found.

 

Better shot of the pocket area

 

Slight correction about my snaps, they only say gripper, not scovill, but I recognized the gripper brand as being scovill

And yeah the fabric on my shirt is definitely not light weight, it’s pretty much the exact same weight as some of my vintage jeans, so it’s probably around a 10oz weight which is really nice and thick for a shirt

 

Trying to upload a better/larger image of the advertising shirts...