A tab attached to the side of the pocket of Levi’s denim jackets, jeans, shirts, etc.
There are several types of tabs.
The typical red tab, orange tab, white tab, silver tab, green tab, carrot tab etc.
Red tab and orange tab are the most commonly seen on vintage Levi’s.
What is the difference between red tab jeans and orange tab jeans?
Simply put, Orange Tab products are cheaper versions of Red Tab products.
To explain in a little more detail, the red tab is from the main production line, “Line 7,” and the orange tab is from “Line 8.”
“Line 7” is carefully sewn at key points using a single-needle sewing machine.
“Line 8” sews everything with two needles, saving effort and reducing costs.
The reason for this was that they were losing out in terms of price to store brand denim products, so they wanted to customers in that lower price range.
Comparing red tab products and orange tab products, jeans with red tabs are considered to be authentic jeans such as 501 jeans, but orange tab products have a more playful feel.
The red tab first appeared in the 1930s, while the orange tab is said to have been introduced in the late 1960s.
The period from the late 1960s to the 1970s was when fashion blossomed.
Orange tab jeans come in boot cut, bell bottom, slim, etc. and are highly fashionable.
For this reason, not only red tab products such as 501 but also orange tab products are popular among vintage Levi’s.