Magnum Mania!

Thanks for reviving this thread zebra. Lots of interesting stuff in here.

I'm fairly certain that in most episodes he's wearing Levis. My dad used to wear Levis and every time I see Mag in his bluejeans, I can't help thinking how similar the cut is.

Fashionistas today would the high waist and straight leg pretty - ahem - dorky. But I can assure you they're available. I did some googling to see what style they might be and now I'm more confused than ever. Levis has their numbers to indicate a style, but it seems they change the style over time, but keep the same number. My best guess is the Levis 505 straight leg. There are tons of people selling vintage Levis on ebay. You just have to try and figure out the style for sure.

One possibility might be to get in touch with one of the online stores and see if they can tell you what he's wearing based on a screen cap. These guys are based in Largo, FL and seem to know a thing or two about jeans...

I've noticed three different types of denim on TM. USN dungarees, red tab Levi's 501s, and orange tab Levi's.

I've seen orange tab Levi's in "Did You See the Sunrise" and a number of other episodes as well. I know very little about orange tab Levi's except for the fact that they were made from the 60s to the 80s and at the time typically cost less than red tab Levi's.

Red tab 501s are widely available today across most of the world, and in terms of fit they have changed little since 1944. The type and quality of denim has however changed considerably over the years. Before the mid 80s, all 501s were US made from 14.5 ounce denim, really high quality stuff that lasts a lifetime. Most contemporary Levi's are made with much inferior 10 ounce denim.

Today, different 501s are available to a number of regional markets. US market 501s typically cost around $35-40 and are made in Egypt, Honduras, Haiti and a plethora of other developing countries.

EU market 501s generally range in cost from €75-100 and from what I know are primarily made in Poland and to a lesser extent Pakistan and probably some other countries as well.

Japanese market 501s are the only "general market" Levi's that are still made in USA and by far the best quality. Prices are usually around 8,000 yen or so.

Then there is also LVC - Levi's Vintage Clothing - which primarily caters to denim-nuts and the high end market. They basically reproduce 501s to exact historical specs, for example they make 1947, 1954, and 1966 pattern etc. 501s. Unwashed, i.e. Shrink-To-Fit, LVC 501s are made in USA from North Carolina Cone Mills selvedge denim and typically cost around $200 or more. Distressed pairs are made in EU and usually cost less.

As Styles said earlier, anybody's best bet of scoring high quality 501s outside of japan at a good price is to search through ebay. Search for "redline 501" and US made, selvedge 501s like the ones Magnum would wear will appear.

Wow Kifaru, you really know your jeans!

The orange tab jeans caught my eye. I think that may be the ones I'm thinking of.

I'm going to have to go back and look at the Pilot to verify the Navy dungarees. I don't remember TM's being huge bellbottoms whnich is what the Navy dungarees are. I'll try to watch it this weekend and let you guys know.

I'm pretty sure they're Navy issue. They have the distinctive four patch pocket design either way. I agree on that they don't seem as flared as many other Navy dungarees but from what I know there has been differences in cut over the years. Or they could have been re-tailored for a slimmer, tapered fit, something that wasn't uncommon during the 70s.

All-cotton USN issue dungarees doesn't seem to be too common on the market today (I believe they stopped making them in the 70s). There are some poly/cotton versions on ebay that were the last issued pattern before denim dungarees were declared obsolete by the Navy in 2000.

I only wish they had declared them obsolete while I was still serving!