I’m sitting here in the late evening silence feeling somewhat guilty. I may have committed a grievous sin today.

Sometime ago I wrote on my blog about wearing Levi’s jeans since early in the 1950s. I have been loyal to that brand without waver until today. They have supported me through thick and thin even in the roughest of work days. I have always kept at least one pair looking presentable (at least I thought so) for social occasions.

But today, with some shame, I purchased another brand of blue jeans for working in the shop. I couldn’t help myself. The last two pair of Levi’s I purchased haven’t seemed to be quite what they used to be.

Naturally all clothing these days is made in some overseas factory, and Levi’s is no exception. I don’t mean any disrespect, but both of my latest have had zipper failures long before the rest of the pants’ useful lives were over.

I do hope I feel better about purchasing these less expensive jeans as the days pass, but I do promise I will only wear these new ones in the shop and never out in public. 

Even if they do get premature zipper failure, I can buy two more pair of these for the price of one pair of Levi’s, so I guess I’m beginning to feel a little better now that I have confessed.

Ken Kaiyala
6-11-2026