Mar 24, 2023

Which to Choose, Button vs. Zipper Fly

Super fly

You have a choice of your fly. Both are great options, it's just up to you to decide what works best. Buttons are more traditional. Zippers are a bit easier. Either way works well.

History of buttons & zippers

The very first jeans made by Levi's in 1873 featured a button fly. Though zippers were invented in the early 20th century and in wider use by the 1930's, Levi's didn't offer zipper flies in their jeans until 1947.

DDCo. only offered button flies for the first 8 years and introduced zippers flies in 2018. Over the years, we've heard both sides of it: from the "button fly 'til I die" crowd, to those who will only wear zippers, to those who have no preference.

So which do we recommend? We don't, really. It all depends on your personal preferences. Around here we tend to prefer button flies because we love to dork out on historical accuracy in garments, and also because they're more durable and easier to fix when they do need a repair. But we also love a good zzzzzip!

Here are the pros and cons of buttons and zippers flies:

	Pros	Cons
Buttons	more authentic to the history of denim more durable, last longer easier to repair when it breaks give gorgeous, classic fades	more difficult to handle (especially on raw, jeans that haven't been broken in yet)
Zipper	easier to handle for some faster access when nature calls nice, flat appearance when closed	more likely to come undone during wear less durable - will break with time harder to fix when it does break (typically needs replacement rather than repair)