Capital E 501’s are unwashed, and shrink-to-fit. You buy them an inch too big in the waste, and three inches too long. Then you turn them inside-out and soak them in a basin of hot water for 20 minutes (or take a hot bath in them—just don’t bend your knees and stretch them out) and hang them to dry.

The next day, they’ll be incredibly stiff and can even stand up on their own. The pair I’m wearing still look brand-new after 30 days of wear.

Air-dryed 501’s standing up on their own

My affinity for Capital E jeans started more than one year ago. I first wielded a pair in my hand while shopping for my previous pair of jeans in 2006. I’d rifled through pair on pair of folded jeans at the Levi’s store before stumbling on the Cap E 501’s. The other jeans I’d found would droop when picked up, but the folded Cap E jeans were rigid—and I knew they wouldn’t get torn on the first fall. I was hardly surprised to learn that they were made in America, and later found out that they are handmade in North Carolina from locally grown cotton.

I walked out with a pair of imported 501’s. They fit great, but felt flimsy and V6 compared to the Capital E’s. I took the bridesmaid because the imported jeans had cost $50, while the Cap E’s were going for a full five times more. I blew a hole in my imported 501’s during a bike crash less than a month after I got them. Even with the knee duct-taped together from the inside, I liked the jeans, but was ecstatic when I found Cap E’s last month for 50% off in an after-Christmas sale at Levi’s.

I’ve had the opportunity to test their mettle too. I got in a crazy American-made wreck a few days ago (riding a Cannondale at a fair clip, I tagged a crawling Ford taxi, lost control, and tumbled until my face smashed into the bumper of a Lincoln Towncar). You can see how the jeans faired, I was slightly less well off. The scuff on the jeans is midway down the leg-seam reinforcement.

Capital E’s after bicycle crash. Click image for comparison with leg

In all honesty, the jeans could be even heavier—they lose a bit of weight when you wash them. But it is still a treat to wear a pair of handmade, riveted Levis.

More information:

Levi’s - Home - These Jeans do not appear to be available from Levis online.
501’s at Nordstroms - Note: The jeans at this link are not the same jeans in this review.