I Just Learned Why Jeans Have That Tiny Pocket, And It's Not Why I Thought

We’ve recently shared the slightly manky history behind the V-shape under your sweater’s collar here at HuffPost UK. 

Though most modern versions of the design are “fake,” the original “v-notch” used to stretch over football players’ helmets and also absorbed some of their sweat (oh!). 

But what about the teeny-tiny (and slightly useless) pocket at the front of your jeans? Does that do anything at all?

For some reason, everyone in my school go it into their heads that that was for condoms. A quick online search proves that we’re not alone, but we were wrong. 

So what’s really going on?

It’s originally for watches

According to Encyclopedia Brittanica’s site, the pocket isn’t just timeless ― it was originally created by Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis to hold watches.

Though their jeans were patented in 1873, the feature wasn’t added to the mass-produced jeans until the 1890s, Brittanica adds. 

It’s proof that the jeans were originally designed for very casual wear because suit jackets at the time always had a pocket for watches. 

That would mean the now-classic jeans and a blazer combo would have left you with too many options to store your clock. 

The original jeans were marketed to carpenters, railroad workers, farmers, and miners, Brittanica adds. 

That’s why some associate the little pocket with golden nuggets ― miners may actually have stored tiny pieces of the metal in there.

What are the little rivets beside it for, then?

Those little popper-like metal rivets that stud the mini watch pocket are just for reinforcement.

You can even see them outlined in Levi Strauss’ original 1873 patent, though this didn’t include the mini pocket yet ― just the rivets.

These reinforced points helped to prevent the legs of your jeans from tearing (I wonder what their inventor would have thought of a blazer and ripped jeans 2024 combo...).