In 1984, while going to school in Ohio, I stumbled upon the most simply perfected product I had ever found. A pair of original army issue WWII khakis. My classmates and I purchased these khakis from the army surplus store located down the road. They were cool in their own throwback sort of way. I didn't think all that much about them until I went back to the store for a new/old pair and the army surplus guy announced to us that he could no longer get his hands on these khakis.

No problem, I thought, I'll just have to rely on more normal channels. My first stop was the back of my closet. I never realized how bad all my other khaki trousers were until trying on a few pairs that had fallen out of my rotation. Further searching through catalogues and shopping various retailers left me more frustrated. With my original WWII's practically in shreds, I had to do something...

Then the idea. I couldn't be the only person in this situation. Plus, how many other people were walking around in bad khakis and don't even know it.

So, after some research and shoe leather, I made 250 pairs with the help of a maker located near my home in Pennsylvania. About this same time, a job in advertising took me to Chicago where I continued to sell khakis 'out of the back of my car.' It was while in Chicago that I realized that not only was there a real need for a company that made great khakis, but there was also a desperate need for a brand that captured the essence of the product. After a lot of thought, the idea of creating a company that would be a last bastion of the American ideal took on a life of its own. So I decided that it would be totally rational to quit my job, leave all my friends, move back to PA, live at home for a while, take a few part time jobs and basically give up everything in order to start this company for real.

When you start something, you dare to think that it can work.
What you can't understand is how it's all going to happen and who is going to help you. There are so many great people who work at Bills Khakis, people who could be doing many other great things, but they are here, trying to fulfill a vision of excellence and perpetuating this ideal we call "Bills Khakis." John Dever is our C.O.O., Mary Jo spearheads our marketing efforts to our retailers around the country, Dayle and Annette oversee production and quality with the help of Myrle and Mary Ann. Amy coordinates product development. If you call customer service, you are likely to talk with Becky, Robin, Sue or Kate (Kate also does witchcraft, the good kind, with our information systems). Taran, Erin and Tammy run the
business office. But if you want to see where the "real work" is done, look to the shipping/receiving team, Mary, Matt, Teresa, Chris and Karen. We can't thank them enough! Angie makes sure all of our marketing materials are where they need to be when they need to be there! Johnny handles email communication and miscellaneous technological issues that are beyond the rest of us. Last, but not least, there's Marge, who edits the official Bills Khakis newsletter, the "Free Press."

In total, it's an incredible team. They are the reason we can stand behind our product with confidence and pride.

When we are not working, we are usually enjoying the outdoors on mountain bikes or on the golf course, hanging out on the farm or running our dogs. Life is good in Pennsylvania.

Our product provides a vehicle for our company to state how things ought to be. We don't make pants,..... We make khakis! If only everything was this simple and dependable.