Lee was founded in 1889 in Salina, Kansas, USA by Henry David Lee. Starting life as the Lee Mercantile Company and initially producing overalls, dungarees and denim jackets, Lee became one of the USA's leading workwear brands of the early century.

As of 2005, Lee Jeans have been manufactured by Arvind Mills, in a number of small factories in Chamarajanagar, India. About 60,000 workers produce 5,000 pairs of jeans a day.

Lee® is an iconic American denim and casual lifestyle apparel brand founded by H.D. Lee. Backed by 130 years of purposeful design and craftsmanship, the brand inspires people to stand tall and live with confidence. Lee's collections include a range of styles for men, women, girls and boys.

1889, Merriam, Kansas, United StatesLee / Founded Established in 1889 as a wholesale mercantile of groceries & goods to the West, The H.D. Lee Mercantile Company expanded gradually, and in 1912 began to manufacture work wear.

1873 – On May 20, Latvian emigrant and tailor Jacob Davis and his fabric supplier Levi Strauss patent and manufacture the “XX” pants, which would later become known as the Levi 501. These are perhaps the world's first pair of jeans. These jeans saw the addition of metal rivets to the pockets and the button fly of the ...

Kontoor Brands Lee is now owned by Greensboro, North Carolina-based Kontoor Brands (KTB), a publicly traded global apparel company that also owns fellow heritage denim brand Wrangler. According to Jane Hali, CEO of retail research firm Jane Hali Associates, Wrangler makes up 64% of the business and Lee 26%.

Traditionally, jeans are made of denim. Denim is a sturdy, 100% cotton fabric in which the weft passes under at least two warp threads to create a unique diagonal twill pattern. This makes denim fabric more durable than other material using plain single weave.

Following with the establishment of 'H.D. Lee Mercantile Company' by Henry David Lee in Kansas, United States, Lee becomes a legendary denim brand which continues making history by its product innovations, such as the world's first-ever zip fly jeans - 101Z in 1926, iconic 'Hair-on-hide' leather label and 'Lazy S' back ...

Salina, Kansas Lee is an American brand of denim jeans, first produced in 1889 in Salina, Kansas. The company is owned by Kontoor Brands, a spin-off of VF Corporation's Jeans wear Division. Since 2019 its headquarters is in Greensboro, North Carolina, relocated from Merriam, Kansas.

No more household names like Levi's, Wrangler, or Lee The Big 3: Levi's, Wrangler, and Lee no longer make jeans in America.

Perfect jeans according to each body type

• Apple-shaped body type - Mid-rise, boot-cut jeans.
• Pear-shaped body type - Low-waist, boyfriend jeans.
• Hourglass-shaped body type - Mid-rise, straight-fit jeans or skinny jeans.
• Strawberry-shaped body type - Flared or regular-fit jeans.
• Thin body type - High-waisted jeans.

The most popular styles in 2023 include straight leg, bootcut, flare, wide leg and oversized jeans, according to the stylists we spoke to and our research on the market. To gauge what works best for you, try a few styles to see what suits you.