Van Heusen
clothing has been making a name for itself in recent years, even being called
the #1 Dress Shirt Brand in America! But many people don’t realize the history
behind the brand.
The
manufacturer of Van Heusen clothing, Phillips-Jones Company, Inc., dates back
to 1881 when father and son team Moses and Isaac sold flannel shirts in their
hometown of Pottsville, PA, under the name M. Phillips & Son. The shirts
were made by Moses’ wife Endel and their daughters (Isaac’s sisters) and were
sold to coal miners. Eventually, demand
grew enough that Phillips had to merge with D. Jones & Sons, who operated a
chain of factories in PA. After seeing much success, they expanded into New
York City in the early 1900’s, and changed their name to Phillips-Jones Corp.
Around the
same time, a gentlemen named John Manning van Heusen, a Dutch immigrant, was
busy creating the first “soft-folding” collar and securing the patent for his
invention. This allowed the look of the stiff collar, with the comfort of
softer material fused around the curve of the neck. Apparently, collars were not attached to mens
dress shirts before this (whaaaat??)
Isaac
Phillips met with van Heusen and purchased his collar patent. An alliance was
born, and the rest, as they say, is history…
This story
picks up where it left off in part 2…
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