Did you know? The tiny pocket on your jeans was made for pocket watches

Almost every pair of jeans has a small pocket inside the front right pocket. Too small for a phone, too narrow for a wallet. So what is it actually for?

It was made for pocket watches

In the 19th century, wristwatches weren't yet popular. Many men, especially miners, farmers and cowboys in America, carried a pocket watch kept in a pocket and attached to a chain.

The little pocket on jeans gave the watch a safe place so it wouldn't get scratched or fall out during work. That's why it's known as the watch pocket.

Did you know? Even though pocket watches are rarely used now, the pocket stayed because it has become part of the identity of jeans. Today people use it for coins, small keys, guitar picks or tickets.

What about those little metal studs?

The small metal studs at the corners of the pockets are called rivets. They're not decoration either.

A tailor named Jacob Davis noticed that the pockets on his customers' work trousers often tore. He began reinforcing the pocket corners with copper rivets. Because he couldn't afford the patent fee himself, he partnered with fabric supplier Levi Strauss.

On 20 May 1873, they received US patent number 139,121 for the method of reinforcing pocket openings with rivets. This date is often considered the "birthday" of modern blue jeans.

So jeans were workwear

Before becoming a fashion icon, jeans were designed for durability. Thick denim, double stitching and rivets at stress points were all meant to make trousers that could survive heavy work.

Then in the mid-20th century, films, music and youth culture turned jeans into everyday wear around the world, including in Malaysia.

The takeaway

Next time you put on your jeans, look at that small pocket and the rivets. Both are traces of workwear history from more than 150 years ago that are still with us today.