What Are Redline Levi's? Selvedge Denim Explained on Real 70s and 80s 501s

Hi guys, today we're going to talk about what are redlines. If you heard this before in the denim, vintage denim world, it basically, it means something about the stitching of the pants, right? So here's a great example. This is a pair of 80s redlines. If you see this, that's a redline. Well, where's the red and where's the line? I just see white and blue. Doesn't really make sense, right? So what happened is, I have another reference right here.

These are obviously dead stock, 70s 505s. Check that out. That's the redline that they're referring to. So what happens is over time, the red fades out and all you're left with is that right there. Yet they're still called redlines. Redlines is just another word for selvedge denim, meaning, what does that even mean, right? Just terms upon terms. Selvedge denim is basically back in the day, up until say 1983, 84-ish, Levi's was making pants.

They're still called the redlines out of one sheet of denim. So what you're seeing here is the end of a sheet of denim and they put it together and they sew it right there and they made each pant leg out of one solid sheet. So these are more collectible. These have a higher value than non selvedge denim, right? So when people refer to redlines, all they're referring to is if you flip up the pant leg and you see that guy right there, even if you're not seeing the color red, if you see that you're looking at redlines.

Good to know. Hope that helps.

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The guides and pages this video is part of.

• Sell vintage Levi’s in Long Beach, a city that wore its denim to work.
• Sell vintage Levi’s in Pasadena without the 4 a.m. alarm.
• Levi’s Date Codes: How to Read the Care Tag, Button Stamps, and Lot Numbers
• Sell vintage Levi’s in Los Angeles without the middleman markup.