1980 Levi's 517 Boot Cut Jeans, Faded Indigo with Honest Wear - Small e Red Tab, Made in USA, 28 x 32

Carolyn Bessette wore 517s, and that is the whole argument for the boot cut.

The care tag reads 517-0217, 7 80, 16, 98920-4, with SF207 stamped inside: the 517 in the 0217 indigo finish, made in July 1980 at factory 16. Small e red tab. The size has faded off the tag, so go by the measurements below. Faded indigo, worn high and soft, with press lines down the legs.

The 517 is Levi's saddleman boot jean, introduced in 1969 for men who rode and adopted by everyone who wanted a leg that sat over a boot without flaring. It is the straightest of the flares and the most wearable of them, which is why it became the one she chose, in the 1990s, to wear with a white shirt and nothing else. A 1980 pair has the old American denim and twenty years of fade already done.

Worn hard and honestly: a small hole at the knee, a small hole at the seat and another at the back pocket, press lines down the front. The fade is the point.

Waist 28 in. Hips 35 in. Rise 10 in. Inseam 32 in. Thigh 18 in. Leg opening 18 in.

Cotton denim. Machine wash cold, hang dry.

One of one. Sold as found.

No returns - as is.

• Ships from Minneapolis, usually within 1–2 business days.
• All vintage is final sale, sold as found.
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