Henry Lee was born in Vermont on December, 9, 1849. As a young man he went to find a job in Ohio and in his thirties he was already an owner of a successful company called Galions central oil company that was selling kerosene. However, as Henry Lee turned 40 oil business bored him and he sold his company to one of the Rockefellers. Lee went to Kansas where he established his new company called Lee Mercantile Co. and started to sell everything that earned profit food, dry goods, school supplies and overalls. In 1909 Henry Lee bought a monopoly right for food supplies and settled down to a quiet life.
However his worldwide fame he owes to his overalls shop opened in 1889. That year he also created a new model of customized jeans that was called Lee. Soon the company came up in the world stepping on the toes of Levis brand. The rivalry escalated when Henry Lee opened his own garment factory. 1911 the company presented a jump suit with shoulder-straps an irreplaceable piece of clothes for farmers, railmen and factory workers. 1913 the first close jump suit called Lee Overall appeared and immediately became popular throughout the United States. By 1915 Lees company became so successful that it opened the second factory for military uniform clothing, and in 1917 when America entered the World War Lees clothes became official uniform of rifle brigades. In 1919 the third factory was opened this time for sewing army uniform, overalls for workers and dolls clothes. One of the dolls called Buddie Lee was used as a trademark an innovative advertising project for those times! Buddies was wearing a Lee Overalls and was associated with a typical customer of the company a 17-20 year old young man, a charming adventurer. The doll was beaten with bats, thrown out from a plane, thrown into water but the jeans stayed like new ones.
In 1921 Lee presented the first uniform coat called Loco Jacket and meant for rail workers. And three years after legendary Lee Rider jeans appeared. They were made from the most solid denim and represented genuine cowboy jeans. Another revolution happened in 1926 the first custom tailored jeans with a zipper were manufactured by Lee and called 101Z Lee. A zipper decorated a jeans jacket as well; this model was known as 91 and remained popular until 1980s.