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The tiny pocket was introduced out of necessity in 1890s and has remained a constant feature on jeans with its use evolving over the years.
Known for their durability, jeans are not only fashionable but are also popular choice among many for various occasions.
If you own a pair or has seen a person wearing jeans, you must have noticed a small pocket, usually parched inside a larger one on the frontside.
So tiny is the pocket that the fingers barely fit in, with many unaware of the use of this feature that many consider a mark of style and fashion.
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What is the origin of this tiny pocket and what is its use today?
History of the tiny pocket in your jeans
Long before wrist watches graced wrists, pocket watches attached to chains or fobs were an essential especially among cowboys, miners and railroad workers who particularly loved jeans for a number of reasons including the strength and durability of the fabric which also ensured minimal injury to the skin in the event of a fall.
Here's the purpose of the tiny pocket in your jeans
This prized possession needed safe storage while not in use, only to be whipped out from time to time when the need arose.
READ: 5 mistakes men make when wearing jeans and how to avoid them
People would often lose their watches which would drop out of other pockets on their jeans or shirts.
Keeping the watch in a bag was not desirable either as it would not be easily accessible when needed.
The fragile chain watch would also get damaged easily. As such it was an accessory that men needed to have on them yet lacked a place to keep it.
The solution that became a detail of style with timeless uses
Understanding the needs of their clients, Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis in 1873 solved this challenge with a simple, yet important intervention: Introducing the tiny fifth pocket, commonly known as watch pocket or coin pocket.
This simple addition to the jeans not only protected pocket watches from damage, dust, or falling out but became a necessity that was embraced henceforth particularly in the 1890s.
Uses today
While chain watches for which it was introduced are no longer popular, the uses for the tiny pocket remain and has seen this mark of distinction continue to grace the front side of jeans.
It holds coins and small items such as USB drives, lighters, guitar picks, SD cards and even a spare key without the risk of the same easily dropping out.
Here's the purpose of the tiny pocket in your jeans
It is also a temporary place for holding rings, earrings, and other jewellery when one needs to take them off on the go without losing them.