A Star is Born
In 1905, Levi’s — the original American jeans company — decided to focus on more than just jeans. The brand’s first denim jacket, the Type One, debuted around the turn of the century, followed later by the Type Two, which featured a second chest pocket. It wasn’t until the Type Three arrived in 1962, however, that the jacket achieved fashion superstardom. The jacket’s triangular pocket flaps distinguished it from other styles, and the raw denim’s quality of “breaking in” over many wears and washes established it as a quintessential American garment. When Japanese fashion collectors observed U.S. truck drivers wearing these faded denim style pieces to perfection, they gave the look its name: The Trucker.
Casually Defining Style
From the 1960s to the 1980s, Levi’s Type Three Trucker Jacket took center stage on the national fashion scene. Flower children embroidered their jackets with designs and patches, while bikers cut theirs to be sleeveless, emblazoned emblems of their motorcycle clubs. During the disco era, acid washes became the rage, and of course there was the Marlboro Man — the cigarette-smoking, horse-riding, steer-lassoing image of American masculinity — who wore his trucker like another layer of skin. The look was ubiquitous.
