Throwback photos stir up laughs, memories and—for denim heads—a wealth of vintage denim inspiration. This new weekly column on Rivet asks individuals in the denim industry to take a look back and reminisce about a denim moment in time captured on film.
This week, Amy Leverton, denim trend expert and founder of Denim Dudes, shared one of her favorite photos of herself wearing denim as a child. She spent the first four years of her career designing denim and casual wear for various brands before ultimately pivoting to the reporting side of the business, writing for WGSN and Stylesight. She launched her own journalism and consultancy brand Denim Dudes in 2015.
Now a key influencer in the denim industry, she had no idea at the time of this photo that she would go on to become a trend consultant for the likes of Levi’s, Kingpins and Lee.
Amy Leverton, denim trend consultant and owner, Denim Dudes
This is me at probably age 4 in the early ’80s with my brother. I was clearly wearing jeans that were just a little bit too big for me—likely because they were my brother’s, who got them from our neighbors. That was so common in those days: We’d get a huge bag of hand-me-downs from our neighbors, and when they arrived it would be like Christmas. I think that’s what maybe spearheaded my love of clothing.
As you can see from the photo, I was a total tomboy. I lived in the middle of the English countryside, miles away from civilization, and spent my time climbing trees, making dens in the woods and striking up friendships with farm animals. I was pretty feral! As I grew older, I got really into fashion and used to pore over issues of Vogue and make dresses. So I think, looking back, it’s the combination of this love of fashion and my tomboy style roots that has led to the job I do today.
