Someone Just Paid The Highest Price Ever For A Pair Of 1880s Levi's Jeans At Auction

A pair of vintage jeans from the 1880s featuring a racist slogan has sold at an auction for $76,000. This is the highest price ever paid for vintage denim at auction, reports the Wall Street Journal.  

A 23-year-old vintage clothing dealer, Kyle Haupert from San Diego, bought the Levi Strauss & Co LEVI pants at the auction, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

The sale was part of the Durango Vintage Festivus, a four-day clothing market.

Several years ago, a self-described denim archaeologist Michael Harris found the pair of jeans in an abandoned mine shaft in the American West.

"I'm still kind of bewildered, just surprised myself for even purchasing them," Haupert told the WSJ. 

The antique pants included a racist label characteristic of the times. 

this one truly has it all: Zoomers mining for old chore jackets in the desert; a brief history of Levi's anti-Chinese labor policies from the late 19th century; an elder statesman of vintage named "Zip"...https://t.co/VatlgeWBmP

— sara bosworth (@sarabosworth) October 12, 2022

The report said a label printed on the pocket reads, "the only kind made by White Labor," and a "racist slogan" used by the company during a time of pervasive anti-Chinese discrimination in the U.S.

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The company used the slogan following 1882's Chinese Exclusion Act, which barred Chinese laborers from entering the U.S., according to Levi's spokesperson. 

Levi's today is "wholly committed to using our platform and voice to advocate for real equality and to fight against racism in all its forms," the company representative told the WSJ. 

Earlier this month, Levi Strauss & Co., the clothing company known for its Levi's jeans brand, announced financial results for the third quarter that ended Aug. 28, 2022. 

The company has reported net revenue growth of 1%, or 7% on a constant-currency basis, compared to the third quarter of 2021, driven by growth in its direct-to-consumer business and increases across the U.S., Asia, and Latin America.  

Photo: Lee Agas Guang on flickr