The definitive guide to Levi’s Orange Tab bellbottom jeans

Everybody fawns over the Red Tab, but if you ask me, the Orange Tab is where the fun lives. This is the Levi's line built for trends: bell bottoms, flares, the whole groovy '70s mood. And it's secretly one of the best vintage denim hunts out there. Here's what makes it special.

A quick history

Levi's launched the Orange Tab in 1969 as its more fashion-forward, affordable line, aimed at younger shoppers who wanted of-the-moment cuts. The Red Tab stayed the classic workwear workhorse (hi, 501), while the Orange Tab got to experiment: slimmer fits, flares, bell bottoms, zipper flies. If the Red Tab was your grandpa's chore jeans, the Orange Tab was made for a concert and a long drive with the windows down.

How to spot an Orange Tab (and date it)

A few tells when you're digging: a lot of vintage Orange Tabs skip the rivets entirely and have seven belt loops, where a Red Tab 501 has copper rivets and five loops. The cuts skew trendier: boot, flare, bell. And the collector's note: Levi's made Orange Tab from the late '60s until 1999, then brought it back as reissues in 2013 and 2017. So the tab alone won't tell you the decade. Check the other details before you assume you've got '70s denim in your hands.

Why bellbottoms keep coming back

Flares never really die. They just take a nap between revivals. A vintage Orange Tab bellbottom has the worn-in fade, the old-school denim, and proportions modern repros never quite nail. That's exactly why we keep hunting them down.

Want a pair with real history? We're always sourcing vintage denim: see what's in the shop.

Keep reading: The Red Tab story (and how it differs from Orange)