In 1999, Time magazine declared Levi’s 501s the “best” fashion item of the 20th century, narrowly edging out the miniskirt and little black dress. Inextricably linked to the romance of the cowboy and the great American West, the blue denim jean—with copper rivets—helped launch the careers of stars like John Wayne and Elvis Presley, and was the de facto uniform at Woodstock. READ ON

In the old days, when divas of both sexes swanned from continent to continent by glamorous ocean liner, they would hold court in an operatic capital for months or a whole season at a time, running the gamut of their greatest hits. Enrico Caruso, for instance, the greatest Italian tenor of them all, made his Metropolitan Opera debut as the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto on November 23, 1903. By New Year’s Eve, New Yorkers had cheered him to the rafters in Aida, Tosca, La Bohème, Pagliacci, and La Traviata. READ ON