On this day in history, 1873, Levi Strauss & Co. received U.S. Patent No. 139,121 for Improvement in Fastening Pocket-Openings. Levi’s use of rivets kept pockets from ripping. The blue jeans were born.

We continue to see a shift in retail consumer preferences. While overall retail spending is up dramatically from a year ago, not all sub-segments are experiencing the same lift. Formal business suits, for example, are tracking differently than athleisure and work-from-home duds. Increased spending coupled with new tastes has lead to some economy-wide inventory bottlenecks. What remains to be seen is if these trends become long-lasting and impact historic norms.

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