In 1876, George Henry Bass purchases a share in E. P. Packard and Co., a shoe manufacturer in Maine, beginning his career as a shoemaker. Three years later, he becomes the sole owner, changing its name to G.H. Bass & Co.In 1881, Moses Phillips and his wife Endel began sewing shirts by hand and selling them from pushcarts to local Pottsville PA coal miners. This grows into a shirt business in New York City that places one of the first ever shirt ads in the Saturday Evening Post.
In the early 1900's, Vin Draddy starts a men's apparel business and needs a strong name to associate with his quality merchandise. Vacationing in London, he encounters an elegant tailor shop in London, Jack IZOD's. Jack, a well-respected tailor who made custom shirts for King George VI and other royalty, is ready to retire and accepts Vin's offer to purchase the rights to his distinctive name.
In Holland, John M. Van Heusen creates a comfortable, self-folding collar. Traveling to the United States to find a partner, he meets Isaac Phillips, Moses' son. Together they form the Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation.
In 1919, a patent is granted for the collar. In 1921, the revolutionary new collar is introduced to the public with immediate and overwhelming success.
